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Juvenile Fiction

Book Buzz: War Games by Alan Gratz

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Alan Gratz, photo courtsey the authorThose three years of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade are a time of learning who you are as a person. They’re still kids. They play kickball, pull pranks on each other. But they’re also having their first serious relationships, starting to drink or experiment with drugs, questioning their place in the larger world….I want to teach empathy. I want people to understand the viewpoints of others, and that we are better together than apart. I wouldn’t have been able to tell you that 10 years ago. It took me writing a few books—and coming to that theme every time, naturally, as a writer—to understand.
  ― Alan Gratz, Interview with Scott Simon, Publishers Weekly

War Games by Alan Gratz

What booksellers are saying about War Games

  • I read this on my way to Berlin, and everything came to life! We may have been taught about the Holocaust, but what was the significance of how everything came to be? A stark warning not to repeat history. This book delves deep and gives a true glance at all the little things people may have missed in the rise to Hitler’s control. Should be read by everyone.
      ― David Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina | BUY

  • As a former tour guide in Berlin, I was impressed with the research and detail that Gratz has put into this gripping and thought-provoking thriller. We are plunged into the heart of Nazi Germany through the eyes of Evie, a US gymnast at the infamous 1936 Berlin Games, who makes both friends and enemies, both of whom gradually reveal to her the thinness of the veneer of respectability which the games have given Germany. A gold heist is the vehicle for a deeper delve into questions of morality, sacrifice and teamwork, and a surprisingly gripping vehicle too. Should keep any reader on the edge of their seat, and keen to learn more.
    ― Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana | BUY

  • Loved this one. A heist, a girl, international characters and some insight into what was going on before the war. And I learned about Black Sunday!
    ― Wilson Robbins, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee | BUY

About Alan Gratz

Alan Gratz is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several highly acclaimed books for young readers, including Heroes: A Novel of Pearl Harbor, Two Degrees, Ground Zero, Allies, Grenade, Refugee, Projekt 1065, Prisoner B-3087, Code of Honor, and Captain America: The Ghost Army, an original graphic novel. Alan lives with his family in the Pacific Northwest. Look for him online at alangratz.com.

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Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo by Bess Kalb

This book’s organization and illustrations are a 10/10. Love it! And the message is precious! I honestly think this would be a great book to get to for a child who is about to become a big sibling!

Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo by Bess Kalb, (List Price: $18.99, Random House Studio, 9780593810309, September 2025)

Reviewed by Samantha Steele, Plenty Downtown Bookshop in Cookeville, Tennessee

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Broken by X. Fang

Broken is a gentle story of a little girl with big feelings rendered in soft layered colored pencil. This story is simple, but soothing, and a reminder that what’s broken can always be fixed (and to perhaps not trust cats, who are always up to something).

Broken by X. Fang, (List Price: $18.99, Tundra Books, 9781774882009, October 2025)

Reviewed by Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina

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Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese

This one is all the things I love in a kid’s story — adventure, magic, daring, and wonder. Seven Ways Through the Woods offers the reader just that, seven ways to get through the woods…but perhaps that’s not the point…to get through the woods. Maybe the point is to linger, explore, and marvel.

Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese, (List Price: $19.99, Greenwillow Books, 9780063356269, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

As a kid who felt deeply that all my stuffed animals had distinct personalities and interests, this book really brought that to life. This is a story about the Second Chance Home and how it helps lost and abandoned stuffed animals find another home. We have our bold leader, the small but mighty Pocket Bear, and his friend and ally Zephyrina — a feline friend! But when a new stuffed animal finds its way into the home, Pocket Bear faces a difficult choice of what to do to help Second Chance and protect this new addition. Perfect for fans of Toy Story meets Puppets of Spellhorst!

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate, (List Price: $17.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250904362, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone by Gideon Sterer

If you make a call on a banana phone, a gorilla will probably answer. What will happen next??? Well, over a long, happy day of telling jokes, asking questions, and sharing secrets, you might learn that a friend can be made across ANY distance. A sweet little fable about how to approach others with kindness and curiosity, this book is silly, warm, and beautiful to look at!!!

If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone by Gideon Sterer, (List Price: $19.99, Clarion Books, 9780063375222, September 2025)

Reviewed by Charlie Monroe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes

Being the star athlete and leading your team towards an undefeated season is a dream. But when one of your biggest fans is brutally attacked by the police, your focus shifts. You want to be there for him and not just under the Friday night lights. What you don’t expect is for the town to turn on you, treating you like you’re “just a football player” and nothing more. This story feels so real and so now, especially with the way athletes, young and old, are standing up against injustice and police brutality. Powerful story and an on-time read.

The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze by Derrick Barnes, (List Price: $17.99, Viking Books for Young Readers, 9781984836755, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan Gayles, The Book Worm Bookstore in Powder Springs, Georgia

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The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang by Stan Yan

This story had me hooked! I loved following Eugenia Wang after a bonk to the head gives her dreams/visions of impending doom leading up to her birthday, which is on the 4th (a bad omen in Chinese culture). Not to mention, she loves drawing and wants to go to an art camp that her mother deeply disapproves of. And she has a pesky younger brother who seems set on getting her in trouble. In short, this one hits on it all things: secret crushes, brilliant best friends, comics, and also important themes of the immigrant experience and how our family’s attempts to protect us might also hurt us. Oh, and Peanut the pug is pretty cute.

The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang by Stan Yan, (List Price: $14.99, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 9781665943321, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Cabin Head and Tree Head (Cabin Head and Tree Head, Book #1) by Scott Campbell

Ready for adventure? Pack your bags and join Cabin Head and Tree Head as they save the world without losing their heads. The playful comic book-style illustrations paired with hilarious stories will have you falling head over heels with laughter! A truly unique picture book about once-in-a-lifetime friends.

Cabin Head and Tree Head (Cabin Head and Tree Head, Book #1) by Scott Campbell, (List Price: $13.99, Tundra Books, 9781774885055, September 2025)

Reviewed by Laura Hoefener, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Scarlet Morning, Book 1: Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson

This story is beautiful and worth reading for many reasons. What I love most is it feels like a fulfilled promise to our younger selves, quite literally being a story ND Stevenson began writing at the age of 12 years old. They would set it down, forget about it, but eventually come back to it. And you can feel that sense of being young, a bit fearless, a bit brave, and hopeful. I had so much fun with these characters, with this epic adventure of a story, of found family, and mystery, of pirates, and so much more.

Scarlet Morning, Book 1: Scarlet Morning by ND Stevenson, (List Price: $19.99, Quill Tree Books, 9780063210349, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress, Jade Zhang (Illus.)

Ghost Circus has beautiful illustrations! I loved the characters in the Circus and I hope we see more of the creepy girl and find out more about her and her memories! I am also super excited her friend Casey gets to come back and see her more and they can uncover more of the mystery of the creepy girl!

Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress, Jade Zhang (Illus.), (List Price: $24.99, Union Square Kids, 9781454948285, August 2025)

Reviewed by sarah dimaria, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall

Gwen MacKinnon has spent much of the eleven short years of her life feeling unwanted, but it only takes two weeks in a small Massachusetts town–plus one unruly dog, an enthusiastic four-year-old, the coolest older cousin, the corniest uncle, some love and attention, and an entire clan of tiny, winged creatures convinced she is destined to be a hero–for Gwen to understand that home isn’t just a word. This new book by Jeanne Birdsall is absolutely worth the wait (tbh I needed the time, I’m still recovering from The Penderwicks in Spring), full of Birdsall’s signature heart and community love, with some very unique world building for the lore of the Lahdukan. Gwen is a delightful character to join on her journey of fate, discovery, and courage.

The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall, (List Price: $17.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9780525579045, August 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan Holub, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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A Spoonful of the Sea by Hyewon Yum

A quiet, warm tale of seaweed soup, of haenyeo divers, of birthdays, of mothers and daughters. Hyewon Yum’s story and illustrations are a celebration of motherhood and the deep connection between women and nature, all through the tradition of birthday miyeokguk. A Spoonful of the Sea is perfect to share on birthdays, between mothers and daughters, and amongst families for whom mealtime is the most important part of the day.

A Spoonful of the Sea by Hyewon Yum, (List Price: $18.99, Norton Young Readers, 9781324053699, September 2025)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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War Games by Alan Gratz

Loved this one. A heist, a girl, international characters and some insight into what was going on before the war. And I learned about Black Sunday!

War Games by Alan Gratz, (List Price: $18.99, Scholastic Press, 9781338736106, October 2025)

Reviewed by Wilson Robbins, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

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A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead

Amos McGee is back in this winter picture book! Amos is so excited about the first snow, so he knits all of his animal friends various accessories to prepare for the cold. A delightful and heartwarming read that I can’t wait to read to my kids for winters to come!

A Snow Day for Amos McGee by Philip C. Stead, (List Price: $19.99, Roaring Brook Press, 9781250324733, September 2025)

Reviewed by Claire McWhorter, River & Hill Books in Rome, Georgia

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