DANGEROUS SECRETS: A YOUNG GIRL'S TRAVAILS UNDER THE NAZIS (ISBN 1410723836)

amazing, incredible, cherishing and one of my favorites!!!:
First I have to say that 5 stars is not enough. this book is way beyond 5 stars! Anyway, I just immediately fell in love with it! It's a heart-gripping novel, that's easy to fall in love with. The characters really seem to fit the story. It's easy to love Nikki and her life seems so somber. First she was Papa's favorite, then dejects her, for Chris. I'm so amazed that anyone could feel so much emotion. Now it was really tragic when Nikki has to leave the life she's known behind her. She doesn't know what to expect and that is what makes her scared. I cannot imagine anyone having to leave their family, but I suppose families had to in this period of time. Overall, I really enjoyed this book! this has been the best book I have read so far, and it will always be one of my favorites!!!

Review of DANGEROUS SECRETS:
It is rare to find a fiction story that deeply involves the reader while offering important historical content for young people. Although most stories about how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party became so powerful are written for adults, the young adult audience needs to know how some people had the courage to try and oppose the horror of what happened in Germany only sixty years ago. When a person is beginning to make critical life choices, having role models to help understand whether to follow a leader blindly, or try to hold onto one's respect for people even when they have different beliefs is very valuable. This book not only provides those role models, but lets the reader see examples of the way a person thinks through the problems they are confronting. One can experience the drama of the struggle inside a person's mind to find answers to what must have been an extraordinary time in human history. Because depending on the way people thought about each other, the result could be life or death. With so much violence in the world today, people are confronted with similar choices; to be the kind of person who wants to control others or a person who will choose to respect life and allow different beliefs. As a psychologist I believe this book offers the kind of characters that can help others learn about the inner life of people who choose to love life, or to destroy it. It would also make a great movie, taking advantage of the beauty of the scenery in Bavaria as a background for the human struggle to keep their spirit in dangerous times. Kara Bennett, Ph.D.

Dangerous Secrets: A Young Girl's Travails Under the Nazis:
Erna Holyer's fifteenth novel. The author also penned the popular nonfiction Self Help for Writers: Winners Show You How, used by instructors and read by professional and novice writers. Dangerous Secrets questions the loyalty of friends and the travesty an elected dictator generates. The backdrop is stunning 1932 Bavaria, Germany, where blonde heroine Nikki comes of age admidst the Nazis' momentum and Hitler's rise to power. Nikki falls in love with Heinz, a member of the party who is unaware of her Jewish ancestry. Nikki questions the life and death consequences of her actions. Holyer, a skillful writer and eyewitness to the events, weaves a suspenseful tale of a country in turmoil, blending intrigue and terror throught Nikki's impending knowedlge that her world is no longer safe. Dangerous Secrets should be required reading for young people to understand the historic significance, and recommended for adults weary of the brutality other novels contain of this time period.

A look at Bavarian life just as Hitler took over:
A facinating tale of a young girl's life in a country town just before the coming of the Nazi takeover. The background is made real. I can hear the cow bells and smell the alpine flowers! The feelings and desires of the youth of that time are the same as those of today---only the place and characters change. We follow the story and begin to know each individual personally. We 'root' for the hero. It's a good look at history. What happened there at that period could repeat itself again in the future in another place and time.