A Night Divided

Content Ratings

No Romance

There is no romantic content; the story is driven entirely by family loyalty and the urgency of escape.

Moderate Themes

The novel depicts life under oppressive surveillance, the psychological weight of informants and constant fear, the physical danger of crossing a militarized border, and the cost of freedom under authoritarianism.

Moderate Violence

Stasi surveillance, the danger of the tunnel collapse, guards who shoot escapers, and the ever-present threat of arrest and imprisonment create sustained and genuine tension.

Synopsis

The night the Berlin Wall goes up in 1961, twelve-year-old Gerta's family is divided—her father and brother stranded on the Western side—and when her father sends a coded message through a checkpoint guard's performance, she and her remaining brother begin digging an escape tunnel in secret. A gripping historical thriller that makes the tension of Cold War Berlin visceral and immediate for middle-grade readers.