The Spy with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Genre and Themes Young Adult / Historical Fantasy / World War II / LGBT+ / Family
Pages 368
Published October 2nd, 2018
Publisher Albert Whitman & Company
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Genre and Themes Young Adult / Historical Fantasy / World War II / LGBT+ / Family
Pages 368
Published October 2nd, 2018
Publisher Albert Whitman & Company
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository
Siblings Ilse and Wolf hide a deep secret in their blood: with it, they can work magic. And the government just found out.Blackmailed into service during World War II, Ilse lends her magic to America’s newest weapon, the atom bomb, while Wolf goes behind enemy lines to sabotage Germany’s nuclear program. It’s a dangerous mission, but if Hitler were to create the bomb first, the results would be catastrophic.
When Wolf’s plane is shot down, his entire mission is thrown into jeopardy. Wolf needs Ilse’s help to develop the magic that will keep him alive, but with a spy afoot in Ilse’s laboratory, the letters she sends to Wolf begin to look treasonous. Can Ilse prove her loyalty—and find a way to help her brother—before their time runs out? (Via Goodreads)
When Wolf’s plane is shot down, his entire mission is thrown into jeopardy. Wolf needs Ilse’s help to develop the magic that will keep him alive, but with a spy afoot in Ilse’s laboratory, the letters she sends to Wolf begin to look treasonous. Can Ilse prove her loyalty—and find a way to help her brother—before their time runs out? (Via Goodreads)
I can’t remember the last time I loved characters as much as I love Wolf and Ilse Klein. Ilse is a smart, bold, and occasionally reckless girl whose enthusiasm for knowledge is contagious. Wolf is a serious and soft boy who is constantly trying to keep up with and protect the people around him. From the very beginning, their fantastic sibling dynamic solidified their personalities and made me fall in love with them both. They bicker and banter in the exact way that siblings do. They don’t always understand each other, but they would die 100 times for each other. I worried that when Wolf and Ilse’s path’s split part way into the novel, their personalities wouldn’t shine as brightly on their own. Fortunately, both characters stood strong the whole way through and there were even more amazing characters for them to interact with.
I looked at the sea again. “Did it ever occur to you that I came here to be alone?”
“It did,” said Ilse. “But just because you want to be alone doesn’t mean you should be.”
“It did,” said Ilse. “But just because you want to be alone doesn’t mean you should be.”
The girls that Ilse works with on the atom bomb project were wonderful. Each one was brilliant and had a distinct and bold personality and they quickly form close-knit and inseparable bonds. I cannot tell you how refreshing it was to see such a diverse group of strong and brilliant women who cared for and trusted each other. They always had each other's backs even when they didn’t always understand each other. I loved each and every one of them. On Wolf’s side, he forms a strong friendship with Lily who quickly stole my entire heart. She was bold, brash, and beautiful. Every scene where she and Wolf interacted made me smile.
And those were just the platonic relationships! The romances in this book are some of my favorite I’ve read in awhile. Wolf is demisexual and has strong but complex feelings for his friend Max from the very beginning of the book. They are reunited when he is sent overseas and their ensuing romance is one of the sweetest, most earnest relationships I have ever read about. I don’t know how to describe just how shippable these two are so you’ll have to just read it for yourself to understand.
And those were just the platonic relationships! The romances in this book are some of my favorite I’ve read in awhile. Wolf is demisexual and has strong but complex feelings for his friend Max from the very beginning of the book. They are reunited when he is sent overseas and their ensuing romance is one of the sweetest, most earnest relationships I have ever read about. I don’t know how to describe just how shippable these two are so you’ll have to just read it for yourself to understand.
"Come on. I’ll buy you a drink.”
What I mean was, Come on. We’ll pretend like I’m staying. We’ll pretend like you didn’t leave. We’ll pretend like we’ll both make it through this war.
And when he said yes, I knew he heard everything I hadn’t said but wished I could.
What I mean was, Come on. We’ll pretend like I’m staying. We’ll pretend like you didn’t leave. We’ll pretend like we’ll both make it through this war.
And when he said yes, I knew he heard everything I hadn’t said but wished I could.
Ilse also had an incredible romantic plot on her side of the story. She has a romance with one of the other girls on her team and it was a romance that was just perfectly in character for her. On a personal note, I was just so happy to finally read a f/f romance that didn’t rely on sexual attraction as the basis for the romance. There is nothing wrong with sexual relationships, but I find they tend to dominate f/f stories. This was something I’ve been personally looking for and I was so happy to find it here.
Everything about this book was just so real. The characters, the emotions, the dialogue. These two teens are dragged into a war and they are constantly grappling with whether they actually want to be there. Do they want to help kill people if it also means saving lives? Can they find a way to do good in the midst of all of the violence? I loved the deep reflection that came out of these characters that I had grown to love.
Everything about this book was just so real. The characters, the emotions, the dialogue. These two teens are dragged into a war and they are constantly grappling with whether they actually want to be there. Do they want to help kill people if it also means saving lives? Can they find a way to do good in the midst of all of the violence? I loved the deep reflection that came out of these characters that I had grown to love.
Part of me was still hoping we wouldn’t have to be the ones to deliver the bomb. Wouldn’t have to be the ones to kill anyone. But war felt so binary now that I was here, not that I had had to make a choice between not participating and participating. If I didn’t help kill people, I was saving them. And if I was saving them, I wasn’t saving my brother. This was how it felt to be a contradiction. I wanted all of these thing, and I wanted us all to get through the war safely. And statistically, that wasn’t possible. I really wished I’d never learned statistics.
This book had me laughing and crying within pages of each other. The dialogue is witty and hilarious and the plot is exciting and heartbreaking. This is the kind of book that reminded me why I love reading. It reminded me why I try so many new books, wade through titles that just aren’t for me, and keep going until I can find a book like this. This is a book that I’m going to keep rereading forever. It is both a new favorite and a forever favorite. I can’t wait for everyone to read this book and love it just as much as I do.
“Get in, losers,” she called. “We’re blowing up Nazis.”
All quotes in this review are from an advance copy of the book and may be altered in the finished copy
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