The Pirates of Cologne

The year is 1942, and thirteen-year-old Sebastian Jaeger has escaped from a Hitler Youth camp and returned to the city of Cologne. Five years earlier, his father, a Communist leader, was imprisoned, leaving Sebastian alone to care for his grandmother. Attracted by the possibility of true friendship, Sebastian joins a group of street kids called the Edelweiss Pirates who make a game out of their rebellion against the Hitler Youth and the Nazis. But their childish antics soon take a more serious and dangerous turn as they begin to work with the organized resistance. "The Pirates of Cologne hooked me from the first page! Dinah Mack has crafted a gripping, gorgeously researched story about World War II, told from the little-known perspective of a group of unsung heroes—teenage boys who escaped Hitler Youth to form their own resistance group. Sebastian’s tale is both an important historical document and a compelling coming-of-age novel about defiance, friendship, truth and the impossible choice between family loyalty and doing what’s right. An irresistible and timely read for all ages!" — Dori Ostermiller author of Outside the Ordinary World "The Pirates of Cologne is a book for our times: a gripping, inspirational story about youth and resistance that asks all the hard questions about what it means to do the right thing. What would you have done, if you’d been German under Hitler? And what will you do now? You won’t be able to finish this book without wondering." — Catherine Newman author of One Mixed Up Night and Catastrophic Happiness For more information on the Edelweiss Pirates go to www.thepiratesofcologne.com