A Night Divided
Description
Genre: Historical fiction
Target Grade Level: 6th to 8th grade
A Night Divided takes students on a journey into Germany, post World War II, in the mid 1960s. An air of uncertainty seems to hang over the country, like a thick layer of fog. At this point, Germany has not recovered from the war and is being split into sections. This act was initiated by Russia, so that Germany would never again become a threat to the rest of the world. The splitting of the country caused many Germans to contemplate fleeing to the West side of Germany, where there were less government restrictions, but this was highly discouraged. However many families did anyway, except Gerta's family. Gerta, a brave, passionate, blonde, dreams of fleeing with her family to the West, where her family will be free and happy. However over night her family of five shrinks to a family of three, when the Berlin Wall is built. Gerta is unsure of her future and whether she will ever see the rest of her family again. However, she remains strong for her family, while still always peering over that grey, cement wall.
Target Grade Level: 6th to 8th grade
A Night Divided takes students on a journey into Germany, post World War II, in the mid 1960s. An air of uncertainty seems to hang over the country, like a thick layer of fog. At this point, Germany has not recovered from the war and is being split into sections. This act was initiated by Russia, so that Germany would never again become a threat to the rest of the world. The splitting of the country caused many Germans to contemplate fleeing to the West side of Germany, where there were less government restrictions, but this was highly discouraged. However many families did anyway, except Gerta's family. Gerta, a brave, passionate, blonde, dreams of fleeing with her family to the West, where her family will be free and happy. However over night her family of five shrinks to a family of three, when the Berlin Wall is built. Gerta is unsure of her future and whether she will ever see the rest of her family again. However, she remains strong for her family, while still always peering over that grey, cement wall.
Author
The author of the novel A Night Divided is Jennifer A. Nielsen. Nielson can be classified as a contemporary author. A contemporary author is an author who composes texts during the current time period that one is in (Carnevale, Jennifer). Similarly, "contemporary literature is defined as literature written after World War II through the current day" (Carnevale, Jennifer). Nielsen is a great contemporary author because even though her texts are often written about adolescents who lived in the past, the characters are very relatable to adolescents of today. For instance, in her novel A Night Divided, the protagonist, Gerta, is living during a time of tension and fear in Germany. However, despite this, Gerta still gets excited about listening to her favorite music and in the novel she expresses how tired she is of eating cabbage and how she longs to eat ice cream, but at the moment ice cream is a scarce commodity. Such simple details can often help young readers connect with a text on a deeper level because they become attached to the characters, who are sometimes just like them.
Nielsen has composed at least seven books between 2010 and the present. Her first text was published in October of 2010 and is titled ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR, which would later become a part of a series known as The Underworld Chronicles. However, two of her texts The False Prince and The Runaway King seem to have contributed the most to YA literature. The False Prince is the first book and The Runaway King is the second book in a series Nielsen titled the Ascendance Trilogy. Both books have received awards of recognition linked to Nielsen. The False Prince is currently a finalist for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, is also the winner of the 2013 Middle Grade Fiction Award from the Association for Mormon Letters (AML), and it spent several weeks on the NYT Bestseller List or extended list, ranging in position from #4 to #14 (Nielsen, Jennifer). The Runaway King was given a starred review from Shelf Awareness (Nielsen, Jennifer). Nielsen is a unique YA writer in that the genre she typically writes, fantasy fiction, is very appealing to young readers. She often writes the fictional tales of brave and adventurous adolescents, who overcome times of adversity and hardship, while also dealing with the often difficult task of growing up. One especially unique element that Nielsen incorporates in her texts is historical events. Although her texts are fictional, Nielsen often references historical events, people, and places in her texts. This is a unique and necessary aspect of YA literature because students should not only be able to relate to a text and its characters, but they should also be learning about the world around them, whether it is past or present information. In this way, educators will be more receptive to incorporating YA literature in their classrooms, because the literature will help them to meet standards and relate content to students in a way that keeps them interested and engaged in learning.
Nielsen has composed at least seven books between 2010 and the present. Her first text was published in October of 2010 and is titled ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR, which would later become a part of a series known as The Underworld Chronicles. However, two of her texts The False Prince and The Runaway King seem to have contributed the most to YA literature. The False Prince is the first book and The Runaway King is the second book in a series Nielsen titled the Ascendance Trilogy. Both books have received awards of recognition linked to Nielsen. The False Prince is currently a finalist for the E.B. White Read Aloud Award, is also the winner of the 2013 Middle Grade Fiction Award from the Association for Mormon Letters (AML), and it spent several weeks on the NYT Bestseller List or extended list, ranging in position from #4 to #14 (Nielsen, Jennifer). The Runaway King was given a starred review from Shelf Awareness (Nielsen, Jennifer). Nielsen is a unique YA writer in that the genre she typically writes, fantasy fiction, is very appealing to young readers. She often writes the fictional tales of brave and adventurous adolescents, who overcome times of adversity and hardship, while also dealing with the often difficult task of growing up. One especially unique element that Nielsen incorporates in her texts is historical events. Although her texts are fictional, Nielsen often references historical events, people, and places in her texts. This is a unique and necessary aspect of YA literature because students should not only be able to relate to a text and its characters, but they should also be learning about the world around them, whether it is past or present information. In this way, educators will be more receptive to incorporating YA literature in their classrooms, because the literature will help them to meet standards and relate content to students in a way that keeps them interested and engaged in learning.
Sources
Carnevale, Jennifer. "What is Contemporary Literature?" Study.com, Study.com, n.d., https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-contemporary-literature-definition-writing-style.html.
Nielsen, Jennifer. "Award News Updates." Jennifer A. Nielsen Author, Wordpress, 11 April 2013, https://jennielsen.com/archives/743.