BERLINERS

(Young Adult, Knopf, 2022)

A riveting story about the rivalry between two brothers living on opposite sides of the Berlin wall during its construction in the 1960s, and how their complicated legacy and dreams of greatness will determine their ultimate fate.

A city divided. A family fractured. Two brothers caught between past and present.
Berlin, 1961. Rudi Möser-Fleischmann is an aspiring photographer with dreams of greatness, but he can't hold a candle to his talented, charismatic twin brother Peter, an ambitious actor. With the sudden divorce of their parents, the brothers find themselves living in different sectors of a divided Berlin; the postwar partition strangely mirroring their broken family. But one night, as the city sleeps, the Berlin Wall is hurriedly built, dividing society further, and Rudi and Peter are forced to choose between playing by the rules and taking their dreams underground. That is, until the truth about their family history and the growing cracks in their relationship threaten to split them apart for good.

From award-winning author-illustrator Vesper Stamper comes a stark look at how resentment and denial can strain the bonds of brotherhood to the breaking point.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Book

A Horn Book Best of 2022 “Fanfare” Book

WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING…

⭐️ “An engrossing look at the emerging new world order after World War II…”
—Horn Book, starred review

“the noir mood immersing readers…This is an ambitious work with a strong sense of justice…will need a place on the shelf for zealous teen readers whose favorite ­authors include Julie Berry and Ruta Sepetys.”
—School Library Journal

“Stamper's depiction of East Germany during the rise of the Berlin Wall is grim and gritty, but her portrayal of propaganda and how teens can easily fall prey to this kind of rhetoric is spot on, as is her characterization of the consequences suffered by those who would speak against the regime…”
—Booklist

“…somber-toned artwork enhance the gloomy ambience of life in a divided Germany in this ambitious portrayal of one family’s personal suffering…”
—Publishers Weekly

“…evokes the setting with an immersive clarity, featuring the televised trial of Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem and…contemporary musicians.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books