Title: Projekt 1065
Author: Alan Gratz
Genre: Espionage/WWII
Summary:
A thirteen year old, Michael O’Shaunessey, son of the Irish ambassador to Nazi Germany in
Berlin, has been enrolled in the Hitler youth program which almost all boys loyal to Nazi
Germany underwent. Michael’s family, however, was different from the others; their parents
were secretly spies for the allies, gathering information on any Nazi secrets they could. Through
a stroke of luck, a British bomber by the name of Simon Cohen crashes in Berlin and is found by
Michael and his family to be hidden away in their house. As it also happens, one of Michaels
classmates in the Hitler youth program happens to be the son of a Nazi aviation engineer whose
house contains vital designs of a killer Nazi plane in the works, simply known as Projekt 1065.
With help from Simon and his parents, it’s up to Michael to find a way to memorize these
designs and re-create them; an operation which could spark a turning point in the war, or leave
Michael and his family left to deal with the consequences of failure.
Opinion:
Projekt 1065 is an exciting and thrilling novel for young teens who are interested in the
war/espionage genre. I found my inspiration for reading this after reading another one of Alan
Gratz’s novels, Refugee. The most compelling aspect I found was how the story kept me engaged
through the constant level of high stakes. It always felt as though time was against the
protagonists and that the whole story was a build up to a final moment. One thing to note
however is how the language and narration can be quite simplistic at times for high school
students. Having read this book towards the end of middle school and looking back on it, I would
not recommend it for those in tenth grade and older.
Cover:
I did like the cover; it was simplistic and didn’t stand out much yet still represented a setting in
the book and main plot aspects while portraying the feeling of being outnumbered and “against
all odds” as found in the book.
Rating:
I ultimately give Projekt 1065 a five, primarily for those who are in the early teen/middle school
age range. It was a thrilling novel with many twists and turns and also provided the reader a solid
amount of information about how life was in Nazi Germany and how children were being raised
during that time.