4 out of 5 stars
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The beginning of the Second World War terrified and devastated many people. Countless people lost their civil rights, homes, and family members. As we are all aware, the Second World War brought about one of history's worst tragedies, and the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party terrorized everyone, but notably the Jews.
Spinnaker is a charming love story with elements of suspense and espionage woven throughout. It is a historical fiction novel written by Sabato diVincenti. The story revolves around the lives of Katarina and Karl, who met during the Second World War.
Karl, a German resident of the United States, enlisted in the US Air Force in 1939. He experienced a horrific crash while on a reconnaissance operation in the German borderlands two years later. Katarina and her mother coincidentally find him a few days after the crash, and they take him to their farmhouse. They care for him until he recovers. Meanwhile, the Germans noticed the crash and knew it was an American aircraft, so they began searching the area for him. Now Katarina and Anna must hide him from the Germans to avoid execution. How will they manage to do that? What will happen if they are discovered to be concealing an American pilot? Pick up a copy of Spinnaker by Sabato diVincenti to learn more.
This book was quite a thrill in the beginning. I enjoyed Karl and Katarina's love story. There were good days and there were definitely bad days. When Karl crashed in Aurich, which happens to be in the northern part of Germany, I thought all hope was lost. The area was filled with so many German soldiers that it felt like an impossible mission to escape. Katarina and her mother were just in time to save him from the impending danger. However, staying in their home was a bigger threat because Katarina's older brother Wilhelm was a high-ranking SS officer, who was a ruthless nazi and a strong supporter of Hitler and the Third Reich. On many occasions, he randomly stormed into their home, trying to look for the American pilot. He ordered different search parties just to find him.
The author created a story that was progressive and not static. I liked how Karl and Katarina faced dangerous situations together and always thrived. After Karl's recovery, he joined the underground movement and gained access to infiltrate the German army in order to get classified information for the Allies. That was a very risky job, and I was always nervous when a situation arose in the camp. I admired the author's attention to detail when talking about the military. I even wondered if he was in the military because of how well he illustrated the missions and war-related issues.
However, there were a few things I did not like in this book. The first few chapters were engaging and suspenseful, but after a while, there was no excitement. There was no character development, and the conversations were so predictable and redundant. The characters were vaguely described, and this led me to wonder what they actually looked like. At some point, the conversations became repetitious. I could guess what a character would say next. Another thing I observed was how easy it was for Karl to get serious things done. I expected more tension and drama, but everything was just predictable.
After careful consideration, I would give this book a rating of four out of five stars. The reason I deducted a star is because of the dislikes I mentioned earlier and the fact that it was edited quite professionally.
I recommend this book to readers who enjoy espionage, war, and romance novels.
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Spinnaker
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