This book is about a boy and a girl (main characters). Their names are Beth Lambert and Philip Hall. Beth likes Philip and she wants to find out if Philip really likes her but he won't say anything . Philip beats her in classwork , conniving and just about anything . The story also talks about Beth wanting to go to Philip's birthday but she found out that she can't because he is inviting a lot of boys and he doesn't want to get embarrassed or anything. I liked this book because... I like the relationships between Philp and Beth. I think that you might even like this book because it talks about interesting things like relationships and liking people.

Beth Lambert is a lot like me, and I wish that she was here so that she could be my best friend. I mean she's so much fun to be with, and sometimes I don't like Philip Hall at all. This book was the most fun book I have ever read. I wrote Bette Greene a letter on her website bettegreene.com and she wrote me back. I showed the letter to my classs.

After reading this I found this book was to be classified under "CAN'T PUT DOWN" catagory.This book is a personal favorite of mine.Bette Green deffenitly has a talent for writting juvinile books.The way she places every verb,ajective and noun is amazing,for you feel that you are standing presicilly next to Beth,her friends,Phill and his friends.I will now end my review with one of my favorite paragraphs: 'Ester followed me out on the porch,where there was a rock the size of a crow's nest and sticking to this rock was a sheet of wide-lined paper.I pulled off the paper,which had been stuck on with a wad of gum, and read aloud: 'Dear Pretty Pennies, You ain't pretty! You ain't pennies! And you ain't never going to beat us neither! President Phillip Hall Bravest of all the brave Tiger Hunters and Lt. Gorden Jennings(also Brave) P.S Why wait for the church picnic to relay race? Meet us at the schoolyard on Saturday and we'll win!'

A thought of a boring war story comes to mind when looking at the cover and title of Summer of My German Soldier. But as the story precedes the reader will notice more about a girl in need of attention. Danger, adventure, love and suspense follow in this book. You will uncover the secrets of a lonely girl who finds something more outside and in.
Living in a small town, Patricia Bergen doesn't have many friends and her parents physically and emotionally abuse her. Her black maid keeps her going through words of wisdom and helping her through hard times. Then one day, while working at her father's store, German soldiers from a prison camp come into buy sun hats. She notices one man that wonders about the store looking at many objects and she decided to help him. The man is named Anton and fortunately speaks English.
Later on, trying to escape, Patricia catches Anton running away only to find herself in love. For once she has a friend. When he leaves, a gift still lies with her of his true self. She counts the days of him being gone but realizes it is forever.
This story is full of many wonders. To read it, finding yourself is what you'll receive. Have confidence and belief. Enjoy this tale of the past seeking the future.

The book " Summer of My German Solider" is a great book. I am 10 years old and had to read this book for an english project. I feel this is a good book to read because it shows how teenagers deal or overcome with the problems they face in life. Most think because it is about WWII that it would be relly borrrringg!!! but it isn't.Then again some people don't like love stories either. I think this book is a great book to read because it is funny, mysterious, exciting, and there are a few facts in it.
The story is about a girl named Patricia ( Patty) who is 12 years old.Her family is really mean to her and they don't show any appreciation. Then one day while she is working in a family store she helps a boy or a POW/ Nazi then they start to talk. They get into a conversation and patty doesn't think he is bad, he can speek great english. That was when her live started to change.
The next time she say him was trying to hitch a train ride. HE ESCAPED from jail!!! Her live wasn't over. She hides him from her family, and freinds. She doesn't tell anyone that she is hidding him. She gives him food and water to. Then the secret comes out!!!
You should pick up the book summer of my german solider and start reading it today. It sad, happy,mysterious, adventures, and factual. I would rate it a 9.9999 star rating out of 10.
(10 the best). I love this book !! so you should love it toooo

During World War II, a group of German soldiers are transferred to Jenkinsville, Arkansas, where a 12-year-old Jewish girl, Patricia Ann ("Patty") Bergen, lives with her younger sister Sharon, abusive parents, and her only loyal friend, Ruth Hughes, the family's black housekeeper. Patty meets her first German while helping out in her family's general store. The POWs are brought into the store for hats, and Patty dutifully--and out of curiousity--approaches the only dark-haired, English-speaking soldier in the group: Frederick Anton Reiker. He is much older than Patty (22-years-old), but he treats her like an equal. From that first meeting, Patty's opinions of Germans greatly changes, and she can't help but be captivated by him.

So, when she sees him running near her house, having just escaped the prison camp, Patty insists that he stay in her family's deserted garage for as long as he needs to, which is only for a few days. I had expected Patty and Anton's relationship to last a little longer (and I'm certain Patty wished the same thing), but it only takes up about one-third of the book. The remaining two-thirds is Patty's account of her torturous life, of being beaten and then ignored by her hot-tempered father, criticized constantly by her beautiful mother, and other everyday miseries involving her narrow-minded neighbors.

This book is quite depressing but realistic. I often wondered how--and if--Patty would ever survive her life, but I suppose that is the point of this story: to find hope despite the obstacles. Patty discovered that by befriending Anton, and he had enough of an impact on her to last the rest of her life.

My sister recommended this book to me years ago, and I finally got around to reading it just recently. I'm not sure why I didn't start it sooner, because it was very good. I would certainly recommend it to others (age 12 and up). The only complaint I have about the book (which is quite petty, really) is the book cover. Anton's description in the book doesn't match his appearance on the front cover. He supposedly has black hair, not dirty blonde hair. Maybe it was to exaggerate the blonde-hair-blue-eyed German stereotype. Who knows.

Anyway, following the book, in 1978, a TV movie was made of Summer of My German Soldier (which I haven't seen, so I can't
comment on it) and a sequel was written, called Morning Is a Long Time Coming (which I haven't read yet either, but intend to).

Bette Greene's "The Drowning of Stephan Jones" is a well-researched and well-written book about a timely issue. It is a novel based upon a series of real-life events, the perpetrators and victims of which Greene spoke to before writing. The novel explores the hatred of gays often propagated by those who are supposed to be our "moral leaders". Andy and his friends abuse, belittle, and humiliate Stephan Jones and Frank Montgomery throughout the book, and, ultimately, the wind up killing Stephan. There is a valuable lesson to be learned from this work, which will undoubtedly raise numerous questions in the reader's mind. Apparently, Mrs. Greene is willing to answer her readers' questions though, as she has established a website with the intention of informing her readers about her books and life. You can visit it, and email her from bettegreene.com.

I really liked the Book The Drowning Of Stephan Jones. The reason why I liked the book is because it gave a lot of detail on how people feel about people who are gay.Today we see that people who will label gays with serotypes and will call people who are gay really bad names. The people who live in big cities today are less discriminative towards the "person" who is gay, but still hostile towards the group which is gay. People in big cities, today don't send prejudice letters to person who is gay, but perform hate crimes. They also don't go around and throw steaming hot pizza in their faces, like Andy did to Stephan in the book. If you live in a small town like, Stephan did in the book or in real life, I would have to say that the treatment of people who are gay is very different. In the book we see that Andy and his group of friends send really perjudice letters to Stephan and Frank. They also call Frank and Stephan really bad names. Today , if you live in a smaller city and people found out that you were gay that they would write bad notes to you. People would also write mean names on your locker at school or they would write bad names on your car or they may try to get you kicked out of the city. In the book we see that the people in the book try to protest against people who are gay, by telling them to leave the town, so that they don't spread their "evil" thoughts.

Andy Harris is the ultimate Christian young man. He quotes scripture, attends church religiously, leads Bible study but is that really him. Carla Wayland, his girlfriend, is totally in love with him and doesn't see or ignores his quirks. His ultimate quirk is his hatred of all homosexuals, especially the gay couple - Frank Montgomery and Stephan Jones. What drives him? Does Carla's mother - Judith - the town outcast because she stands up for her beliefs - have anything to do with it? This is a remarkable tale of what hatred does to people - to those who hate and to those who are hated. Greene develops the characters so true to life, you'll feel you are watching a movie. I highly recommend this book.

Patty Bergen returns in the sequel to Summer of my German Soldier as an eighteen-year-old. She leaves her mentally and physically abusive family behind to find the parent's of her dead "Nazi friend." Before she goes to find her dead friend's parents, she goes to France where she falls in love with a man named Roger. Suddenly she leaves Roger to go on her hunt. I liked the first book better because it has more actions and emotions than this one.

Patty Bergen is off on an adventure to find Anton's mother. Anton is a Germany POW killed by Americans. Patty has to travel to Germany to find Anton's family. She does this by using the money her grandparents gave her for college.

On her way to Germany Patty is sidetracked by Roger. Patty and Roger ended up falling in love. A few more things sidetrack Patty before she has a chance to go to Germany. Then Patty decides to go to Germany. To see what happens read Morning is a Long Time Coming By Bette Greene. * I think you should read the book Summer of My German Solider before you read this book. It may help you understand the book better.*

The sequel to Summer of My German Soldier, is just as exciting. Patty Bergen follows through with her plan to go to Germany to find her "real mother", which is the mother of the German soldier, Anton, whom she hid during World War II. Along her trip, she meets a man named Roger. They take a liking to each other and soon become close friends. While on her tour of Paris, she suddenly becomes ill. She soon learns that a peptic ulcer has been found in her stomach. After overcoming many obstacles, she looks for Anton's mother. When she reaches the house she soon learns something veru surprising! For readers who like love stories and stories of hope, this is the book you've been waiting to read!