War Games

Audrey and Akila Couloumbis' War Games describes a facet of World War II that has not been covered well enough (with the exception of Nicholas Gage's Eleni); the German occupation of Greece and the tremendous dedication of the Greek resistance. Petros and his older brother Zola are not much affected by the war, but once the Germans invade, they start to distribute flyers about what is going on. When a Nazi colonel is billeted in their house, they realize what danger they are in, especially since their brother, who fought in the resistance, is being hidden in the well.

While this is lacking the sort of battle front action that boys seem to prefer, this book (like Westall's The Machine Gunners) is rich in details about what it was like to be a teen boy in a war zone. Hearing about the deprivation, sacrifices, and fear of having one's home under attack is an equally important to boys. Making this more poignant is that this is based on the experiences of Akila Couloumbis, who, sadly, passed away about a year ago. How fortunate we are that his story was told before it was too late.