by Alan Gratz
First published 2025
Evie never imagined gymnastics would carry her from Oklahoma's dust storms to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Her family lost everything in the Dust Bowl, and now she finds herself competing alongside legends like Jesse Owens in Nazi Germany. The glittering spectacle masks a darker reality. Hitler's regime controls every detail, and Evie discovers the brutal persecution of Jewish people beneath the Olympic fanfare. A mysterious criminal mastermind recruits Evie and two fellow athletes for an audacious heist targeting the Nazis themselves. Each conspirator harbors their own reasons for hating the regime. Complicating matters, Heinz, her assigned Youth Services Host, shadows her every move while hiding dangerous secrets of his own. As Evie witnesses the regime's true nature, she faces an impossible choice. She can focus on her athletic dreams or risk everything to strike back against tyranny. The Olympics become a battleground where Evie must decide what matters most.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, adventure, sports
Vibes: emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Berlin, Oklahoma
Period: 1936
368 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: violence