From the Bookshelf of La Crescent Public Library…

[close] Based on the author's family's own history, Enemies in the Orchard is a lyric novel for tweens (but adults would enjoy this too!) about the farmers who stayed behind during WWII, trying to make ends meet without their usual labor force. As a solution, the president decided to bring German prisoners of war to the states to help with the labor concerns. In exchange for fair treatment, food and board, and a small wage, the POWs worked in orchards, on farms, and in factories to help during wartime.

This book is written with 2 points of view, following the daughter of the orchard owners and one of the POWs. The author did a great job of introducing the complicated mix of feelings around this temporary workforce remedy, and particularly highlights the feelings of the young and new adults during this time as they learn about the real needs of employment, the processing of grief, the pain of mothers losing their sons, and from the POW's perspective, whether or not to believe the education he was instructed in under the Hitler Youth regime.

Highly recommend.

~ Jess