Young Evie Harris is fighting for her dream in the Olympics of 1936. But there’s more than a sports competition going on in Hitler’s Berlin. And Evie finds herself being pulled into ugly secrets and a mysterious plot.
Young Evie Harris is fighting for her dream in the Olympics of 1936. But there’s more than a sports competition going on in Hitler’s Berlin. And Evie finds herself being pulled into ugly secrets and a mysterious plot.
Thirteen-year-old Evie Harris is feeling good about the future. She’s going to Germany to compete in the Summer Olympics alongside her American teammates, like track star Jesse Owens.
True, Evie doesn’t have many friends among her fellow Olympians, since she’s from California and the other female gymnasts all hail from the East Coast. She’ll be on her own to fight for a slot in the finals.
But none of that really matters. For Evie is determined to win a gold medal in gymnastics. And if she can do that, if she can give her all and reach that pinnacle, then her problems will be solved.
You see, Evie’s family is struggling. They lost everything in the dust storms in Oklahoma and had to move to California, where they’re barely getting by. But Evie is convinced that she can parlay a gold medal and media attention into something big.
After all, there have been a number of Hollywood stars who got their start from an Olympic win. And Evie is bright, athletically gifted and relatively attractive, if she must say so herself. So, she’s sure she can make it happen.
But …
Berlin has a strange atmosphere about it. Germany’s bombastic leader, Adolf Hitler, watches over everything from his booth high above the stadium. And there’s something uncomfortable lurking behind all the Olympic fanfare: a sense of fear. There are Nazi soldiers and police everywhere.
And then on top of all that, Evie gets a mysterious note slipped under her door in the athletic dormitories. If you want to take home the gold, come alone to the Maiden Bridge, it says. Tell no one.
Evie isn’t sure what this strange note means. But if it’s something or someone who’s trying to impact her future, her dreams, she’ll face them head on. Even if that means navigating Berlin’s darkest corners and hidden passageways.
None.
As the Olympic games proceed, Evie begins to recognize the Nazi ideology—including antisemitism and racism—that permeates the games. In fact, Evie sees that Hitler intends to use the games to promote his beliefs.
Though persecution of Jews is a prominent part of this story, none of the Jewish individuals we meet address their faith.
We don’t see a lot of the adults associated with the American Olympic team—and when we do, it’s generally not in a positive light. For instance, Avery Brundage, the head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, demands that a female athlete apologize after she was publicly manhandled by a German official. In like manner, other adults on the U.S. team simply want to avoid making any political waves.
Part of the story focuses on a small group of individuals who approach Evie with a plot to steal a great deal of money from a massive underground bank vault. Soloman Monday is the leader of that group who reveals himself to be untrustworthy and deceptive.
Karl, a German weightlifting Olympian, is another member of the group. But he is kind and caring. He cheers Evie on in her competition and encourages her to make choices that are right for her. Ursula is the last member of the group. She’s a French swimmer who lived in Germany and was persecuted because her parents are an interracial couple. She and Evie become good friends.
Mary Brooks is another prominent person in Evie’s life. The two young women become friends during the sea journey from New York to Berlin. In fact, Mary is sort of Evie’s inspiration since she was able to become an actress after winning a gold medal in the equestrian jump during the previous Olympic Games. (Though, that story element is a stretch from reality. Only men competed in equestrian events in 1936.)
We learn that Ursula’s father was a French African man who was part of a group that the German government labeled as “Rhineland B–tards.” In fact, because of her Black father and white German mother, Ursula was considered “hereditarily diseased.” And Nazi authorities forced her to be sterilized.
For a number of reasons, including abuse at the hands of Nazi soldiers, Evie decides to join in the bank robbery. It’s a difficult heist of a secret underground vault that is rife with dangers—ranging from electrified elevator shafts to a 150-foot dive to facing armed guards and a tank. That’s why highly skilled athletes are recruited.
Solomon Monday carries a gun, and Ursula hides several knives within her clothing. Karl gets knocked unconscious. And German guards shoot at Evie and her teammates (no one is injured). Evie falls to the ground many times while training.
We learn about the abuse and persecution of Jewish people—including the fact that many of them had their possessions taken by Nazi soldiers. We also hear some prejudice toward German youths on account of the Nazi regime.
Evie tells a story about the devastating dust storms that wiped out farms and families in Oklahoma. She talks about her younger brother’s tortured, coughing death as her family tried to make it to safety.
A policeman lights up a cigarette.
When pigeons are released during the games in conjunction with gunshots, Evie tells us: “The gunshots were scaring the crap out of the birds: Literally.” There are other bits of toilet humor in the story mix, including mentions of “stepping in a cow patty” and jokes about Hitler’s passed gas and “secret underpants.”
Monday’s team steals a car, a van and some camera equipment during their robbery.
Karl tells Evie that he is gay. His boyfriend was sent to a prison camp after his sexuality was discovered. Karl says that German society was much more tolerant of gay people before the Nazis took power.
Were there any elements of this historically based book that surprised you?
This story takes place just before Nazi Germany launched its foreign military attacks. Why do you think so much of the world was blind to what was coming? In fact, why do you think some people wanted to ignore the hateful actions they saw around them? Do we still do that today?
Scripture calls believers to be wise, alert and discerning, urging us to understand the times and recognize evil. But the Bible’s warnings—such as what we read in Ephesians 5:15-17 and 1 Peter 5:8—predominantly focus on being prepared spiritually for difficult times. Why is our spiritual preparation so important to God?
Are spiritual things important to you? How do you stay prepared for good and bad things in life? Does prayer make a difference?
War Games is obviously a work of fiction. But it uses real-world settings and characters to craft an inviting story of friendship and unity that could have happened, while also compelling young readers to think about the very real hatred and prejudice that infected Germany and much of the world in 1936.
That said, this is sometimes an emotionally painful tale. There are perilous moments of violence in the story mix and depictions of Nazi discrimination against Jewish, Black and LGBT individuals.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.
