When we first meet Anna, she is a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl who detests the politics that permeate German life. Her brother lives for the day he can join the army. Their mother is grateful for the business war has brought to her inn. As the war drags on, Anna and her brother become more polarized. She cannot allow him to discover her secret—that she’s hiding a Russian prisoner of war and bringing him food and clothing. Pausewang’s suspenseful account of World War II offers multiple perspectives on the realities of Ger man life during wartime and an emotionally charged, shocking ending. 2007 USBBY Outstanding International Books List. lmp

Originally published as Die Verräterin in German by Ravensburger Buchverlag Germany, in 1995. Translated by Rachel Ward.

An enemy is hiding in Anna's barn―a Russian prisoner of war on the run from the Nazis. Only Anna knows he's there. If she turns him in, he'll be shot.

Anna can't bring herself to cause another person's death―especially when she's questioning her own feelings about the Nazi regime. But if she hides him, she'll be a traitor to Germany, and for that, she could be shot.

Anna must evade discovery, knowing that even her own brother will turn her in if he finds out her secret. Can she save the soldier―and herself?