Winter's Bullet

by William Osborne

Overview

A cinematic, thrilling, fictionalized, World War II adventure set in Amsterdam about a lock-picking boy caught between pleasing the Nazis to survive and loyalty to his countrymen.

Tygo, a locksmith's son, is forced by the Nazis to loot abandoned Dutch homes for valuables. Known as "The Ferret," everyone despises him, but helping the Germans is the only way he can stay alive. When he discovers a girl with a diamond in a chimney, he refuses to give her up. Instead, he turns spy and uses the jewel to find out information about Hitler's ultimate weapon. He has one shot to stop the war. Can a ferret become a hero?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545853620
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/05/2016
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
Lexile:	760L (what's this?)
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

After graduating from Cambridge University, William Osborne became a lawyer, but his career took a sharp turn when he switched to screenwriting in Hollywood. He has worked on more than sixty movies, including The Mummy and Goldeneye. His first novel, Hitler's Secret, was longlisted for the prestigious Carnegie Medal in the United Kingdom. He lives in Norfolk, England.

Read an Excerpt

From WINTER'S BULLET:"Well, Frettchen?" Kruger called up."Nothing yet," replied Tygo. He reached up with his hand, and instead of brickwork, he found a ledge. He pushed with his legs, and his head and shoulders cleared the top of it. In the gloom he reckoned the chimney opened out into some sort of void, about the height and width of a coffin. Tygo leaned forward into it with his legs pressed on the chimney wall behind him. He pulled the flashlight from his trouser pocket and flicked it on.Two of the iciest blue eyes he had ever seen stared back at him out of a soot-blackened face. A girl.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Winter's Bullet:"[T]his intense, fast-paced novel reads like a movie script and will capture readers' attention." —Booklist"The fast-paced narrative is full of intrigue, danger, and many familiar historical figures. An intriguing alternative history lesson wrapped in a nail-biting adventure." —Kirkus ReviewsPraise for Hitler's Secret:"Osborne writes with an eye for the big screen, his story barreling forward with kinetic energy and punctuated by narrow escapes from wartime and natural hazards, but he never loses sight of his main characters' inner workings." — Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
Gr 6–8—With the war almost over, 15-year-old Tygo is trapped between two opposing forces: the Nazis, with whom he collaborates as a matter of survival, and the Dutch Resistance, who seemingly want him for the price on his head. Oberst Kruger, head of the Gestapo's "Plunder Squad" and Tygo's commanding officer, is desperately searching for an invaluably rare red diamond, with which he will secure his safe passage and escape to Argentina. As they search an abandoned villa where the jewel is believed to be concealed, Tygo discovers a girl hiding out, with ties to the coveted gem. Meanwhile, with the Allied Liberation fast approaching, Hitler tries his last-ditch effort at winning the war—a top-secret weapon capable of destroying New York City that brings everything to an explosive head. Osborne's writing reads more like a Hollywood blockbuster film than a historical novel. While he creates an interesting blend of both historical figures and fictitious characters, they are, with slight exception in the protagonist, one-dimensional at best. The author manages to portray a few historical events but with a heavily fictitious slant that is both far-fetched and exaggerated. Indeed, the action never stops, but then neither does the sensationalism. Even Argentina's involvement and Germany's nuclear capabilities, aspects of World War II seldom represented in children's fiction, are not enough to save this title. VERDICT An over-the-top action movie rendition of World War II disguised as a novel for young people.-—Rebecca Gueorguiev, New York Public Library

School Library Journal

2015-09-21
Hitler plans to unleash his greatest weapon in a last-ditch effort to win World War II. Millions will die unless a few are willing to risk their lives. It is the winter of 1945. For most of the world, the war is drawing to a close, but much of the Netherlands is still under Nazi control. Fifteen-year-old Tygo Winter is serving as the Nazi Plunder Squad's locksmith, giving them access to the treasures hidden in the homes of Amsterdam. Unfortunately, while his service keeps him safe from the Nazis, it makes him a prime target for the Verzet—the Resistance. Hungry, cold, and fearful, Tygo can barely think beyond his next meal. But while looting yet another wealthy home, he stumbles upon Willa, who challenges him to hope for more than mere survival. As he did in Hitler's Secret (2013), Osborne once again revisits the what ifs that surround World War II, focusing on the mysteries of the final days of the Nazi occupation in Europe. The fast-paced narrative is full of intrigue, danger, and many familiar historical figures. Tygo is deftly crafted. While mostly noble and kind, he is also suitably frightened and focused on self-preservation. An intriguing alternative history lesson wrapped in a nail-biting adventure. (Historical fiction. 12-14)

Kirkus Reviews