The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin

by Kip Wilson

Overview

A fascinating historical novel about Hilde, an orphan who experiences Berlin on the cusp of World War II as she discovers her own voice and sexuality, ultimately finding a family when she gets a job at a gay cabaret, by award-winning author Kip Wilson.

On her eighteenth birthday, Hilde leaves her orphanage in 1930s Berlin, and heads out into the world to discover her place in it. But finding a job is hard, at least until she stumbles into Café Lila, a vibrant cabaret full of expressive customers. Rosa, one of the club’s waitresses and performers, immediately takes Hilde under her wing. As the café denizens slowly embrace Hilde, and she embraces them in turn, she discovers her voice and her own blossoming feelings for Rosa. 

But Berlin is in turmoil. Between the elections, protests in the streets, worsening antisemitism and anti-homosexual sentiment, and the beginning seeds of unrest in Café Lila itself, Hilde will have to decide what’s best for her future . . . and what it means to love a place on the cusp of war. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780358448907
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	03/29/2022
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	178,679
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kip Wilson is the author of White Rose, which won the Malka Penn Award for Human Rights in Children’s Literature, and the Poetry Editor of the Young Adult Review Network. She has a Ph.D. in German Literature. She is also the winner of the PEN/New England Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award and her work has appeared in several children's literary magazines. She lives in Boston, MA. Find her online at www.kipwilsonwrites.com, on Twitter @kiperoo, and on Instagram @kipwilsonwrites.

Editorial Reviews

01/10/2022

Loss and discovery twine throughout Wilson’s (White Rose) bittersweet historical novel, set in 1932 Berlin. Written in economical free verse, the story is narrated by Hilde, a cued-white Catholic 18-year-old who gains a warm and welcoming found family when she leaves the orphanage where she was raised, snapping up the opportunity to work as a waitress at Café Lila, a nightclub in Schöneberg, the city’s LGBTQ hub. A gifted singer, Hilde dreams of overcoming her stage fright to perform. She also dreams of moving from friendship to romance with lovely, laughing Rosa—a Jewish girl, also cued white, who serves drinks and performs at Café Lila, and has opened her home to Hilde. Meanwhile, Nazi brownshirts appear first as a distant threat and then develop into a frightening, violent force. While Hilde’s predictable internal growth is disarmingly joyous, it’s the era’s politics—and their connection to the present day—that give the Cabaret-tinged story its urgent momentum. Readers eager to learn more about queer life in the Weimar era will find plenty of avenues to explore in the densely packed author’s note. Ages 12–up. Agent: Roseanne Wells, Jennifer De Chiara Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for White Rose: "Wilson does an exceptional job revealing Sophie’s inner thoughts and feelings....simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking."

Horn Book Magazine

Praise for White Rose: ★ "[M]oving and inspiring....this is a model of well-researched and riveting historical fiction." 

Booklist (starred review)

"This gorgeous book will put your heart in your throat and tears in your eyes, and keep you rooting for its heroines against all the odds."

Sherri L. Smith

"Both heart-wrenching and inspiring, Sophie Scholl's story, as retold by Kip Wilson in White Rose, is a stunning reminder to stand against evil, even when you stand alone. This is the kind of book that sticks in your heart long after you've finished. An incredible story of heroism incredibly told." 

Mackenzi Lee

This gorgeous book will put your heart in your throat and tears in your eyes, and keep you rooting for its heroines against all the odds.” —Sherri L. Smith, author of Flygirl and The Blossom and the Firefly
 

From the Publisher

The language is as shiningly beautiful as the leading characters, Hilde and Rosa, and an absolute pleasure to read. A brilliant addition to the canon of LGBTQ young adult literature.

The Historical Novels Review

"This poignant verse novel packs its punches, allowing readers to feel the emotional highs and lows of the girl’s journey as she clings to a fraying thread of hope through impossibly hard times. Much like in Wilson’s White Rose, the historical setting is exquisitely done, weaving in references to popular culture...and providing well-researched insights into the relative freedoms queer people experienced during the Weimar Republic. Hilde is impressively relatable to a modern audience...queer teens may glean comfort in her Café Lila found family—but everyone could stand to gain from Hilde’s resilience against the odds in an uncertain world."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review)

"This first-person novel in verse moves along briskly, judiciously weaving in bits of Hilde's past and historical events. Hilde is a relatable, accessible protagonist, and readers will respond to her feelings of being an outsider, celebrate her hard-won successes, and reel from a few gut-punching betrayals. Ultimately hopeful, this is a story of growth and affirmation set in an intriguing time and place."

Booklist

"This first-person novel in verse moves along briskly, judiciously weaving in bits of Hilde's past and historical events. Hilde is a relatable, accessible protagonist, and readers will respond to her feelings of being an outsider, celebrate her hard-won successes, and reel from a few gut-punching betrayals. Ultimately hopeful, this is a story of growth and affirmation set in an intriguing time and place."

Booklist

★ 03/01/2022

Gr 9 Up—In this historical novel in verse, 18-year-old Hilde moves out of her Berlin orphanage in 1932 in search of a home to call her own. Struggling to find her footing in the turbulent Weimar Republic, she fortuitously wanders into Café Lila, an LGBT-friendly club in the neighborhood of Charlottenburg. Here she finds a new job as well as an accepting adoptive family. Rosa, a waitress and singer who is Jewish, takes Hilde under her wing and provides the shelter and companionship Hilde so desperately needs. Through her work at Café Lila, Hilde finds the courage to be herself, a queer woman, both onstage and off. Just as Hilde is finally finding her footing, the political climate in Berlin reaches a tipping point with the fateful election of 1932. Suddenly everything Hilde has come to know and cherish—her home with Rosa, their blossoming love, and Café Lila's liberated atmosphere—hangs in the balance. Wilson expertly uses short, poetic chapters to set the tone of the novel. While the prose is minimalist, it shines with evocative descriptions, poignant emotions, and authentic German phrases (clear in context and found in the glossary). Wilson crafts a beautiful coming-of-age story that captures the joy of young independence against a backdrop of fear and foreboding on the precipice of the Third Reich. The story, as well as the author's note and extensive resource list, highlights the positive, liberated experience of queer people in Weimar-era Berlin before its abrupt and devastating end. VERDICT An essential purchase for YA collections; recommend to fans of Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo.—Mary Kamela

School Library Journal

★ 2022-01-11
“I shiver. / How much has changed / in a week.” And we all shivered with her.

Recounting the months before Hitler’s rise to power in 1932, Catholic orphan Hilde, an 18-year-old resident of Berlin, documents her life in a series of free-verse poems. Her story begins as she leaves the orphanage and follows her through a brief period of homelessness and unemployment before she finds the Café Lila, a queer nightclub that ultimately provides employment, security, and a sense of community previously missing from Hilde’s life. It also brings her in contact with gorgeous Rosa, a Jewish performer and waitress with a vivacious attitude who quickly captures Hilde’s heart. Astute readers will understand what horrible fates await many of the characters but will be captivated by the events that Hilde observes, many of which still echo today. Book clubs will find a lot to discuss in Hilde’s story, and educators won’t need to work hard to generate conversations about equality, authoritarianism, and the role of minorities in democracy. The free-form verse is inviting and masterfully captures the mood and times in sparse poetry, making this work equally appealing for pleasure reading. Educators and history buffs will appreciate the thorough and informative backmatter, which includes selected sources in both English and German, a glossary of terms, and an author’s note that provides valuable context and recommends more information about the time period.

Wunderbar! (Verse historical fiction. 12-adult)

Kirkus Reviews