2016
WISE Score
Amazon
Mission Impossible meets Nazi Germany—a heart-pounding spy story that makes history feel like a ticking time bomb.
4.8
4.8View →Our reviews and ratings are 100% unbiased, but as an Amazon Associate, Screenwise earns an affiliate fee if you buy a book or game by clicking one of our links. We don't get any credit if you just Google it instead :)
Alan Gratz is basically the gold standard for modern middle-grade historical fiction. He doesn't write 'boring' books.
Projekt 1065 is a fantastic pick because it respects the reader's intelligence. It doesn't sugarcoat the reality of 1943 Germany, but it also doesn't feel like a lecture. If your kid thinks history is just a list of dead guys, this book will prove them wrong. It’s intense, smart, and has a cinematic feel that works for the modern attention span.
Perfect for the 11-14 crowd. It’s got enough action for the 'Call of Duty' kids but enough depth for the history buffs. Adults who like fast-paced YA will also find it a quick, engaging read.
The protagonist, Michael, maintains a strong moral compass despite being surrounded by the toxicity of Nazi ideology. It’s not 'clean' in a traditional sense—there are book burnings and brutal peer pressure—but the emotional core is about resisting evil.
Alan Gratz turns historical facts into a high-stakes spy thriller. It encourages kids to look at history through a lens of active participation and problem-solving rather than just dry dates and names.
It’s a book about Nazis, so expect violence, bullying, and intense psychological pressure. It’s safe for the intended middle-school audience, but younger or more sensitive kids might find the 'horrific games' of the Hitler Youth disturbing.
This is top-tier historical fiction. It covers Irish neutrality, the mechanics of Nazi indoctrination, and the ethical weight of espionage. It forces readers to think about what they would do in an impossible situation.
If you’ve struggled to get a middle-schooler to pick up a book that doesn't have a dragon or a diary on the cover, Alan Gratz is your secret weapon. He writes historical fiction with the throttle wide open. Projekt 1065 doesn't spend fifty pages describing the architecture of Berlin; it drops you into the shoes of a kid who has to hide his Irish accent, join the Hitler Youth, and pretend to cheer while books burn.
The book works because it functions like a thriller first and a history lesson second. Michael O'Shaunessey is a "mole" in the literal sense, and the tension of him being discovered is constant. It’s the kind of read where chapters end on cliffhangers that actually work, making it a great pick for kids who usually prefer the fast-twitch dopamine of a video game over a slow-burn novel.
The most interesting friction here isn't just "spies vs. Nazis." It’s the internal cost of Michael’s mission. To stay undercover and gain access to the secret plans for Projekt 1065 (a high-tech plane), Michael has to be a "good" Nazi. That means he can't just stand in the back; he has to participate in the bullying, the indoctrination, and the violence.
This is where the book gets gritty. It asks a heavy question: How many "bad" things are you allowed to do in service of a "good" cause? Michael struggles with the fact that to save the world, he might have to sacrifice his own soul—or at least his sense of being a "good person." It’s a fantastic entry point for talking about moral gray areas without the book feeling like a lecture on ethics.
There is a specific type of reader who knows every spec of a Tiger tank or a Spitfire because they’ve spent hundreds of hours in WWII-themed shooters. Projekt 1065 speaks that language. The focus on sabotage, blueprint theft, and the technical details of Nazi weaponry will appeal to the "history buff" who is more interested in the machinery of war than the politics of it.
However, Gratz is careful to use that interest as a hook to show the human cost. The indoctrination of the Hitler Youth is portrayed as a tragedy of wasted potential. Seeing Michael’s "friends" get brainwashed is meant to be uncomfortable. It turns the cool aesthetics of a spy movie into a much more grounded, sobering look at what it was like to be a child in a society that viewed kids as tools for the state.
While many WWII books for this age group focus on the perspective of victims or soldiers on the front lines, the "spy in the lion's den" angle offers something different. It highlights the weird reality of Irish neutrality during the war, a nuance most American textbooks skip entirely. It also provides a look at the home front in Germany—the fear, the rationing, and the constant surveillance—through the eyes of someone who is technically an "enemy" living in plain sight. If your kid enjoyed the high stakes of a story like Refugee, this is the logical next step. It’s a visceral, high-stakes ride that manages to be educational without ever being boring.
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