A Master Plan for Rescue

A pleasant and languid tale that ultimately felt like too much work for not enough payoff.

Jack is a twelve year old with glasses thick enough to get him beat up. When his fathr dies unexpectedly, he creates a fantasy where his father, still alive, has become a spy. So Jack starts hunting Nazis on the streets and subways of 1942 New York to help his dad's mission and thus bring him home. His sleuthing leads him to Jakob, a German jew who asks for Jack's help in planning a rescue of jewish children (where the book's title originates). Twenty-three children are smuggled in through Coney Island per Jack's plan but they are nearly caught (thanks to Jack's persistent delusion that his father lives) and Jakob sacrifices himself to save the plan, being sent back to Germany and the Nazis who will surely kill him. I suppose its an inspiring story about personal sacrifice but ultimately failed to touch my heart.

Thank you to Penguin who were kind enough to send me this advance copy.