Westfallen II: Into the Fire by Ann Brashers and Ben Brashers

Read: July 2025
Rating: 4 stars
Format: ebook

Last summer I was introduced to Westfallen, the first read in a new series by Ann Brashers and Ben Brashers. That story hooked me by the third chapter, and I couldn't put it down. When it finally ended, I cringed at how long I'd now have to wait for the second book. Finally, that book is here.

Into the Fire, Westfallen II, picks up where readers were left, with Artie, Alice, and Lawrence freaking out about the little changes they made in 1944, and how drastically those changes impacted the present day. How do they know those changes impacted the present day? I'm so glad you asked.

That magical radio that Henry found when he, Frances, and Lukas dug a grave for their old class pet (read the first book, trust me, it's fantastic) opened some sort of portal to the past, connecting them to Artie, Alice, and Lawrence in 1944, in the exact same house that Henry lived in present day. Sounds like fun, right? I'm sure it would have been, if that little change the trio in 1944 made didn't completely change the outcome of World War II, making the present day a N*zi state instead of America.

Now that you're paying attention, Into the Fire picks up where readers left, with Lucas in some sort of work-camp for Jews, Frances living the high life as Francy, daughter of two N*zi well-to-doers, and Henry, a mischling, or mixed race lower class citizen of Westfallen. The two trios, 1944 and present day, have one goal, and that's to restore the past so that it no longer changes the present.

Along the way, Henry, who works at the local home for Incurables, is determined to showcase Lukas's baseball skills at a county event, so that he doesn't get sent away at 13 like the rest of the Jewish children do. Frances (who we learn hates being called Francy) is trying to figure out how her status can help Henry, Lucas, and the whole community survive the brutalness of their current world. And Lukas? The longer he stays away from the shed in Henry/Lawrence's backyard, the further away from their old reality he gets.

The authors, once again, take you on a twisting adventure, full of historically accurate tidbits, while also being laced with spies, N*zis, and murders. From second chances, to first impressions, once again, I can not wait for the next book to arrive! I highly recommend this series for any upper-middle school and high school classroom and library!

Influenced by Cindy Otis and Sarah Darer Littman

Read: July 2025
Rating: 4 stars
Format: ebook

I read Influenced blind, and was pleasantly surprised to discover it wasn't the thriller I'd mistakenly heard it was. Instead, Cindy Otis and Sarah Darer Littman deliver a powerful and heartfelt YA novel about navigating the world of teens today. A world where teen lives are often driven by TikTok trends and other social media melodramas.

The story is told in alternating voices, we meet Lainey, half of a set of twins, who is painfully shy and describes her anxiety as an elephant on her chest (totally relatable to many with anxiety) and adores her brother Aiden, partly because he always includes her in his social adventures, and partially because he's her brother in twins-against-dad-destroying-the-family when he divorced their mom, moved across the country, and remarried.

Then there is Bliss. Bliss is a theatre nerd who loves to sing, and also happens to have cerebral palsy. Bliss lives in New York City with her parents, who are always fighting about money (they don't ever have enough) and her younger brother. Bliss is determined to get the lead in the school musical, despite being only a sophomore, like Lainey. Bliss also wants to be a social media influencer to showcase her musical theatre chops on her quest to get to Juliard.

We also meet Elizabeth. Elizabeth is Bliss's real persona, the person behind the screen. The one who struggles with her parents financial issues, has to deal with the real, daily challenges of living with cerebral palsy, and the ins and outs of being a student at a fine arts high school.

Along the way we meet some friends - Lainey's best friends Mia and Shula, as well as her step-mom, Marissa. We meet some of Aiden's friends, mainly Rafe, and we meet three of Elizabeth's friends - Sonia, Kaitlin, and Raven. Each plays a role in the unraveling of the story, where one teen is determined to become a social media influencer, and another teen is determined to avoid the spotlight at all costs.

Influenced strikes a chord because it is a glimpse into the reality so many teens are experiencing today; that desire to become social media famous, to be an influencer, it's a dream so many young people want to accomplish. As we watch Bliss navigate the highs of reaching 100,000 followers, and the higher highs of hitting a million followers, readers are given a backstage pass into the intense efforts that go into the job (yes, being an influencer is basically a full time job) of being an influencer with a massive following, and the income that goes along with the responsibilities.

Influenced also shares the darker side of social media, something that is rarely shared with public eyes. The idea of parasocial interaction, which is basically when followers think they are actually friends with the influencer's persona, and mix up reality a bit in the process.

Both Bliss/Elizabeth and Lainey work through some incredibly intense experiences in this powerful read, a book that I think belongs in every middle school and high school library, along with the shelves of social worker and counselor's offices everywhere. Authors Littman and Otis do an incredible job taking a very sensitive topic with limited mainstream knowledge and bring it alive in a way that readers can learn from, and hopefully, grow with both Elizabeth and Lainey.