The Devil in Vienna

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Dial Books, 2004 - Juvenile Fiction - 243 pages
Inge Dorenwald and Lieselotte Vessely have been best friends for most of their thirteen years. They share secrets, fears, hopes and even the same birthday. It never mattered that Inge was Jewish and that Lieselotte was the daughter of a Nazi SS officer--until now. Hitler and Nazism are infiltrating Vienna, Austria, in 1938 and suddenly it is forbidden for the girls to continue seeing each other. Despite the danger, Inge and Liselotte struggle to keep their friendship alive. But will they be able to do it?
A new afterword by the author, who based the story on her own experiences during World War II, is included. According to Publishers Weekly, The Devil in Vienna arouses in its readers anguish, fury, admiration, scorn--it couldn't be a more effective story or a more powerful illustration of the reason 'never to forget.' This courageous novel is an ALA Notable Book and winner of the Sydney Taylor Award and the Golden Kite Award.

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About the author (2004)

Doris Orgel was born Doris Adelberg in Vienna, Austria on February 15, 1929. She is the author of numerous children's books including Ariadne, Awake!, We Goddesses, and My Mother's Daughter. The Devil in Vienna received a Phoenix Award Honor in 1998. It was made into a Disney Channel film, A Friendship in Vienna (1988). Her books Sarah's Room and Dwarf Long-Nose were illustrated by Maurice Sendak. Merry, Rose, and Christmas-Tree-June was illustrated by Edward Gorey. She also translated children's books from German to English. Her work included Nero Corleone: A Cat's Story by Elke Heidenreich and Daniel Half Human by David Chotjewitz. Both books were Mildred L. Batchelder Honor Books. She reviewed for the New York Times and participated in the Bank Street Writers Lab. She attended Radcliffe College (1946-1948) and graduated from Barnard College (1950). Doris Orgel died on August 4, 2021. She was 92.

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