Paperback ISBN 978-1-7337698-0-8
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-7337698-1-5
eBook ISBN 978-1-7337698-2-2

BRIEF STORY SUMMARY

In 1933, after Hitler’s rise to power, the paramilitary HitlerJugend, or Hitler Youth, became the only permitted youth organization in Germany, then known as The Third Reich.    

It’s 1937 now, and a fourteen-year-old German youth, Ernst, is part of a secret mission which will send a group of teen-aged boys to London under the pretense of a bicycle tour to spy for the Nazis. The cyclists’ objective: identify both geographical and human targets for subsequent elimination as Europe approaches a flashpoint that Hitler intends to exploit by waging all-out war. Ernst’s mentor, Officer Müller, considers him the perfect fit for a special assignment—spy on a wealthy British Jewish family considered a threat to the Reich as they shelter Jewish refugees from Nazi oppression.

In a parallel story, a modern-day American teen-aged orphan, Clark, has fallen under the spell of white supremacy ideology after a series of family misfortunes. Having lost his mother as a child to cancer and then his father a couple of years later to war in Iraq, he is in the hands of his unscrupulous guardian who manages to plant him as a child-agent in a Muslim household. Clark’s purpose: prove that the randomly-chosen Muslim family must be terrorists.

Each youth approaches his assignment with a masked heart filled with hate and a deep misunderstanding of who his hosts are, roiling the boys in emotional conflict as events unfold, and forcing each to face what will be the hardest decision of his entire life—help destroy what his handlers fear or find the courage to think for himself and face the consequences.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT JUGEND

“Aalia Lanius’ Jugend is a riveting tale of two boys innocently caught in historical events that have drastically changed their lives and enormously impacted the very history of the world. Ernst and Clark are two young boys who are forced to make a decision between good and evil when children their age should just be starting to learn the intricacies of life. Fast paced and gripping, Jugend successfully tells a complex and emotional story in a way that is easy to understand. Aalia Lanius’ creative writing style is subtle, without a lot of frills, and the result is a novel that is informative, enjoyable and emotionally tugs at the reader’s heart. The content of this book is universal and is relevant to any other time in history!” –Maria Beltran, Reader’s Favorite 5-Star Review.

“Loved the past to present in alternating chapters and how they connected in the end. So relevant as to race relations now. I think the more diversity in your life opens your heart to many that you may see as different than yourself. Our differences should separate our sameness should connect us.” -Stephanie Clarke, Goodreads 5-Star Review

” ‘Jugend’ by Aalia Lanius is quite an interesting book in that it treats young men from two different eras as they come to terms with the truths of their beliefs and the effects that has on those around them.” -Barb, Goodreads 5-Star Review