School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-In the midst of the Spanish Civil War, 12-year-old Ani unexpectedly gets drawn into a network of underground rebels working to thwart Franco's efforts to destroy the Basque people's way of life. With the threat of Hitler and the Nazis also on the horizon, Ani and her half-German, half-Basque friend, Mathias, work together to deliver messages for the rebels, using Ani and her mother's sardine business as their cover. When Guernica is bombed and both children end up without parents to care for them, Mathias vows to return to Germany to fight the Nazis, while Ani's father (who is fighting Franco's army) sends her to England along with hundreds of other Basque children. Through the tragedy of war, Ani discovers true friendship and loyalty for the first time. While readers will find her clandestine activities exciting, there is little explanation provided about the Spanish Civil War. Students unfamiliar with Spain's struggles during this period might not understand the gravity of the Basque people's problem, or its connection to Hitler's rise in power. However, this book provides a glimpse into an underrepresented world in juvenile literature, making it a good addition to middle-grade collections. Recommended it to fans of Roland Smith's Elephant Run (Hyperion, 2007).-Nora G. Murphy, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, LaCanada-Flintridge, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Gonzalez (The Red Umbrella) stages a fast-paced historical thriller against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. Insecure, friendless, and nicknamed Sardine Girl because of her job, 12-year-old Ani fears she will always be powerless and insignificant in her Basque town of Guernica. This changes when she meets the magnetic and challenging Mathias, a Jewish boy who has moved to town. When Ani and Mathias overhear the plans of his father and a band of spies, they volunteer to join the resistance and fight for Spain by delivering sardines with secret messages. Though at times excessively complicated, the spy story line is riveting, and the friendship and tentative romance between Ani and Mathias develops credibly. Despite the geographical and historical distance from readers, Ani is relatable as she battles with her bitter mother and struggles to identify her own desires and values. Gonzalez escalates the tension as Nazis bomb Guernica and conveys the magnitude of personal and universal loss, leading Ani to forge a future in war-a path she claims with grace and fortitude. Ages 10-up. Agent: Jennifer Rofe, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Amid the chaos of the Spanish Civil War, a young girl begins to find her place in the world. Twelve-year-old Anetxu "Ani" Largazabalaga spends her few free hours trying to recapture the idyllic times before her father left Guernica for the front. Her often-disagreeable mother sells sardines and never fails to remind Ani how much she has sacrificed to keep them from starvation. Ani finds her first real friend in 14-year-old Jewish Mathias Garca, who recently moved from Germany, where he and his mother were facing increasing restrictions. A simple trip to the movies embroils Ani and Mathias in a local network of spies helping the British get supplies through Franco's blockade. While making house-to-house deliveries of sardines, the two deliver messages and hope that they are helping the war effort. After the infamous air raid lays the town to ruins, Ani and Mathias both face devastating losses and find refuge in a farm on the outskirts of Guernica. Gonzalez has the two characters handle the losses in vastly different but equally believable ways, and the inclusion of older, sympathetic characters to serve as a contrast to Ani's mother will be appreciated by readers. Also notable are multiple characters with disabilities, including Mathias. An engrossing tale set against a compelling, seldom-seen backdrop. (Historical fiction. 10-18)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Unable to wash off the stench of her mother's fish stall in the Guernica market, Ani is known as Sardine Girl. What little time she has after school and sardine selling, she spends alone beneath an enormous oak tree in the nearby countryside. It is there that she meets Mathias, a bold, mysterious boy who matches her timidity with roguish charm. Before long, the two become unlikely friends and find themselves embroiled in a local movement spying on Franco's rebels. And just as she begins to find some meaning in her life, the Germans bomb Guernica, and everything is lost. Sent to England, away from Mathias and everything she has known, Ani finds new purpose as a shepherd to the younger children while she dreams of more. With indelible characterizations and straightforward plotting, and peppered with Basque and Spanish vocabulary, this painterly novel offers an intimate, immediate look at the Spanish Civil War and the depths of personal strength necessary to survive.--Barthelmess, Thom Copyright 2010 Booklist
