That unity had to be central to the story. “Going into the project, I knew that D-Day was an operation of unprecedented cooperation, and I wanted to focus on that. It is not the first World War II book he has written, but it is unique in its format-it features the stories and perspectives of several characters instead of just one. This year his fans are in for a real treat as Gratz’s latest novel, Allies (Scholastic, October 2019), is being published in honor of the 75 th anniversary of D-Day. But it was really with the publication of Prisoner B-3087 (Scholastic, 2013) that I began to have a real following among young readers-where they began to read books because they had my name on them, not just because the story sounded interesting.”

The Brooklyn Nine (Dial, 2009) is another early book I wrote for Penguin that made a number of state lists and has been used in a lot of classrooms. “I was very lucky that my first book, Samurai Shortstop, was named a Top Ten Book of the Year by ALA in 2007, which got my career off to a great start both on the trade side and the school and library side. They are also on the best-of lists of many young readers. His books receive awards, make recommended lists, and become bestsellers. Since being published, Gratz’s work has met with critical acclaim. Sometimes that means writing about some pretty tough topics and some hard scenes, but middle-grade readers respect that too.”

“Middle-grade readers love verisimilitude, and I shoot for that with every historical novel I write. And I’ve been incredibly lucky to be a full-time writer ever since.” But that was the sixteenth publisher to see that book! The previous fifteen had all turned me down. It was picked up out of the slush pile at Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint at Penguin, and I got a phone call with an offer instead of a rejection. “The very first book I wrote while I was a stay-at-home dad was Samurai Shortstop (Dial, 2006), which I sold before my daughter turned one year old. His drive and tenacity paid off once his daughter was born.

That’s the kind of book I longed to find as a boy.” So that’s the kind of book I’m trying to write today-the kind of book that can compete with a video game or a TV show or a movie. Those things were just offering me stories in a more dynamic way than most books I picked up. But I would sit for hours and play video games and watch TV and movies. But it took a really exciting book to make me sit still and read it. Which is weird, because I read well and loved stories.

Alan gratz allies summary