A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) by Alison Hart

A Spy on the Home Front: A Molly Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) Reviews

• 
  Katja Labonté

  3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This was an interesting little WWII mystery. Molly, living on the farm with her grandparents for the summer, befriends a German girl and grows interested in her + her family. When a letter arrives telling of how the Schulz’s German friends somewhere else have been placed in a concentration camp, and then Max Schulz is arrested for spreading “anti-American propaganda,” Anna and Molly are determined to do what the grownups won’t and prove the Schulzs are good, innocent German-Americans.
  
  It wasn’t a bad little story. Aunt Eleanor, Grandpa, and Grandma were cute, and I liked Max. Molly & Anna did some very inconsistent and confusing things at time—and the position of the story was confusing with the Molly canon—but it was a quick, easy read. What I really liked about it was how it tackled prejudice and the fact that often the wrong people are blamed for things their ethnicity is seen as doing—for instance, how Arabic-Americans are assumed to be the ones doing pro-Islam activity when actually it’s plain, ordinary Americans who do it.
  
  Content: euphemisms, some lying, deception, sneaking around, etc, girls in trousers.
• 
  Rachel

  If they had had these American Girl mysteries when I was a kid, I would have inhaled every single one. Repeatedly. I had a great time reading this, spending time with my childhood pal Molly as she tries to figure out who is spreading anti-American propaganda near her grandparents' house. Although I figured out the culprit early on, I didn't see the ending coming, so that was well done.
• 
  Gil-or (readingbooksinisrael)

  I actually learned from this book! I never heard of WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots, not White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) before. That's so cool. And I liked the ending actually. I wish it had ended more happily, but I like that it wasn't all brushed away. And I liked the classic American Girl script of kids and girls being able to do stuff too, of course. And the message that a small act won't change the bigger stuff but it can make someone happier at least.
• 
  Panda Incognito

  In this mystery, Molly unmasks a Nazi sympathizer in her home state of Illinois. When I reread this last night, I had no idea how culturally relevant it was about to be again, and was shocked to get on Twitter today and see the trending topic #IllinoisNazis, with pictures of a few anti-lockdown demonstrators with Nazi images and slogans on their picket signs.
  
  Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and that is why I am grateful for books like this. As a child, I liked this less than other American Girl mysteries, but now that I have bought a used copy and read it again, I remember why. It wasn't because the mystery was subpar, or because the resolution wasn't convincing, as I might have suspected; it was because the story addresses the reality of internment camps for German and Japanese Americans and has a realistically bittersweet ending. When I was a child, I found this book frustrating not because of any flaw within it, but because I was so outraged over the injustice.
  
  I can't believe that I forgot so much about this book. I remembered that a German family's teenage son fell under suspicion for illegal activities at the airfield where he worked, and I remembered Aunt Eleanor teasing Molly for holding her book upside down when she had just run away from an eavesdropping spot and was pretending to read, but that was it. I didn't remember that this was likely one of the first sources where I learned about loyal Americans being forced to leave their homes, belongings, and livelihoods behind to live in internment camps because of their heritage and imagined loyalties. I can see why I found this so incredibly depressing as a kid, but it's a good book.
  
  This story is realistic, moving, and educational. In addition to addressing the prejudice that German Americans experienced, it also provides a picture of 1944 farm life, teaches about anti-American groups who opposed the war effort, and covers the WASP program. I remember liking Aunt Eleanor a lot in the side books about Molly, and she plays a major role in this one, even more so than I had remembered. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.
  
  There are just a few notable flaws. The pacing is a off partway through the book, and Molly constantly disobeys and lies to authority figures in order to investigate the mystery. However, what distracted and bothered me the most was the glaring continuity issue in the opening scene. Molly and her friend Anna are making cannonballs in the lake, as they do "every year," but Molly had just gotten over her fear of the water while at camp that same summer. Clearly, Allison Hart looked for a memorable opening scene without referring to Valerie Tripp's existing canon, and the repeated references to summer camp throughout the book highlight this careless error.
  
  However, despite these flaws, this is a great book, and I appreciated it more as an adult, since all of my illusions have already been shattered and it is easier for me to cope with the harsh realities of historical injustices. This book provides a clear, compassionate image of the ways that loyal American families with German backgrounds suffered on the home front during World War II, and educates readers about Japanese and German internment camps through the characters' conversations and worries, and through the detailed, photographically illustrated historical note in the back. Even though the book ends on a bittersweet note, that is also realistic, and this book is incredibly worthwhile. I'm glad to own it as part of my American Girl library.
• 
  Katie

  The
  great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult, inspired by the
  American Girls podcast.
  
  You know what most stuck out to me in this one? Why is it so easy to get onto the airfield all the time? Do they even have a fence? Molly, a ten-year-old kid, continually wanders around the grounds by herself and no one questions it. I get that this is not a full Army post, but this seems lacking when there’s a war on. If brand new warplanes are coming through, seems like there would be some semblance of security?
   
  To the adult reader, there are not a lot of surprises here, partly because there are not a lot of viable suspects. Molly’s family and friends are out – the end is dark enough without having the traitor be one of the Schultzes all along, and the idea it could be Aunt Eleanor is laughable. And we just don’t meet that many other characters. As in most TV mysteries, the answer to whodunit is someone you meet about a third of the way through.
   
  I also wish we got a better sense of who Anna is as a person – after the first few pages, her only characterization is being worried and scared. Why does the
  Gowanagin cap work so well as a touchstone? Were Molly’s camp stories and songs that fascinating to Anna? Molly cares about Anna, so we do too, at least a little, but she’s a pretty blank slate.
   
  I was amused that Molly keeps comparing herself to fictional detectives – Nancy Drew or characters from her radio show. It really is so odd that AG decided to take characters that had been designed to be “girls just like you” and decide that all of them should also solve mysteries from time to time.
  Four
  mysteries
  in, that seems to lead to a lot of sneaking and snooping and being in the right place at the right time to make it all work. I’m curious to see if they can do anything else with the premise.
• 
  Ale

  FREE READING PROJECT!!!! 1st part in goodreads
  
  Book: "A spy on the homefroont"
  Author: Alison Hart
  Genre: nonfiction
  I choose this book because the title looked mysteriously and i love books that have mysteries.
  
  
  This book is about a girl who's name is Molly and she goes to visit her granparents on the summer. Molly has a friend , her name is Ana and she is part GERMAN.Everything goes perfect on summer except when Aunt Eleanor flies for a visit she unknowingly brings trouble and a frughtenning mystery. Molly starts to look for clues but she discovers something else. The purpose of this book is to show people that even the truthfull friends can be changed by the time of the war.
  
  
  I loved this book because it is very well organized and it is very intresting how Molly finds out what happens. Yes , I would recomend this book to a friend because it is a very intresting book,that shows you how the war can torn truth apart and doubts can be wrong,I learned so much from this book about history because it shows too , things that the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler wanted Germany to be racially "pure" and he condemned allot of people to death! Some american people hated but others joined him!
  
• 
  Sharon

  It is August 1944. America is involved in WWII. Molly (age 10) is visiting her grandparents' farm.
  But Molly and her friend Anna Schulz find that the war at home is much more than Victory gardens and collecting cans. Anna's brother, Max, is falsely arrested. Another German family is placed in an internment camp. To prove Max's innocence and solve this mystery, Molly and Anna must lie and mislead their elders. This historical mystery provides a German glossary and a vivid description of security and life on the home front during World War II.
• 
  Erin

  I have wanted to read these cute little American Girl chapter mysteries for a while and I needed a short little book to read while I waited for a book on hold in the library.
  
  I fell in love with the American Girl Books back in elementary school nearly 30 years ago. These books are some of the best historical fiction stories written for young girls. Anyway, this one did not disappoint. For an adult, I was somewhat entertained though I saw the solution to the mystery coming. But for a young reader, I feel like the suspense is very exciting.
  
  What I love most about these books is the historical aspect— getting young readers interested in a different era. Because it involves relatable and lovable characters, kids hardly realize they are actually learning historical facts. The last few pages filled with actual historical information as it relates to the book is especially special and a wonderful addition to each American Girl book. It brings the learning full circle.
  
  Anyway, if you enjoyed American Girl books or if you have a young reader who enjoys mysteries, this is a GREAT chapter book to get them hooked.
• 
  SFrick

  As Always Ms. Hart does a terrific job.
  
  The truths about the horrific times for American Germans not to mention the Japanese
  in America, during WWII, are projected well via the children in the book.
  We are very lucky to not be living back then, with the continued threats of internment
  camps and being watched by our neighbors and friends.
  
  The illustrations by
  Jean-Paul Tibbles are well placed with their appropriate descriptions
  
  
• 
  Beth (FebruaryFilly)

  Well that one certainly didn’t end like we are accustomed to AG books/mysteries concluding! And it was a bit annoying that they didn’t keep consistency. They said Molly had enjoyed all her summers on the farm swimming in the pond when we know from her camp Gowanagin book there she loathed swimming and didn’t think she was good at it!
• 
  C.J. Miller

  I hadn't realized German Americans were forced into internment camps during WWII. That said, this book has a very heavy tone and ends in a realistic, but not happy, way - just a warning for younger readers.
• 
  Kelly

  Wasn't that much of a mystery, but I really enjoyed reading it. There was a lot to learn, especially if you are actually target age.
• 
  Olivia (LivTheBookNerd)

  One of my all time faves from when I was in elementary school
• 
  Laurel (LaurelLeafLibrary)

  My girls and I loved this one! It kept them on the edge of their seat and learned a good amount about life during WWII and prejudice.
• 
  Alex

  I loved this book, and I love that Molly is reading Nancy Drew!
• 
  Riya Barnett

  This Molly mystery was interesting and an overall good edition to the series. It addressed the unfairness of World War II and how simply being a German, Japanese, or Italian living in the US at the time subjected you to suspicion. It’s Goodreads had half star rating I would rate this book a 4.5.
• 
  Gara

  Full of information about female pilots, and interment camps for both Japanese and German families that lived in the U.S. during WWII. And a Nancy drew type mystery as well!
• 
  Sesana

  Re-read: The mystery itself is pretty good, and Molly makes for a decent and daring little detective. Sure, it seems like she has a very easy time wandering around an airfield during wartime, but I was able to suspend my disbelief there. The stakes are actually quite high: not only is Molly investigating a Nazi propaganda ring in the US, she's trying to clear a family friend's name in the process. That family is a German-born couple and their American-born children, which opens the book to some exploration of the suspicion that some German-Americans experienced during the war, and the peek into the past also talks about Japanese internment. This is something Molly's Central Series was happy to ignore, and this level of criticism of American exceptionalism is a little unusual for American Girl in general and definitely in Molly's books. Also unusual is that there is no happy ending, which is realistically done.
• 
  Ashley

  Molly is enjoying a visit to Grammy and Granpa's peaceful farm in the summer of 1944. But when Aunt Eleanor, an army pilot, flies in for a visit, she unknowingly brings trouble - and a frightening mystery.
  
  Molly looks for clues, but she discovers something else... that even on the home front, war time changes friends and family forever.
  
  Great story! The mystery starts right up and is another great one to read. Molly does solve the mystery but there's also a little danger involved with her sleuthing.
  
  A great mystery combined with a little danger really grabs the reader and pulls you into the story until you feel like you're right there and you don't want to put the book down until the mystery is solved.
• 
  Katt Hansen

  Really loved this one - a little talked about era in American history where we didn't always treat our own citizens very well. Looking at the German citizens in this story I learned (or relearned something I'd forgotten) that they too had been put in internment camps during WWII.
  
  Molly is brave and adventurous, not hesitating to break the rules (should I be happy about this as a parent?) to help her friends during troubling times. The lack of security at the airfield made me cringe, but honestly, isn't this what it was like back then in the smaller fields? Very exciting and recommended read. :)
• 
  .

  I have read a lot of American Girl books, especially when I was little. But my favorite was always Molly.
  This book was so interesting. I learned new things about WWII and I now want to know more about what happened.
  This really is one of the only great American Girl books I've read compared to
  Meet Julie.
• 
  Rachel

  American Girl Book Club gave this one 4.8 stars. They all liked Molly's sense of adventure, and the fact that she worked so hard to solve the mystery and help her friend. However, they had a hard time reconciling the fact that the Schultz family would be treated so badly just because they were German.