• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 3 to 7

When his dad decides to hire a German prisoner-of-war to help out on their New Brunswick farm, thirteen-year-old Warren Webb is pretty sure the family is doomed. Who invites a Nazi to sleep under their roof? But Martin is not the German Warren expected. After his early attempts to get rid of Martin fail, Warren takes his dead brother Pete's advice and finds himself learning more from his enemy than he ever expected. Soon Martin, a promising track-and-field athlete before the war, is coaching Warren for his provincial summer games race. And when a trio of local bullies threatens their lives, Warren and Martin are forced to rely on each other like never before.

In Prisoner of Warren, acclaimed children's author Andreas Oertel captures the inner life of a thirteen-year-old boy with frankness and humour. With its 1940s rural setting, this funny, suspenseful middle-grade novel is a highly engaging look at friends, foes, and all the grey areas in between.

Andreas Oertel has travelled all over the world and had a hundred different jobs -- everything from rickshaw driver to health inspector -- but his favourite occupation is writing. His middle grade fiction is critically acclaimed and has been nominated for several awards, including the Silver Birch Award, Manitoba Young Reader's Choice Award, and Charlotte Award. Andreas spends much of his free time visiting schools, and in 2012 and 2013 he was Writer in Residence at Lac du Bonnet's Centennial School. He lives with his wife, Diane, next to the Lee River in Manitoba.

Andreas Oertel's profile page

• Short-listed, Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award
• Short-listed, Manitoba Book Awards: McNally Robinson Books for Young People Award (Older Category)
• Best Books for Kids and Teens (Starred Review)