Nothing Sung and Nothing Spoken

Starting in 1938 and stretching through the end of WWII, this atmospheric Berlin-set story by Tyndall (Who I Was with Her) follows 15-year-old Charlotte Kraus as she immerses herself in the growing underground Swing culture. When Charlie’s best friend and longtime crush Angelika “Geli” Haas introduces her to the swing kids—jazz-loving teenagers who embrace contraband British and American music, privately declaring their opposition to the Nazi party’s conformist values—Charlie is immediately taken with their joyful and fierce covert rebellion. Charlie and Geli, joined by Minna, who is Jewish, and Renate, who is deaf in one ear, become regulars in the free-spirited underground scene. Though still enamored with Geli, Charlie embarks on an intimate blossoming relationship with another young woman, while the war brews in the background. Supporting characters—including the story’s clearly telegraphed villain—are thinly developed, and clunky, expository dialogue occasionally stalls forward momentum. Nevertheless, Tyndall artfully blends historical fiction and queer romance with the increasingly grim details of life under the Third Reich to generate an intensely heartfelt tale of high-stakes rebellion that will sweep readers all the way to the novel’s gut-wrenching conclusion. All characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Eric Smith, P.S. Literary. (Oct.)