In the Presence of Mine Enemies
Alicia Gimpel just turned 10 years old and she is no different than any other German citizen, but he parents have a special present for her on her birthday. She finds out that unbeknownst to her and her younger siblings, she and her family are Jewish. They have been hiding in the Reich with the help of Stutzman family. Walter Stutzman’s father was a closet Jew who help the German government make the transition from paper files to electronic records. When the electronic systems were created a few backdoors were inserted that allow Walter’s father (and now Walter) to access the system without anyone noticing and change a few records to make sure that the closeted Jewish population is seen as Aryan.
The main plot lines deal with Alicia coming to terms with her Judaism after a lifetime of learning to hate Jews and the death of the current fuhrer. One of the leading contenders to be the new fuhrer has been shown to be reform minded and the hidden Jewish population hope that if elected, the new fuhrer will reduce or eliminate the anti-Jewish laws and allow them to live freely. Alicia, meanwhile, has to deal with an education system that still teaches anti-Jewish propaganda and younger siblings who are parroting those views.
Turtledove does a good job at setting up the history and locale. The timeframe is current day with similar technology to what we have now. So it seems familiar and alien at the same time. Where Turtledove shines is in exploring the ramifications of the historical change. But Turtledove isn’t a great writer dealing with characters or dialog. There are some paper thin characterizations and some clunky dialog, but overall it’s a fun and quick read. Mildly recommended.