Vanishing Sky

In 1945, with the war in Germany close to its violent end, the Huber family is still caught in its dangers and demands. Etta, a mother in a small rural town, has two sons serving their country. Her elder son, Max, is on the Eastern front, and her younger son, Georg, attends a school for Hitler Youth.

When Max comes home from the front, Etta can see that something is wrong. He is thin, almost ghostly, and acts very strangely. She tries to shield him from the Nazi regime, even as her husband, Josef, grows more nationalistic and refuses to acknowledge Max's condition. Meanwhile, miles away, Georg takes matters into his own hands. He deserts his class of young soldiers, who are headed into battle, and sets out on a long and dangerous journey home.

The Vanishing Sky is a World War II novel told from a German perspective. It looks at the lasting damage war does on the home front and at one family's involvement in a dangerous regime, whether forced, unseen or direct. L. Annette Binder drew on her own father's time in the Hitler Youth for the story, which explores the daring choices people make for country and family.