The Enemy Has a Face

by Gloria D. Miklowitz

Book Overview

Fourteen-year-old Netta Hofman wakes one morning to find that her older brother did not come home the night before. Having just moved from Israel to Los Angeles, the family of seventeen-year-old Adam is stunned and baffled by his disappearance. Adam has not had time to make many friends yet, and he has always been responsible, the last person who would leave home without a word.

Netta and her parents desperately seek answers to Adam's disappearance...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802852610
• ISBN13: 9780802852618
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers
• Length: 143 Pages
• Weight: 0.32 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.0" x 7.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

The Enemy Has a Face

Gloria Miklowitz tackles the prickly subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict in this new novel for young adults. She sets her story in Los Angeles where 14 year old Netta Hofman wakes up one morning to find that her older brother, Adam, did not come home the night before. Three months earlier, the family had moved from Israel to LA and they are baffled by Adam's disappearance. They assume it may have something to do with Palestinian terrorism since Netta's father's work is related to the defense industry. During the course of the investigation into Adam's disappearance, Netta reluctantly befriends a Palestinian boy in her school, learns about the murky cyber-world of Palestinian chat rooms, and finds out information about her brother that surprises her. This short novel retains its suspense until the final pages, when we finally find out what happened to Adam. The author of this book is clearly trying her best to balance both sides of the Middle East conflict. However, using a 14-year-old girl's view to explore the issue of Palestinian-Israeli relationships is only partially successful. Both sides are represented to the reader, but Miklowitz wisely keeps politics from overwhelming the storyline. The book works better as a young adult mystery. A few highly unlikely scenarios in this book do detract from the storyline, however. From discovering Adam's computer password on the third guess to making her way around the city on public transportation, things come a bit too easily to the young Netta. One must also conclude that her spoken and written English is perfect, even though her family arrived in Los Angeles only three months earlier. Also, it is unlikely that this clever young teen would chose to keep some of her discoveries about her brother a secret from her parents during such tragic circumstances. However, if these flaws can be set aside, the novel does attempt to show how young people in a political conflict can often be much better than adults at examining their prejudices. The growing and tenuous relationship between Netta and Laith, the Palestinian boy, is plausible and realistic. Miklowitz has captured the flavor of the middle school world well. The characters here are appealing and could even merit a longer book so their true depth could be discovered. The subject matter, however, is suspenseful and ultimately sad, so this book is recommended for 5th grade and up. Reviewed by Lisa Silverman

Good Book

This book was a good book. I wish it was a tiny bit better. I think it was a tiny bit weird and the story is confusing. It is sad in the end.

A Gripping Story for Adults and Children

This gripping story is the account of the Hofman family recently moved from Israel to Los Angeles. Their seventeen year old son Adam was in high school and fourteen year old daughter Netta in middle school. Adam quickly found friends and began enjoying the new school while Netta did not really feel at home. The family was panic stricken when Adam failed to come home one night. The story from there on is a description of the search for the missing Adam. Because of the bitter feeling between people in Israel and those in Palestine, the Hofmans were sure that Adam was the victim of Palestinian Terrorists. Netta took some risks in her effort to find out her brother's fate and who was responsible. In the process she learned to value people as individuals rather than as part of a group. This timely well-written story of a family in grief is especially important now in the present world situation. The book is directed to ages 12 and up but is also excellent for adults because it helps them see the struggle through the eyes of a young person experiencing the emotional impact of the crisis situation in Israel.