Praise for A Storm Unleashed

Available now at Indigo and McNally Robinson Booksellers

"A Storm Unleashed is an important book for our time. Mia is a 12-year-old girl in Berlin in 1935. She and her dog Max have grown up surrounded by love. But with Hitler’s rise to power, all she sees, and feels, now is hate. And when a member of the Hitler Youth threatens to take Max away, Mia realizes that the country she once knew and felt safe in is changing.

In this book, Carol Matas brilliantly sheds light on a lesser-known aspect of Hitler’s power – his army of 200,000 dogs. Matas centres the story on Mia’s lived experience - her love for her dog Max, her caring relationship with her Jewish veterinarian father, as well as with her non-Jewish grandparents and aunt on her mother’s side. When Mia can no longer ignore the antisemitism she’s experiencing in school, she realizes she has to pay attention to what’s going on in her country and to the people (and dog) she loves.

A Storm Unleashed not only tells a moving and accessible story leading up to World War II and the Holocaust, but shows young readers the importance of being engaged during turbulent times, while also leaning into hope and love." — Sidura Ludwig, author of  Rising

"Gripping, revealing, heart-pounding and hopeful, this meticulously researched novel breaks new ground and is an outstanding addition to Holocaust literature. This masterfully written novel should be utilized in classrooms everywhere." — Liza Wiemer, Sydney Taylor Notable Book Award-winning author of The Assignment

"A powerful story about tragedy, terror and survival. We can learn of a dark past to create a brighter future." — Eric Walters, author of King of Jam Sandwiches

"A Storm Unleashed is a powerful and, at times, raw and terrifying fictionalized, but no less harrowing, story of one girl’s account in Nazi Germany. Despite this book being set in 1935, during the rise of Hitler, so much of what Mia experiences could easily be written about today’s rise in disinformation, propaganda, and antisemitism: “It is an odd feeling knowing a large portion of the country believes things that are simply not true. I can’t help but wonder if I also believe things that aren’t true. If so, how would I know?” A relatable, if difficult read that will keep kids turning the page to find out what happens to Mia and her beloved dog, Max, while sneakily teaching them about history, democracy, a little philosophy, and what could come again if we aren’t careful." — Joanne Levy, author of All the Things We Found.

Book Birthday for A Storm Unleashed!

September 16 is pub day for A Storm Unleashed. Available for order at Indigo, which named it as one of Indigo's Most Anticipated Canadian Books. Also available at McNally Robinson Booksellers.

Twelve-year-old Mia lives in Berlin with her veterinarian father and beloved dog, Max. It's 1935, and life in Germany has changed radically — especially for Jewish families like Mia's. She tries to focus on things she loves: her best friend Frieda, training Max, birdwatching, and visiting her grandparents' farm ... but storm clouds are gathering.

Under Hitler's rule, antisemitism is now official state policy. Jewish people are quickly losing their rights and protection and are subject to random violence. Mia is vilified and treated cruelly by her teachers and fellow students. And a girl from the Nazi Youth has decided to take Max for herself. Meanwhile, Mia and father find themselves caught up in Hitler's plot to create an army of dogs.

Can Mia navigate this new reality and find a way to keep her loved ones safe? Even if she does, what will be the cost?

A Storm Unleashed — Coming this Fall!

My new middle grade novel, A Storm Unleashed, will be out this fall with Scholastic Canada. Set in 1933-35 Berlin, it is the story of Mia and her beloved dog Max . It chronicles Germany’s rapid descent into fascism from democracy and the unleashing of a rising storm of hatred against the Jews and Hitler’s “enemies.” Mia, Max, her family and her friends find themselves in a terrifying reality.

The novel also explores the little-known story of Hitler's dog army, which he created as part of his preparation for war and in order to subdue the groups he was rounding up and sending to concentration camps.