THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2024 45 o cer. He joined USAID in 1977 and served in Niger, Guinea, Togo, Benin, Somalia, Tanzania, and Washington, D.C., before retiring in 1996. Wentling lives in Lubbock, Texas. He is the author of Africa Memoir, a three-volume account of his career in Africa. Choosing Sides David K. Wessel, Moonshine Cove Publishing, 2024, $21.00/paperback, e-book available, 274 pages. Choosing Sides tells the story of an ordinary family torn apart by Hitler’s Germany and the di cult choices each family member must make: to endorse the Party, to stay quiet in the hope that Hitler would soon be gone, to join the resistance (at great personal risk), or to leave their beloved fatherland and family behind. e story revolves around a young man, Karl-Heinz, a character based on the author’s own father. Born in Germany, Karl-Heinz moved to the United States when he was 4 years old and returned seven years later to a changed country. David Wessel was a Foreign Service o cer from 2012 to 2017 and served in Rome and Guatemala. He is currently at work on his second novel. He is also the author of “In eir Own Words: A Conversation with Four Foreign Service Authors,” in this FSJ edition (see page 51). FOR CHILDREN & YOUNG ADULTS What You Never Knew About Olivia Rodrigo Nafeesah Allen, Capstone Press, 2023, $8.99/paperback, e-book available, 32 pages. is book is part of an early reader “Behind the Scenes” series that o ers biographies of celebrities admired by teens and tweens. Author Nafeesah Allen tells the story of Olivia Rodrigo in a way that is accessible to early and struggling readers. Allen has three other books in the series: on Stephen Curry, Zendaya, and Timothée Chalamet. Author Nafeesah Allen is an active-duty FSO currently serving as the con ict stabilization coordinator in Mozambique. Other titles by Allen are available at https://www.nafeesahallen.com/author. Trailer Park Prince Andre L. Bradley, Tiny Ghost Press, 2024, $12.81/paperback, e-book available, 298 pages. is young adult science ction novel explores themes of discrimination, identity, and leadership through the lens of alien refugees living on Earth. e story follows Prince Noan Ladoan—a 17-year-old outcast among his own people, the Kaydans—as he navigates integration with humans, develops superhuman powers, and grapples with his role in his community’s future. e novel draws parallels to the American Civil Rights Movement, using the Kaydans’ struggles against human prejudice and violence to examine issues of racism, xenophobia, and social justice. Andre Bradley is an active-duty Foreign Service o cer in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. He joined FAS in 2016 and has served in Mexico City. Bradley is currently posted in Washington, D.C. Seeking Neopolis (The Trident’s Reckoning) Elizabeth A. Drysdale, Stag Beetle Books, 2024, $13.99/paperback, e-book available, 312 pages. Avi’s world turns upside down when a mysterious boy reveals that her memories have been manipulated by her own mother. Already shaken by her mother’s disappearance, Avi is plunged into a hidden war between a magical kingdom and a powerful organization, both accusing her mother of stealing an important artifact known as the Trident. With adversaries closing in, she embarks on a perilous journey to the sunken city of Neopolis. ere, Avi uncovers a shocking and sinister truth about her mother’s actions. is is Foreign Service family member Elizabeth Drysdale’s fth novel for young adults. She is the daughter of FSO Clay Allen, who was most recently posted in Haiti. Drysdale lives in northern Utah with her husband and three sons. (Continued from page 38)
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