Todd Strasser's work of nonfiction, The Wave, tells the story of an incident that took place in a California school in 1969. A teacher created an experimental movement in his class to help students understand how people could have followed Hitler, and the results are astounding. The highly disciplined group, modeled on the principles of the Hitler Youth, has its own salute, chants, and special ways of acting as a unit that sweeps beyond the class and throughout the school, evolving into a society willing to give up freedom for regimentation and offer blind obedience to their leader.

Topics explored include character, friendship, bullying, peer pressure, dissent, and individualism versus collectivism.

Genre: Nonfiction

Lexile Measure: 770L

©1981-2009. Middle school, high school. 4 x 7 inches. Softcover. 144 pages.