Gratz writes historical fiction that is typically centered around war. A lot of his topics include bravery, sacrifice, identity, and what an impact conflict has on the youth. Refugee and Prisoner B-3087 reflect all of those extremely well. They show how ordinary kids are forced into those kinds of situations and what it does to them by the end of the book. Most of the characters in Gratz’s books are young who face life or death situations. Almost all of the time the characters make it out of the situations they are in, but they do this without seeming unrealistic all the time. Gratz typically implements multiple perspectives of the story and switches between them in the different chapters to show how different experiences can be connected. The settings in Gratz’s writings are always historically accurate. The settings are centered around major global crises. The plot is fast-paced and he usually leaves readers on frequent cliffhangers to keep them engaged. The books are in third person usually. He keeps his word choice clear and simple that way to keep the reader actually reading and not wondering what they just read. Gratz uses a lot of imagery in order to convey the harsh and dangerous parts.
The boat was sinking.
Fast.
The violent waves continued to crash into the hull, knocking Enrico and the other refugees against the inside of the hull. The freezing water poured in. Enrico, struggling to see from the salt, finally sat upright. “I have to get to Mia. Now”
“Mia! Where are you!” Enrico yelled, hoping for his little sister to hear him over the screams of the other refugees. “I need to protect her from the sinking ship,” Enrico thought to himself.
The boat was supposed to bring everyone onboard to safety from the war, not bring them to even more danger. Enrico pushed his way through the boat and up the stairs, each step there were others bumping into him. He reached the top of the boat to find that the storm was even worse than before, and some of the others seeking refuge had been thrown into the water from the unpredictable waves crashing into the boat.
“Somebody! Help!” Enrico recognized that voice. It was Mia.
Enrico rushed to where Mia's voice came from. He could barely hear anything over the storm but he knew that cry.
There was another shout from her voice. Closer this time.
Enrico had finally found Mia. She was holding on to the railing off the side of the boat. Nobody else had helped her because they were too busy helping themselves and taking the lifebuoys for themselves.
“Don’t worry Mia! I got you now!” Enrico shouted as he grabbed one of Mia’s arms. Just as he was about to help her up, she slipped, falling into the freezing ocean water.
“Protect my little girl, and bring her to safety my son,” flashbacks to their mother’s final words before they left started flooding Enrico’s thoughts.
Enrico quickly dove in after Mia to honor their mothers wish. The water was so paralyzingly cold that Enrico couldn’t move when he first entered the water.
For a moment, he thought he was going to die in this freezing water. But then he grasped a hold of Mia in the water and assisted in her floating.
There was a lifebuoy floating in the water right in front of them. Mia went to grab it but it slipped away from her.
Enrico managed to get a hold of the rope attached to the lifebuoy.
Enrico and Mia now had clung to the lifebuoy.
But then, lightning struck there and there was a loud crash.
Everything went black.
This emulation really shows the key factors in Gratz’s writings. First, it begins in the middle of the action. Gratz is known for starting his stories in intense situations. This hooks the reader, just like the opening scene of Refugee. The characters are introduced within the action that is taking place. Second, the emulation focuses on a young protagonist who is in danger just like all of Gratz’s books. They usually focus on younger people who are forced to do brave things, and this emulation does that. Just how Gratz utilizes fast paced and short startling sentences, this emulation does the same. These sentences help create tension and urgency. Allowing the reader to want to read more and more. Also, the use of imagery in the emulation directly correlates to Gratz’s writings. He does this to allow the reader to fully understand what is happening in the story. And lastly, the tone of the emulation is serious. Almost all of Gratz’s works take place in serious situations. What I have written is also a serious situation.