Title: Young Adolf: An Alternate History
Author: Frank P. Daversa
Publisher: Pageturner Press and Media
ISBN: 978-1638715399
Pages: 384
Genre: Literature & Fiction/Genre Fiction
Reviewed by: Tony Espinoza
Hollywood Book Reviews
At one point or another in every person’s life, the concept of a legacy comes into our minds. Something of ourselves that can be left behind after our life is complete, that will live on when we do not. Whether that legacy is one of hope, love, or unwittingly of blood and chaos, we cannot always choose. The only thing we can do is fight to make sure we leave behind the legacy that best defines us all. As David Lowery once said, “We build our legacy piece by piece, and maybe the whole world will remember you or maybe just a couple of people, but you do what you can to make sure you’re still around after you’re gone.”
In authors Frank P. Daversa & Joseph V. Franciosa Jr.’s Young Adolf: An Alternate History, the author explore the legacy of one of the world’s cruelest and most hated dictators of all time, Adolf Hitler. Exploring the madman’s origins, from the difficulties of his schooling to the beatings he suffered at his father’s hands, the authors take a historical fiction turn by introducing a young love interest into the young Adolf’s life, exploring how different his life could have been had he been able to see himself through this fictional love interest’s eyes rather than those of his fathers, and the eyes of a child before he became a twisted man.
This is a fascinating read. The in-depth exploration of the young man’s childhood played well into the universal theme of real-life monsters, and whether or not they are born monsters or if they are made, whether it’s because of a difficult childhood, abuse, trauma, or even a combination of it all. The heinous actions of Hitler has always had a dual reaction from people: disgust, followed by the need to understand what drove a man to make such horrific decisions against the world. The author’s brilliantly hone in on this emotion, balancing the history and real-life events that shaped the future dictator’s life while exploring what would have happened had the young man experienced love, genuine love, during any of the formative years of his life.
For fans of historical fiction dramas which explore figures from throughout history, this is the perfect read to delve into this type of narrative naturally. The exploration of a figure like this can be difficult, but as a fan of history and historical fiction myself, I was intrigued by the concept of a monstrous human being’s origins and whether or not their future could have been avoided had life taken a different turn during the man’s childhood. The emotions and stark contrast between Adolf’s childhood with his father, the only love he ever knew being with his mother, and the change in perspective that came from being with Helga was truly engaging to read, and made for an impactful and somber reality considering the reality of the man’s life.
An emotional, thought-provoking, and insightfully-driven historical-fiction novel, authors Frank P. Daversa & Joseph V. Franciosa Jr.’s Young Adolf: An Alternate History is a must-read story. The shocking look the authors take into the subject’s life and the depth that they brought into the lives of those surrounding young Adolf’s life, both fictional and real, was both thoughtful and engaging as a reader to get drawn into.