In 1990, Todd and his wife Pamela Older, moved away from New York City with their two children. During the next few years, Todd wrote many movie novelizations, including Home Alone, Free Willy and Jumanji. In 1993, Todd wrote "Help! I`m trapped in my Teacher`s body". Since then he has written 11 more "Help! I`m trapped in ....." books. All together, he has published more than 90 books.

Todd now lives with his family on Long Island Sound. He devides his time between writing books and speaking at schools and conferences. When he is at home, he likes to spend time with family and dog, Mac. He still likes to fish, play tennis and ski.

2. About the novel

A true story

Ron Jones, a former high-school teacher from San Francisco, attempted in 1969 to teach his pupils the realities of fascism by encouraging them to form a kind of classroom Hitler Youth.
This movement became so popular that the life of the whole school was affected. Jones later wrote down his experiences with his history class, and published this as a report entitled " The third Wave". It was published in many magazines and won Jones instant fame. He was interviewed by radio stations and newspapers, and even appeard on the famous TV news " Good Morning America".

Later the story was made into a succsessful film which was shown on American TV in the autumn of 1981. After this broadcast the novelization rights of the TV film were sold to a large American publishing company which then commissioned a well-known writer of young adult fiction, Todd Strasser, to write the novelization of the film version. This he did under the pseudonym Morton Rhue. Ever since its appearance in book form the novel has been extremly popular among young people.

3. Short summary of the story

The Wave

Ben Ross, history teacher at Gordon High School, teachs the Second World War and the holocaust. When his pupils ask him why the majority of the Germans didn`t do anything against the Nazis, Ross has no answer. It must be something one could only understand by being there or if possible by creting a similar situation.

In the next history lesson, Ross wrote on the blackboard: "Strength through Discipline". This was the first part of his experiment. When he is talking about discipline he is talking about power and success. From that point the students became more interested. First they have to take a better sitting position and they have to wander through the classroom and sit down as fast as they can.

At the beginning there was chatting and a big mess. For the next twenty minutes the class practised, then they did it in half the time.
Ross told them three rules: everybody must have pencils and notepapers for notetaking; asking or answering a question you must stand at the side of your seat; the first words you say asking or answering a question are "Mr. Ross".

On the next day the students are already sitting on their seats in their posture. Ross added to the words "Strength through discipline", the word community, Their mottos were "Strength through discipline" and "Strength through community". The whole class stood up and repeated the mottos. Then Ross drew on the blackboard a circle with the shape of a wave in it. This was their common sign. They also had a common salute.

David, a student of Mr. Ross history class, tried to get the whole football team into the wave. He saw a possibility to win more games and making a real team.

On the third day, Ross gave them yellow membership cards. Some had a red "X" on the other side like Brian`s and Robert`s (the classlooser) cards. Those pupils are like monitors. They denounce other students who don`t obey to the rules of the way direct to Mr. Ross. Then they enlarged the motto by a third word "Strength through action". From this day Ross wants that all are equal and there are no competings against each other.

The Wave was no longer an idea or a game. It was a living moment in the students.

Laurie (the top pupil) is the only one who feels strange about the Wave. The other like it because they are all equal, they didn`t have to worry how populate they are.

Laurie got a letter from a younger student who was with his friends in Mr. Ross` class, too. After the lasson a senior student asked them if they want to join in and how great it is. The student`s friends joined in but the boy didn`t. So the senior told him that he never will have friends because they don`t want pupils who aren`t in the Wave and if he joins not soon it will be too late.

Robert wants to be Ross`bodyguard because such a big leader needs bodyguards. At the beginning Ross has some doubts but he agreed because he saw it as a part of the experiment.

Larie found some students who are against the Wave too. They are writing an article about it. It explains the Wave as a dangerous and midless movement.

After school Brian and David (Lauries boyfriend) are waiting for Laurie because David has to talk with her, about the article, but Laurie doesn`t want to listen him. So David grasped her arm. He says that Laurie hasn`t the right to disturb what is so good for nearly all students. When she shouted that she hates the Wave he throw her down on the grass. David couldn`t belive that he had done such a stupid thing for the Wave. Laurie and David visit Ben Ross for telling him to break up the Wave. Ross allready has a plan but he can`t tell it to Laurie and David because if the students recognize that he wants to end it they will have learned nothing or they`ll fight against Ben Ross and giving up the Wave.

Next day Ross explains the students that there is a rally where all members should come because their leader speaks to them. At the rally they had guards who controlled the membership cards and were aware that only wave-members are at the rally. All the pupils are staring on a huge, blank movie screen. Then Ben Ross shouted "There is your leader!" and the film starts. All the wave-members now see a speech from Hitler on the screen. Ross added that they have made some good nazis. The pupils are shocked. They see that it could happen again and that they could be the victims. They learnt a lot about this experiment and will now see the nazi time with other eyes.

4. A closer look at the central figures

The People

Ben Ross: He is the history teacher. He starts the experiment, because he wants to show the pupils how it was in the nazi-time. He is an intelligent young teacher with two left hands.

Laurie Sanders: She is the best pupil in the class. She is very popular and has a lot of friends. She is the girlfriend of David and the editor of "The Gordon Grapevine", the school paper.

David Collins: He is Lauries boyfriend and the captain of the footballteam. He is very popular too and has also a lot of friends. He is very dedicated to the Wave.

Robert Billings: At the beginning of the story he is the class-looser. But the Wave gave him the chance to be somebody.

5. My personal opinion

What I think about the book

This work of Todd Strasser (Morton Rhue) shows in a sarcastic but also realistic way how easily a group can be influenced. The change from a normal class to "organised troops" was executed in only a few days. The dramatic part is that all what is described in the book already happend several years before World War II. When Hitler took the power over Germany.

It is an interesting fact that everything started as a little game to show how something like Nazi Germany could have happened. But the experiment was surely not for the pupils to become little Nazis.

Laurie just cannot understand that something as silly and dumb as the Wave could have made David nearly break up with her. As a member of the community, he has to obey there is no other possibility for him. If he doesn`t, he will be expelled from the organisation.

After the terrible film about the concentration camps, where members of the SS killed millions of Jewish people, David told his girlfriend that something like that never could happen again. But in fact the developement in this school was perfect proof that he was not right. Nobody had expected the horrendous proportions that the game would assume.

All in all, this was a very interesting book and I really enjoyed reading it. I was especially impressed by the easy style in which the author tells the thrilling story.