I unfortunately had to DNF this book at around 18% because the ebook was full of formatting errors that were extremely distracting. I enjoyed the content of the book for the most part, however, I was also distracted by the footnotes, as it seemed as if there were several on each page, and often they were to define words that were unnecessary to define (like fedora). I would have enjoyed the book more without the footnotes (which also contributed to the distracting formatting) and if it was easier to read.

This was a very informative book about a part of history that isn't as talked about. Max Willi Fischer does a good job of emotional writing. It was very easy for me as the reader to see the passion, feel empathy, and even feel the emotions as Lud was feeling them. Romance was a large part of the plot, but I wasn't as invested in it as I normally would be. I was more invested in Lud's missing German immigrant parents. I would have liked to seen more exploration about what happened to them and how Lud was feeling and handling it.

4.5 stars
I have to say, I have not learned so much from a historical fiction book in a long time.

Japanese internment camps, I’ve known and read about for years. My family and I have been to see several of them, including Topaz and Heart Mountain. Other books I’ve read, such as “The Last Year of the War” and “The War Outside”, made me aware of Germans, Italians, and other”enemy aliens” being detained as well.
In “American Brush-Off”, I read of the conditions under which many of these “enemies” of America were arrested and incarcerated. Entire families were ordered out of their homes with only time to pack a few changes of clothing and taken away to holding cells, while F.B.I. agents ransacked their homes searching for “contraband”.
Another fact that I was unaware of was that when Americans of German descent wanted to join the Armed Forces during the war, they were refused entrance. However, the 442 Combat Team, made up solely of Japanese-Americans who wanted to prove their loyalty to the United States, was allowed to fight. Many were highly decorated for their valor, and many books about these brave men have been published.
I highly recommend this book for history buffs.

American Brush-Off, by Max Willi Fischer, is a coming-of-age tale during World War II. Lud Mueller is a young man whose forebears immigrated from Germany. He is, by all accounts, the All-American Boy. Just when he thinks he knows where life will take him, World War II intervenes. Due to his heritage, Lud, his family, and millions of others are torn from their homes, and labeled as "enemy aliens".

Relocated to the Texas desert, they become a pawn in the government's war strategy. Lud knows that he will have to find a way to survive this, but at what cost?

I tried to read this book. The topic, for a number of reasons, is right up my alley. Unfortunately, I could not get into it. It's just one of the stories, that I was just bored by.

Do I recommend it? No.