John Boyne
I've never enjoyed history. It was a difficult subject for me in school. I never felt interested in it. As a teacher, it was my least favorite subject to teach, (most likely because I was having to learn what I was teaching...as I didn't learn it when I was in school, due to not being interested.) Ugh. However, a little over a year ago, I read the book The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah. Woah. It pulled me right in. After never having read, (at least any memorable), historical fiction, I found myself wanting more. And since then, I've been reading all of the WWII historical fiction that I can get my hands on. I feel like I'm finally able to learn about history, through historical fiction. It's my new favorite genre.
"'We're like twins,' said Bruno. 'A little bit,' agreed Schmuel.'"
5 out of 5 Stars
Nine-year-old Bruno doesn't understand why his family has had to move and leave their enormous house in Berlin, and move into this smaller house surrounded by nothing, with nobody to play with. His father was told to move for work. He is in charge of a bunch of soldiers. Bruno notices that outside his window, he can see a huge nasty place. It is surrounded by a wire fence, and has huts, and boys and men wearing striped pajamas and hats. He doesn't understand why there are so many people there, and yet he has nobody to play with. Being an adventurer, one day he wanders off, and sees a speck in the distance. The speck turns out to be a child on the other side of the fence. And that is where the real story begins.
The author, John Boyne, did an incredible job at telling this story from a young child's point of view. The innocence with which it was written never falters. I found myself looking at what was happening through the lens of a child, and making discoveries as to what was going on along the way, just as I would assume Bruno was. My heart was broken for both Bruno and Schmuel. Neither understood fully what was happening, or why. Their friendship...their innocence...was everything. Beautifully tragic. I'm so glad they had each other.
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