Author: John Boyne
Published: 2015 Pierrot Fischer is the son of a French woman and a German man. His father had died, so he lives with his mother at the beginning of the book. Pierrot is friends with Anshel, a Jewish boy who lives in his apartment building. Anshel is deaf, so Pierrot learned how to communicate with him through sign language. Anshel loves writing stories, and Pierrot loves reading them. Near the beginning of the book, Pierrot’s mother grows sick and dies. He is suddenly an orphan with no place to go. He gets sent to an orphanage, and shortly after, his aunt Beatrix realizes what has happened to his parents, and she sends for him. Beatrix works as a housekeeper in a huge mansion on a mountain. We soon find out that the person who owns the house is Adolf Hitler. Pierrot, who changes his name to Pieter in order to sound more German, starts to admire Hitler. When there is a threat on Hitler’s life, Pieter figures it out and warns him before it is too late. The most surprising thing about this book was that the main character was unlikable. We obviously are not rooting for Pieter. We slowly watch as he turns into someone bad, someone very different from the boy who read Anshel’s stories and learned sign language in order to speak with him. Soon he doesn’t even open Anshel’s letters because he is Jewish. The change is gradual, and all of a sudden we hardly recognize Pieter anymore. This book offers a unique point-of-view for this topic. I really enjoyed reading this, and I struggled with not liking the main character. It made it a very interesting read!
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Author: Michael Bornstein & Debbie Bornstein Holinstat
Publshed: 2017 This is a memoir written by Michael Bornstein and his daughter about Michael’s time as a young child as a prisoner of Auschwitz. The book starts with before Michael was even born on the day when the German soldiers were coming to Zarki in Poland to raid houses and steal money and valuables from Jewish families. The story follows Michael’s family after Michael is born and the conditions they had to live in at various times. Michael’s father becomes the Judenrat police chief, a Jewish person who is given a little bit of power to help keep the peace in their town. Because of his connections, Michael’s family was saved more than once. Eventually Michael, his parents, his brother, and his grandmother end up at Auschwitz, the death camp. His brother and father become separated from Michael and his mother and grandmother. They soon come to learn that they were murdered in the gas chambers shortly after they arrived. This book doesn’t shy away from the torture and the agony experienced by the Jewish people in Auschwitz. This first-hand account from a person who was a child at the time is heartbreaking and painful to read. Michael thought that this was the way life was supposed to be; he didn’t know any different. The book talks about the different ways Jewish people survived during World War II. At the end of the book, much of Michael’s extended family managed to survive, which is a miracle. I think readers will really enjoy learning about Michael and his experiences during the war in this heartbreaking and honest book. Author: Natasha Friend
Published: 2016 Anna is a thirteen-year-old girl who suddenly finds herself living with her dad, new stepmom, and baby sister. Anna’s mom has been suffering from depression for years, but Anna has always been able to take care of her. She kept her fed and made her shower and go to work. One day Anna comes home and finds her mom has attempted to commit suicide. Her mom becomes hospitalized, and Anna has to move. The problem with living with her dad is that she has never really forgiven him for leaving them and making Anna be the grown-up and take care of her mom. The other problem is that Anna’s stepmom is twenty-four years old, and Anna can’t stand her. School isn’t much better. She was recently dumped by her best friend Dani because Dani just decided she didn’t want to be friends with her anymore. The only people who will sit with her at lunch are fellow outcasts. This book follows Anna as she goes through the year feeling like she is alone. Her mom survives, but she has to be hospitalized, and the doctors are trying to find her a new medication that will make her better. Anna feels betrayed by almost everyone in her life. When her fellow outcasts at lunch start to try to become her friends, Anna might just learn that she is not alone after all. This book was so great that I read it all in one night. I loved the way this talked about mental illness. Anna is often impatient, thinking that her mom should be better two weeks after being hospitalized, but she learns quickly that it takes a lot longer than that. I loved getting to know Anna’s new unique friends. The bond the girls formed made me think back to friendships from when I was their age. Author: Emmy Laybourne
Published: 2012 Dean starts his day like a normal day, running to catch the school bus. It’s only when he gets on the school bus that strange things start to happen. First, the hail. Before long, the small hail turns into huge chunks of ice falling from the sky, denting the bus. The kids on the bus are freaking out, and then the bus slips on the ice and it tips over. The hail is now coming through the windows, hitting the passengers. Eventually, the kids are saved by another bus who drives them into a store. The bus driver leaves them there, saying she’s going to go for help. All of a sudden six high school kids, two eighth-graders, and six little kids are trapped together in a store. Soon after they get there, a major earthquake hits. The air and the water outside become contaminated and affect people that they touch in dangerous ways. The kids have to fend for themselves until an adult can rescue them. If there even are any adults left out there. Living in this huge store becomes difficult as drama takes over. Everyone wants to be the leader. Everyone wants to do things differently. People want to leave and get help, and others want to stay. The most interesting question I had while reading this was why everything was happening in the first place. What caused the hail, the earthquake, and the contamination? I think that this is going to be a very interesting series. |
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