6. Crossover Books - The boy in the Striped Pajamas

The first impression that I had of the book was that it was a very interesting book. I heard about the story before, because a friend of mine had already read it. He said that he liked the book but also very painful to read how conditions were in World War two. Most books about world war two are very sad and sometimes also a bit boring, but this book had an interesting plot, as my friend told me. I couldn’t stop reading till I finished the book. I loved it from the moment I started reading. I think World war two is very interesting , so for me it was great to get to know another story which might have happened back then.

What I loved about this book is the way it is written. The book has a very interesting concept. As the reader, you see through Bruno’s eyes, but you know more than the things he sees. Bruno doesn’t know his father is a commandant in a concentration camp, but the reader does know this.  I also like the story because of its layers. I understand now why it is a crossover book. What I disliked about the book is that it is a bit unrealistic. Bruno is able to speak with Shmuel even though Shmuel is in a concentration camp. During the World War two I can’t imagine it would be so easy for the Jews to be so close to the end of the camp. This is a bit unrealistic and that kind of bothered me while reading.

I think this book would be suitable for children aged 12 to 14, and older. This book is actually pretty easy to identify with, because you see life through the eyes of a young boy. Any reader ever was 9 in his/her life and could understand the way Bruno thinks and why he acts the way he does. It is a quite hard story, so I don’t think it is suitably for children aged under 12.

In class we talked about this book and it was pretty funny that the reactions were the same as mine. Very good book, but somehow a bit unrealistic. I also heard classmates talking about Bruno, how they loved him and the way he acts. He is absolutely not a typical hero, he is just a normal boy who is at the wrong place at the wrong time. Classmates also liked the book because after reading the book, you still think about the issues that it raised.

On the internet I found some very insulting blogs about how Nazis are evil and deserve a son to die. I couldn’t agree with that. Blogs state that the death of a not Jewish boy seems more sad than the fact that thousands of Jews died. This is absolutely not the message, it think. This book is about the switch war can have, and how everyone is involved. The ‘good’ and the ‘bad’.

I would recommend this book to my students, because I think it is very important that student know how World War two was like, even though this is a story with little information about it. Yes, my students must read this.