I was standing in line at a sports store about a month ago and the cashier and I got into a discussion about books. She told me that she and her junior high aged son had just read this book together and they were looking forward to watching the movie that had come out in March.
I read most of the book on a plane trip to IL so it's a quick read. It tells the story of a 9 year old German boy who is forced to leave his comfortable life in Berlin and live in a place called "out with" where his father is going to be a German commandant. He is bored with no one to talk to or play with besides his older sister until one day when he starts exploring and meets a boy that lives on the other side of the barbed wire fence. Shmuel is his age and they soon become friends, sharing what their lives were like before they each came to this place called "out with" and their hopes and dreams for the future.
This really was an intriguing story of the Holocaust. I've read several books on this topic, but usually from the point of view of an adult or young adult and not from a young child. I think that the author wanted to stress the fact that how come two little boys can see past the fact that even though they have different backgrounds and upbringing they still have the same needs and wants - food, friendship, family, but grown men and women have the problem of only seeing the differences among themselves and not the common, basic needs that can unite all people? This part of history may be over, but there are still many "fences" up in other parts of the world that need to come down so we can all stand united as one people with no more hatred.
5 stars
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