November 3, 2010

Wednesdays Worthwhile Reads

I need to get more on the ball with this....again I'm posting late.
Worthwhile reads is a weekly feature here, that showcases some past favourites. Sometimes we get so caught up in new releases that we forget to talk about the books that we've loved in the past.

To participate, please link to your post below. Rules are simple: The book must be published before 2009. Please include a cover image, summary and your thoughts on the book (doesn't need to be a full review)

My Selection this week was inspired by Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish "Top Ten Books that Made you Cry"


The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Published in 2006 by David Fickling Books
224 pages

Summary from GoodReads
Berlin 1942

When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move from their home to a new house far far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence running alongside stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people he can see in the distance.

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different to his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.
 
  This was a powerful book. Looking at the summary you'd be able to tell that it's a book about world war two-in particular its about the Holocaust. The Holocaust is an intense subject matter in any type of book but written in the perspective of a nine year old completely oblivious to the atrocities going on around him it is unforgettable. I was -for lack of a better word "gobsmacked" when I finished and the ending haunted me for weeks. I was really shocked when they made it into a movie and I have to say that if you can -read the book first.  It's not a feel-good book, but it is a book that I think everyone should read.

1 comment:

  1. I'm kind of bummed that I've already seen this movie, because the ending is a crazy huge spoiler. (Although, if you have seen the movie, I have to admit that a certain character displays one of the best grief scenes I've ever come across).

    I'm still wanting to read the book though! I'll have to bump it up my list!

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