HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER'S SHADOW

Bartoletti, Susan Campbell. 2005. HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER’S SHADOW. New York: Scholastic Nonfiction, 2005.

HITLER YOUTH is a winner of the 2006 Newbery Honor medal. It’s a nonfiction book written for children about how young people figured into Adolph Hitler’s plans for the future. While the group Hitler Youth, or Hitlerjugend, was formed in 1926, this book focuses on the years between 1933 and 1945. And though millions of boys and girls belonged to Hitler Youth, this book focuses on 12.  

The subject matter in HITLER YOUTH is fascinating and new to me. Like everyone else my age, I grew up learning about Nazis and the Holocaust and World War II. This is the first time I’ve ever learned about Hitler’s plans to use young people to carry out his mission. It baffles me as to why schools don’t teach this particular part of the Nazi era. It seems to me it would serve as a great way to get students’ interests piqued.

HITLER YOUTH contains photos from that time period, and Bartoletti drew its contents from oral histories, diaries, letters, and interviews with Holocaust survivors and Hitler Youth. She answers the intriguing questions of why they joined, what their responsibilities to Hitler were, and what it was like. It was extremely interesting to read firsthand accounts of specific events.

I would recommend this book to reluctant learners of world history and to young readers interested in war in general. War is currently very much a part of today’s youth. “The final chapter superbly summarizes the weighty significance of this part of the 20th century and challenges young readers to prevent history from repeating itself” (Medlar).

Reference List:

Medlar, Andrew. 2005. Review of Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow, by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. School Library Journal.

THE BOOK THIEF

Zusak, Markus. 2006. THE BOOK THIEF. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006.

 THE BOOK THIEF is interesting from the very beginning because it’s narrated by someone (or something?) a little different: Death. That’s right, Death is telling this story. I dare the reader not to get sucked in by that little nugget of information alone. Let’s face it—when Death has something to say, people take notice.

In BOOK THIEF, Death tells the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl who lives right outside of Munich, Germany during the time of World War II. She is the book thief to which the title refers. She arrives at her foster home at age 9 with her first steal, The Gravediggers Handbook, and her foster father reads to her from it when she has nightmares about her brother’s death. To her, books are treasures and so she continues to steal them throughout the ensuing years, and it’s while she’s pursuing this “hobby” that she makes the most unusual friends.

Readers will be able to relate to Liesel’s love of books and reading, and will be intrigued by her daring as she pilfers from Nazi book burnings and from the mayor’s wife’s personal library. Because this is historical fiction, events that happened in real life are experienced here through the eyes of the characters. World War II and the Holocaust stir up emotions in people to this day—even in people who never had to experience it, and don’t know anyone who did. It was just a bleak and tragic time in history that touches a chord in everyone. This book did that for me.

This book is for all ages 12 and up, for those who love history, those who have had something taken from them and want to take something back in any way they can, and for those looking to add a bit more meaning in their lives. The novel is just captivating: “Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward” (Goldsmith).

Reference List:

Goldsmith, Francisca. 2006. Review of The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. School Library Journal.

THE WEDNESDAY WARS

Schmidt, Gary D. 2007. THE WEDNESDAY WARS. New York: Clarion Books, 2007.

There are three things readers need to know about Holling Hoodhood, the protagonist of WEDNESDAY WARS: first, he’s the only Presbyterian in his seventh grade class; second, because of this he is the only one left behind while his Catholic and Jewish classmates attend religious instruction on Wednesday afternoons; and third, the teacher he’s left behind with hates his guts. At least, that’s the way it seems to Holling. These three small facts are what set the events of the novel in motion.

I was pleasantly surprised by THE WEDNESDAY WARS. I was fearful that because the protagonist was a young male, that I would be unable to connect with him as a character. After reading the first few pages, however, my fears were completely set aside because I realized this novel was written in such a way that made Holling likeable and relatable. The book is short, less than three hundred pages, and though the main character is in seventh grade, I would feel comfortable recommending it to fourth grade readers and up.

WEDNESDAY WARS refers to his weekly “battles” with his teacher, Mrs. Baker, whom he is certain took a disliking to him since the first day of school when she realized he would be the only one in class on Wednesday afternoons, when she could be having an otherwise free hour. However, though Holling isn’t involved in an actual “war”, the novel is set during the time period of the Vietnam War, making this a work of historical fiction, and it does have an impact on several characters, Mrs. Baker included.

I found WEDNESDAY WARS to be entertaining, and loved experiencing life through Holling’s eyes because of his amusing and sometimes thoughtful inner dialogue. I was also intrigued because though I was certain Mrs. Baker didn’t actually HATE Holling, there did seem to be something going on, and I wanted to find out what it was. This novel won a Newbery Honor medal in 2008 for reasons best summed up in this quote from a starred review in Booklist: “Holling's unwavering, distinctive voice offers a gentle, hopeful, moving story of a boy who, with the right help, learns to stretch beyond the limitations of his family, his violent times, and his fear, as he leaps into his future with his eyes and his heart wide open” (Engberg).

Reference List:

Engberg, Gillian. 2007. Review of The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt. Booklist.

LITTLE BROTHER

Doctorow, Cory. 2008. LITTLE BROTHER. New York: Tor Teen, 2008.

LITTLE BROTHER by Cory Doctorow features the story of Marcus (a.k.a. w1n5t0n), a tech-savvy teenager who leads a rebellion against the government after his city is turned into a police state after a terrorist attack.

I found LITTLE BROTHER to be highly entertaining. It’s one of those fast-paced, edge of your seat, what’ll-happen-next type of novels. The hero of the novel is very computer smart which I love because it meant I could learn about a subject I’m interested in through his character. It’s always an added bonus when you can close a novel and be a little smarter than when you started.

Marcus makes for a compelling, well-rounded main character. He’s disgusted by the way the government is taking over his city, not to mention the fact that they locked him up for six days after the terrorist attack because he was under suspicion. He’s the unlikely leader of a large rebellion against the government, but at the same time you’re reminded that he’s just a teenage boy, too. He doesn’t have all the answers, he’s scared at times, but the sense of injustice he feels won’t let him rest. One reviewer agrees: “Marcus is a wonderfully developed character: hyperaware of his surroundings, trying to redress past wrongs, and rebelling against authority” (Shoemaker).

Reference List:

Shoemaker, Chris. 2008. Review of Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. School Library Journal.

CIRQUE DU FREAK: A LIVING NIGHTMARE

Shan, Darren. 2001. CIRQUE DU FREAK: A LIVING NIGHTMARE. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2001.

In CIRQUE DU FREAK, Darren and his friend Steve manage to get tickets to a genuine freak show, complete with contortionist sisters, a woman who can grow and then retract her beard at will, a snakeboy, and a man name Mr. Crepsley that can control his performing spider with a flute. While the show is extremely entertaining, and somewhat terrifying, to the boys, it’s not until Mr. Crepsley and his spider Madame Octa perform that things take a turn for the unbelievable. Because Steve recognizes him for whom he really is—a vampire. And Darren, well he’s just interested in the spider, an obsession of his since he was little. He learns the hard way that you should never, ever, steal a vampire’s spider.

CIRQUE DU FREAK was good. It was interesting. It was fast-paced, easy to read, and because it’s on the shorter side, length-wise, it was a fast read. However, for a reason I can’t quite put my finger on, it wasn’t a great novel to me, and I’ll likely not be picking up the sequels any time soon. Perhaps it was because of a lack of in-depth characterization, which can sometimes be a downfall of shorter novels. I always felt that Darren Shan (the character, not the author) was a little one dimensional, as were the rest of the characters in the book. I felt no emotional connection to the characters, even after Steve was bitten by Madame Octa and faced certain death. There was a slight lag in the beginning before the action picked up, as also noticed by this reviewer: “The slowness of the plot in the beginning might turn some readers off, but once the supernatural enters, they will be hooked” (Capeheart).

That being said, the novel itself WAS entertaining and certainly held my attention. I don’t regret reading it at all, and may one day read the sequels, but they won’t be at the top of my To Be Read list. I would recommend it to fantasy lovers, grades five and up.

Reference List:

Capeheart, Timothy. 2001. Review of Cirque Du Freak: A Living Nightmare, by Darren Shan. School Library Journal.

THE HUNGER GAMES

Collins, Suzanne. 2008. THE HUNGER GAMES. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2008.

 HUNGER GAMES came as somewhat of a pleasant surprise to me. Not typically a fan of dystopia novels, I wasn’t sure how well I’d be able to relate to the main character. My worries were unfounded, however, when I got sucked into the storyline from page 1!

In each of the 12 districts of Panem, the annual Reaping is held—the choosing of one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, to be participants in the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games are basically a brutal version of the reality show, Survivor, except instead of voting people off, you must kill your opponents. Odds are always low that the younger children will be called, but this year the near impossible happens—Katniss Everdeen’s 12-year-old sister’s name is chosen. Kat refuses to accept this, and therefore volunteers herself in Prim’s place. Immediately after this, Kat’s adventure begins.

HUNGER GAMES is not a humorous book. There are deaths, one of which is close to Katniss’s heart, and is written in a way that is likely to bring a tear to the reader’s eye. However, Katniss is a strong character, talented with a bow and arrow, and skilled at hunting. Reading about her movements through the Arena, the landscape chosen for the Games, is fascinating and will have the reader thirsting for the next scene to see what happens next. So while there is little-to-no humor, the action and heart of the book are more than enough to make up for it.

The novel does contain some romance, but not the traditional sort. The story is fast-paced and action-packed so there is little time to cultivate a budding relationship. Kat and Peeta, the boy chosen from District 12, are instructed by their handlers to play up the young love angle in order to win sponsors and audience favoritism. Peeta plays his part so well that Kat begins to wonder if he truly does have feelings for her, and because of this, her own feelings become confused and she realizes that she may have feelings for him as well. There is little time to fully resolve this, though, and readers will likely be reaching for the sequels as soon they turn this novel’s last page.

HUNGER GAMES is not about the romance, though. It takes a backseat to the warlike situation, the game of survival, the thrill of the hunt, and sacrificing everything so that the person you love most can live. Says a review in School Library Journal, “Collins's characters are completely realistic and sympathetic as they form alliances and friendships in the face of overwhelming odds; the plot is tense, dramatic, and engrossing” (Baird).

Reference List:

Baird, Jane Henriksen. 2008. Review of The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. School Library Journal.