Goodreads synopsis: He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
My rating: 4 stars.
Content warnings: PG. Some childhood roughhousing, and several mentions of dead bodies. Implied Nazi violence.
Thoughts: I was not expecting anything from this book after the way Stargirl turned out. But this book was so beautiful, and heartfelt I couldn't believe it was the same author. It was so interesting to see the child's perspective, and the innocence associated with the events happening around the narrator. I don't know that I've ever seen a book that took quite that route and it was startling and thought provoking.
You can also see the narrator grow and mature as the book progresses, and it's very subtle, but very neat to see.
The questions of identity, and the way the book deals with that was also touching. Definitely one of the best WWII era books I've read in a while.
