Emil and Karl

One book in the library that I have read is Emil and Karl. The book is about a Jewish boy named Karl and a German boy named Emil. In the beginning of the book Nazis storm in and kill Karl’s mother, and years earlier they did the same to his father. Karl is left homeless, scared, and on the brink of death. The whole book is about surviving and running away from the Nazis. It is a very good book. This is one of the best Holocaust books that I have ever read.
Review by C.M.

Run Boy Run by Uri Orlev

    

Run Boy Run is based on a story of a boy during the holocaust. It is a very thrilling book that is loaded with suspense. I could not put it down and I highly recommend it to all of my friends. In the beginning of the book a young boy is orphaned because of the holocaust, and he is forced to live and survive on his own. Throught the book he is forced to overcome many obstacles great and small. He makes many new friends, and has a lot of close calls.

Annexed by Sharon Dogar

Annexed by Sharon Dogar takes place during the final two years of WWII, while the Nazis are getting rid of the Jews in Holland. Anne Frank and her family are in hiding in the annex of an office building when Peter Van Pels and his family arrive to take refuge there. This is a fictionalized story of what it may have been like for Peter who at first detests Anne and then finds himself falling in love with her. He is fascinated with her mind, her energy, and her never ending hope and trust in mankind's goodness. Part I of the novel comes mostly from factual information taken from The Diary of Anne Frank, and this part of the novel is somewhat slow, building toward the climax of the eventual discovery of the families hiding in the Annex. The build up shows Peter's growing love for Anne, and his growing confusion about his own courage and identity. As Part II opens, the families have been discovered and taken by train to the death camps. The author describes what it was like in the death camps, using information gathered from actual accounts. An innovative portrayal from the point of view of a lesser-known character from the well-known Diary of Anne Frank. This is a disturbing portrayal of one of the most horrific times in history, and should be read by anyone who is interested in the Holocaust or the Anne Frank story.

Reviewed by Mrs. B.

Night by Elie Wiesel

Night by Elie Wiesel
This is not an easy book to read. We have all heard about the atrocities of the Holocaust, but it is difficult to imagine the inhumanity. Elie Wiesel narrates the events leading up to the capture and transfer of his family to a concentration camp, the separation from his mother and sister, and the steady deterioration of his father's health and the steady deterioration of his own will to live. His tone is even and carefully paced, almost without emotion. He states the events as if watching in retrospect. We see first-hand how these survivors find a way to live when there is nothing to live for. No one reads this book and remains unmoved.
~C.B.

The Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Uprising
by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Uprising is about 3 girls, Bella, Yetta, and Janewho befriend each other. Bella , an immigrant from Italy, comes to America and gets a job at a Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. There she befriends Yetta, and immigrant from Russia. During a factory strike, they meet a rich girl named Jane and they all become best friends. After, a tragic event that really shows how strong their friendship is, you see how much they really love each other. – Heather V.

Incantation by Alice Hoffman

Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Set during the Spanish Inquisition, the main character, Estrella, discovers that she and her family have a secret that if revealed to others will place her family in grave danger. She and her best friend Catalina, have always believed that they will remain friends forever, but when Estrella falls in love with the boy that Catalina plans to marry, their friendship falters. Catalina seeks revenge and finds a perfect way to do this. The town begins a campaign against Jews, burning all of the books owned by Jews, and listing ten ways to determine if your neighbor is a Jew. "Turn one in, and you share all he owns, halved with the court." As Estrella reads the list, she realizes her family's secret. At first this story seems to be about jealousy and betrayal, but a closer look shows a deeper story of fear, discrimination and human nature. Very intense.
~Mrs. Brownell

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle

I just finished reading The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyle. The subject is the Holocaust and the main character is a nine year old German boy, Bruno, the son of a high-ranking German official. The family has just been relocated to a house on the protected property of a concentration camp. The father's job is to oversee the operation of the concentration camp, and he does so with a stern and detached manner. The young boy does not understand why they have moved, and does not like living here. He misses his friends back home in Berlin until he meets a Jewish boy who lives on the "other side of the fence." This boy is also nine years old and they slowly develop a friendship built upon talking with each other with the fence in between. The story is comes to a disturbing and unpredictable conclusion, portraying the horrors of the concentration camp through the eyes of these two young boys. The book has been made into a movie. Watch the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RGRaeAx9Qs