32) The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. David Fickling, 2006. 215 pages. ISBN: 978-0-385-75106-3.

Genre/Subject: Holocaust, Friendship

Ages: 12 - 14

Plot: A nine-year-old boy called Bruno is the son of a Nazi commander. One day Bruno makes friends with a Jewish boy who is in the concentration camp as an inmate. The setting is in Nazi Germany,

The setting is in Nazi Germany. A nine-year-old boy called Bruno moves with his family from Berlin to a new house in an unfamiliar place called "Out-With." In an unfamiliar place, Bruno decides to explore the surroundings of his new home. There are locations that are off-limits, or "Out Of Bounds At All Times And No Exceptions." However, Bruno is a child who likes adventure, so Bruno decides to wander off. He comes to a fence and sees a young boy sitting on the other side of the fence. The boy is wearing striped pajamas, a cloth cap, and an armband with a star on it. Bruno is too young to understand what the star means, but he makes fiends with the young inmate, named Shmuel. In their conversation Bruno finds that they share the same birthday. The both discuss thier families and get to know each other. Bruno then asks why there are so many people on his side of the fence and what they are doing there. Bruno brings Shmuel food and they talk more. Shumel tells Bruno that he has been separated from his father, and is worried. Bruno promises to help Shumel look for his father, and Shumel promises to get Bruno some pajamas so he will blend in on his side of the fence. Bruno's father decides that living near the concentration camps is not a place to grow up for a young boy, so he decides to move his family. On the day that Bruno is to leave, Bruno visits Shumel. He believes he can help Shumel find his father quickly before his family is ready to leave. Bruno takes off his clothes, and puts on other pajamas and digs a hole to get on the other side of the fence. As the boys search for Shumel's father, the soldiers force prisoners to go into a room. Bruno holds Shumel's hand and the entire room goes into darkness.

Review: This story feels like a real true story, but it is fictional. The story is told from Bruno's perspective, in which his innocence allows him to see beyond the racism against the Jews. Bruno is a German, but he does not see Shumel as a Jewish person. For Bruno, Shumel is another nine-year-old boy and they have much in common. His innocence remains despite the fact that he is living near a death camp; his naivety is also his fate. The author explores the innocence of children in wartime, and the desire to have a friendship.