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rossandhissandwich's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, so, it's a touching book but from the chapters 5-14 it seemed a little plain and repetitive, because in the first chapters Hans talks about his new "obsession" with Konradin, then, when they became friends it becomes more repetitive and plain but OH after chapter 14! I didn't mention that this book takes place during the first year of WWII, the main character, Hans Is jewish and his best friend Is Konradin, son of some Nazis. As I was saying, After chapter 14 Hans finds out that Konradin's parents are Nazis and he has this big fight with Konradin because he thinks he hates Jews too, but It isn't like that. They won't talk to eachother that often after that, so Hans Is alone at school, he doesen't have any friends, and Hitler Is becoming more and more popular, so Hans gets bullied at school for being jewish, even by his own teacher, who tells him that when his classmates tell him to go back to Palestine, he should follow their advices. His parents are concearned so they send him to Harvard in the USA, to keep him safe. When he arrives, he recieves a letter from Konradin where he says that "I prefer Hitler to Stalin" and "Hitler won't kill you because you're really smart and he will see your potential". Hans is absolutely heartbroken. Years and years passed, and WWII has come to an end, and Hans -who became a rich, succesful man- recieves a letter where there's written all of his classmates who died during war's names. He's really happy to know that some of them had died, and a bit sad to see others on the list. He doesen't have the courage to see the letter "H" (he was afraid he might see Konradin, even if he thought he was a Nazi). He finally opens it and sees: "Von Hoelfens Konradin, captured planning to kill Hitler, executed". Konradin wasn't a Nazi, he just told Hans he was because his lettera get checked before being sent
I admit I was about to cry reading it, what a plot twist!
I admit I was about to cry reading it, what a plot twist!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Bullying, Antisemitism, and Hate crime
valeria_guercini's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
It is routine, for all of us, to have to read at least one book to document the horrors of WWII, against our will, during secondary school. It's part of what teachers believe to be the right way to sensitize someone to these events, and a great way for us to access all kinds of testimonies through the past.
Out of all the books that could have been recommended to me, I'm glad that my teacher, four years ago, chose this one. It was definitely a risk, because this one is not as much on the nose with everything that happened DURING the Holocaust, but more of a look at what are the consequences of what happened to Jewish families when the Nuremberg laws were introduced. But I think this opened 14 year-old-me's heart to what were then to be many more heart-wrenching stories from this period.
Our main characters feel like they were made for each other, and understand this the first moment they meet. They live this friendship like it's a once-in-a-lifetime love story.
Their rendez-vous are framed by the beautiful landscapes of southern Germany, and their relationship blooms with the spring. It feels like this world is made to accomodate them (like it was supposed to).
It is by showing us this much of an attachment and care for each other that, what follows, feels like a stab in the back.
The final letter from Konradin to Hans, before he leaves, shows how much the Nazi propaganda had changed the spirits of the men at the time, no matter education, class or their relationships. It shows us how easy it is for people, for us, to turn into monsters if the wrong person is pulling the strings.
Hans's and our grief for the death of what was supposed to be a life-long friendship with the man he loved most destroys, in a personal way, all our hearts. It's the first (even if smallest) piece into understanding the pain all these people had to go through.
This may not be a perfect book, but there is not one part of it that I haven't loved with all of myself.
Out of all the books that could have been recommended to me, I'm glad that my teacher, four years ago, chose this one. It was definitely a risk, because this one is not as much on the nose with everything that happened DURING the Holocaust, but more of a look at what are the consequences of what happened to Jewish families when the Nuremberg laws were introduced. But I think this opened 14 year-old-me's heart to what were then to be many more heart-wrenching stories from this period.
Our main characters feel like they were made for each other, and understand this the first moment they meet. They live this friendship like it's a once-in-a-lifetime love story.
Their rendez-vous are framed by the beautiful landscapes of southern Germany, and their relationship blooms with the spring. It feels like this world is made to accomodate them (like it was supposed to).
It is by showing us this much of an attachment and care for each other that, what follows, feels like a stab in the back.
The final letter from Konradin to Hans, before he leaves, shows how much the Nazi propaganda had changed the spirits of the men at the time, no matter education, class or their relationships. It shows us how easy it is for people, for us, to turn into monsters if the wrong person is pulling the strings.
Hans's and our grief for the death of what was supposed to be a life-long friendship with the man he loved most destroys, in a personal way, all our hearts. It's the first (even if smallest) piece into understanding the pain all these people had to go through.
This may not be a perfect book, but there is not one part of it that I haven't loved with all of myself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: War and Death
Minor: Bullying
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