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asourceoffiction's review against another edition
The idea of using books for a sense of escape or normality even at the very worst moments of humanity is incredibly humbling. And the "living books" on offer come so close to creating beauty in this bleak landscape. That there are more books on offer than the physical ones in Dita's meagre library, thanks to the vivid memories of some of the teachers and their retellings of popular stories. It's astonishing the lengths adults (and older children like Dita) would go to in order to give the younger prisoners opportunities and education.
Of course the emotion is so raw throughout, as the dates and the number of dead are all taken from accurate records. It's a really difficult book but gives as much information as it can about what happened to all of the people mentioned after the events of the story. The biographies at the end are fascinating - in particular it was astonishing to me how long Joseph Mengele was able to evade capture and live a relatively normal life, after the atrocities he committed and oversaw. I think because of all that it's an important book for keeping stories alive for all the victims, whether they survived or not.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Deportation
chronicallyplotting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
You know a book is amazing when you become invested and feel at times as if you are with the characters. I cried, I found myself gasping when things were revealed, I had to put my cheez-its down because i couldn’t eat while some parts where explained. This is a must read for everyone. History repeats itself, and education is a powerful weapon; the Nazis’ knew this and tried to destroy knowledge and truth.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and War
lauramcc7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and War
delz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and War
mjwilliamson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
gemstone's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Excrement, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and War
Minor: Homophobia and Trafficking
bruunaalonso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child death
juliannem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child death, Torture, Excrement, and Sexual harassment
valeriabee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I saw someone on GoodReads that they prefer this novel to The Diary of a Young Girl because they found Young Girl to be boring. It is icky to me to desire entertainment from a book about such terrible traumas. I was moved by the honesty of the narrative, independent of the accuracy. It is not five stars because the weird limbo between reality and fiction confuses the narrative.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder