The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

John Boyne

Dec 2008 · Sold by David Fickling Books

About this ebook

Two young boys encounter the best and worst of humanity during the Holocaust in this powerful read that USA Today called "as memorable an introduction to the subject as The Diary of Anne Frank.”  

Berlin, 1942: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people in the distance. 

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

Ratings and reviews

The book and movie were both pretty similar, but they were both really unrealistic and not based off of history (I know everything about the Holocaust.) When the concentration/death camps were being built, the Nazi officers made sure that the camps were built in the middle of nowhere. This camp being so close to Bruno's home seemed so fake. Other than that, I liked this book. But I don't know if I could get past that.

A very heart-breaing story that blows you away in the mind of seeing those poor people being killed for who they are. who could do such a thing xx I loved the book withing the storyline but it is a bi too tragic and emotional that children shouldn't really be able to read until the age of 10 - 13

Lonely and Forgotten, Bruno, the son of a Nazi Commandant moves to a new house outside of Berlin. There, he began exploring and made a discovery, a boy named Shmuel. The two boys have decent discussions and begin exploring, not knowing where and what situation they're in. This book describes the Holocaust in a third-person. I liked how the author told the story in a child's perspective. It made me want to jump into the book and explain everything to Bruno. This book indeed opened my eyes to seriousness of genocide. What I did not like was that Bruno and his sister could be so childish at times and it urged me to skip ahead. Overall, I think this is a great book describing the Holocaust and the different viewpoints of people.

About the author

John Boyne was born in Ireland in 1971 and studied at Trinity College, Dublin, and the University of East Anglia, Norwich. His novels have been published in over forty languages, and his books for young readers include Noah Barleywater Runs Away and The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas won two Irish Book Awards, topped the New York Times bestseller list, and was adapted into a Miramax feature film. He lives in Dublin. To learn more, visit JohnBoyne.com.