The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Cleverly written this book is a great insight into the mind of a child during world war II. Written from the perspective of a young boy, Bruno, the war finally touches his family in a terrible way. His innocence is endearing but ultimately dangerous once he has befriended another boy, whose life has also changed drastically because of the war.

The message from this book is very powerful and although not a happy read, it is still compelling. All the characters in this book serve an important purpose and their relationships with each other drive the story to its fateful end.

Reader reviewed by Emma

The boy in the striped pyjamas is John Boyne who has cleverly wrote this book from the world of Bruno and his life with his family.

          The life of the nine year old boy changes drastically one day when his father gets a new job. This requires his father along with the whole family to move from their cosy home in Berlin to a strict house in out with. Bruno is a very curious boy and decides to put down his German history book and go to explore. When Bruno is exploring he comes across another nine year old boy called Shmuel. As the book goes on you find out more about Shmuel and his pyjamas.

          What I think is good about the book is that it takes you on a journey of Brunos life and gives you little hints of the ending all the way through. It never completely tells you what the ending is going to be so when you read the ending it is a massive shock and even makes some people cry.

          I think the main weak point in the book is the length of the ending. It is such a good ending but I feel it was rushed.  Most of the book was spent telling the life of Bruno and how he came to meet Shmuel. I think this makes it more personal as you get to know very well. I still think the ending should stay the same just make it longer by adding more detail. This would ensure that werent left with any questions about the ending.

          I would recommend this book to someone of my age but not anyone younger. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone younger than 14 as they might not understand the history and I think that knowing a bit of the history is a key part to understanding the book fully.

Overall I think this is a very good book and it is defiantly worth reading.

Reader reviewed by Grace

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Review

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is an emotional tale about a young boy called Bruno and his family. The story tells a life of Bruno having to move from his beloved home in Berlin to the dreaded landscape of Auschwitz.

The scene is set in Germany during the World War 2 and the story begins with 9yr old Bruno arriving at is luxurious house in berlin to find Maria the maid packing his clothes. As the family moves through the stages of getting to the new house it shows Brunos character of not liking change and not exited to see his new house.

Later on Bruno meets a new friend who is almost in a different world. Despite a fence separating their very different lives, Bruno and his friend, Shmuel have a flourishing relationship that gets stronger every day. You can see the trust in their eyes as they speak to each other. And the truly captivating moment when Bruno decides to go under the fence to help Shmuel find is father is inspiring.

This film shows the true meaning of friendship between the two boys. And it shows the difference between their lives. This helps the reader realise how the two different people from one side to the other overcome the cruelty of the Fury and the concentration camp that Shmuel is locked away in.

It also tells the story of Brunos family life and how it is falling apart. Father having this job that nobody really understands and Mothers side of not knowing what is going on in the camp until later on. When she finally finds out she becomes uncomfortable having the children near the camp. As for the sister Gretel, she is too much in love with lieutenant Kotler or Kurt as she calls him to realise the situation. By the end this family pretty much falls apart.

Overall I think this is an extraordinary book and film that everyone should know about so that everyone is aware of what sort of things happened in the war.

Reader reviewed by kayleigh

The boy in the striped pyjamas is a really good because it is exciting and sad at the same time in a way that Bruno makes everything out to be more  innocent then it is which is quite funny but sad as he doesnt understand. The story is over all good because it makes you think of the war.

The only weak points are that Bruno seems a bit inconsiderate of the fact that Shmuel is trapped in the camp but it may be that he doesnt understand.

I recommend this book to people of a similar age  (14) to me or higher as someone younger would not understand as you need knowledge of the war.

Reader reviewed by val

OMG. This book is soo sad and emotional! I can't even bear to re-tell it. So, a german boy becomes lonely in their new house and finds a concentration camp near them. He finds this Jewish boy who always sit in front of the electric fence. Soon, they become friends and next thing you know, the german boy pretends to be Jewish also just so they can play together. Then they get sent to the chamber where the Germans would kill the Jews with poison gas (but they didnt know). And they die together. :( The geran boy's mother got worried for days and even his father and one day they found his clothes near the fence and thought he died in the chamber.

It was so sad! A very good book for everyone because it has a lesson for parents that you should give your child the attention it need and it shows the cruelty of Germans during the World War 2!

Reader reviewed by Vicki

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a story about a 9 year old boy whose father is the Commandant to Hitler. A lot of reviewers had a problem with the naivete of the boys, and their lack of understanding of what the Holocaust was. At first I felt that way too, and after I finished the book I had to re-evaluate my thoughts. I think that the innocence of Bruno and Schmuel was a must in order to make this story work. Also look at the target audience, young adult. No story or book about the Holocaust could ever be easy to read or write, so I think you must consider this when reading this book. I also feel that their lack of understanding of what truly was happening shielded them from the horrors of the Holocaust. Of course, the boy in the striped pajamas was actually living in the camp so he saw firsthand what life was like for them. As for Bruno he was just a 9 year old boy trying to find friends to play with after moving to a new neighborhood and home. I enjoyed this book and it left me thinking about the events of the Holocaust

Reader reviewed by Lauren

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a historical fiction novel told in the perspective of a nine-year-old German boy named Bruno. When Bruno moves from his home in Berlin to somewhere new because of his father's job, there's no one to play with. His sister annoys him, like all siblings do, and he never really sees anyoe his age. To his surprise, when he looks outside his bedroom window, he sees a huge fence, and a small civilization of people in striped pajamas.

Bruno, who loves exploring, ventures out to the fence and meets Shmuel. Shmuel lives on the other side of the fence, and is exactly Bruno's age. They become fast friends. Everyday, Bruno treks over to the fence, bringing a snack with him for his new friend, who always seems to be very thin. Bruno asks questions about life on Shmuel's side of the fence, but even Shmuel doens't completely understand everything. All his says is that the German guards are really horrible and mean. As it turns out, Bruno's father is in charge of it all.

Bruno in his young age never understands who the "Fury" is, or what his family means when they say the people on the other side of the camp aren't human, but he does know that Shmuel is his best friend. When Shmuel's father goes missing, Bruno is determined to help his friend find him.

The story may not be understood in Bruno's eyes because he's so young, but it's meant for an older audience. Through Bruno's perspective, you can learn the innocence of the Jews in the concentration camp he lives near, and fully understand how horrible it really was. This book perfectly depicts the horror of the Holocaust.