Borrowing this from the local library, I started to read this spectacular book by John Boyne. The first sentence really caught me in the plot and I am certain that no one would be able to put the book down after the following opening:
One afternoon, when Bruno came home from school, he was surprised to find Maria, the family’s maid – who always kept her head bowed and never looked up from the carpet – standing in his bedroom, pulling all his belongings out of the wardrobe and packing them in four large wooden crate, even things he’d hidden at the back that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business.
This book is about a nine year old boy named Bruno, who has to leave his five storey house in Berlin to move to an isolated house out of the country, he is extremely annoyed as he has to leave behind all his friends and he would have no one to play with there.
However, he meets a boy named Shmuel, who is a Jew and lives on the other side of the ‘fence’ with many other people, where they are treated extremely badly and are not given much food. They quickly become friends and Bruno often smuggles some food for Shmuel. Beginning to get used to the life here, Bruno was informed that he, along with his sister and mother, would all be moving back to Berlin because this was not a suitable environment to bring up two young children. However, just before their departure date, Bruno does something that no one will ever forget…
In this fantastic book, my favourite character is Bruno because he is a nice, caring person and is not afraid to take risks. For example, he brings food to Shmuel, knowing that if he was caught he would be is serious trouble. Additionally, Bruno is an extremely clever person. Due to his love for exploring, he is not afraid to face danger, which he does at the end of the book. He is a great role model for any young boy.
I would recommend this amazing book to anyone over the age of eleven, due to its stunning plot and the way that John Boyne has kept the reader hooked into the book. It also involves lots of tension and suspense, which grips the reader to enjoy this book.
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