Recommended Age:
13
+
Best for mature readers who can engage with emotionally devastating historical fiction about the Holocaust told through the innocent and uncomprehending eyes of a child.
About the Book
Set in the Warsaw Ghetto during the Holocaust, this novel follows an orphaned boy who may be Jewish or Romani and who has no memory of his past, surviving by stealing and attaching himself to a community facing unimaginable horror. Told through the innocent eyes of a child who does not fully understand what is happening around him, the novel is both heartbreaking and profoundly humane.
Content Ratings
💡
Intense Themes
The novel centers on the Holocaust as experienced by a child who does not fully comprehend the magnitude of what is happening; themes of genocide, dehumanization, survival, and the loss of innocence are sustained and emotionally intense throughout.
⚔️
High Violence
The novel depicts life in the Warsaw Ghetto, including starvation, deportations to concentration camps, public executions, and the boy witnessing the deaths of people he loves; violence is historically accurate and emotionally devastating.
Engagement:
Genre:
Historical Fiction
Published:
2003
Page Count:
208
