The Boy at the Top of the Mountain:
"With skill and emotional detachment, Boyne tells Pieter’s story through descriptions and dialogue that are concise, spare, and vivid . . . . Pieter’s traumatic childhood, infatuation and interactions with Hitler, adolescent angst, and destructive choices will captivate teens and prompt thought-provoking discussion." —School Library Journal, starred review
"Boyne’s (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, 2006) story is unarguably a powerful one with an often visceral impact." —Booklist
"a compelling account of the attractions of power, the malleability of youth and the terrible pain of a life filled with regret" —The Guardian
"John Boyne delivers a poignant tale of innocence ruined by Nazism. This is a story full of suspense and heartbreak that will leave readers wanting more. Compare this book to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas." —School Library Connection
Stay Where You Are and Then Leave:
"This is an excellent and approachable introduction to the traumas of war. . . . not simply a book about the horrors of shellshock but also a comprehensive depiction of many different aspects of life during World War I.” —School Library Journal
“Boyne has an eye for period details, an ear for dialogue, and a knack for creating individual, consistent characters.” —Booklist
“The Boy in the Striped Pajamas:
In the final pages, the tension rises precipitously and the harrowing ending, in which Bruno does finally act, is sure to take readers' breath away.” —Publishers Weekly
“Deeply affecting . . . beautiful and sparsely written.” —The Wall Street Journal
2016-03-30
A young boy grows up in Adolf Hitler's mountain home in Austria.Seven-year-old Pierrot Fischer and his frail French mother live in Paris. His German father, a bitter ex-soldier, returned to Germany and died there. Pierrot's best friend is Anshel Bronstein, a deaf Jewish boy. After his mother dies, he lives in an orphanage, until his aunt Beatrix sends for him to join her at the Berghof mountain retreat in Austria, where she is housekeeper for Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. It is here that he becomes ever more enthralled with Hitler and grows up, proudly wearing the uniform of the Hitler Youth, treating others with great disdain, basking in his self-importance, and then committing a terrible act of betrayal against his aunt. He witnesses vicious acts against Jews, and he hears firsthand of plans for extermination camps. Yet at war's end he maintains that he was only a child and didn't really understand. An epilogue has him returning to Paris, where he finds Anshel and begins a kind of catharsis. Boyne includes real Nazi leaders and historical details in his relentless depiction of Pierrot's inevitable corruption and self-delusion. As with The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2006), readers both need to know what Pierrot disingenuously doesn't and are expected to accept his extreme naiveté, his total lack of awareness and comprehension in spite of what is right in front of him.Chilling, difficult, and definitely not for readers without a solid understanding of the Holocaust despite the relatively simple reading level. (Historical fiction. 12-14)
