The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

My co-worker Cathie let me borrow a book that her mother sent to her over the Christmas holiday from Washington State. This book was sent to her from her sister in law in Scotland. This book was printed and bound in Great Britan. It is a book written for young adults.

This is a story of Bruno, the son of the commandant of the Aushwitz prison camp. Bruno is 9 years old and innocent of what goes on beyond the barbed wire fence to the prisoners. His family is moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a smaller home next to the prison camp, where his father oversees the camp. Bruno is very lonely and goes for a walk along the fence one day and befriends a Jewish boy, Shmuel - who is always wearing striped pyjamas and lives on the other side of the fence.

Bruno and Shmuel meet several times a week over the next year. Over time, Bruno discovers the differences and unfairness of how he lives vs Shmuel's life. Though not written in graphic detail, you understand the atrocities of the holocaust. The starvation, how the prisoners were treated vs the way that the Germans & soldiers lived. This book has a huge surprise ending that leaves you thinking. An excellent book for both adults and older children.

There is a sticker on the book that says this is now a movie. I will try to find the movie and will blog how it is.