Daniel Half Human

Genre: Coming of age, Fiction, Multicultural

    This is the story of a young man with a bit of an identity crisis that leads to him finding himself and appreciating who he is.  Eventually seeing the true evil of the people he once admired (Nazis).  The story captures the climate of Germany prior to and during the Hitler reign.  Daniel the main character growing up wants nothing more than to jonin the HJ which is like Hitler's little Nazi youth program so that he can one day be a part of the SS.  Sooner rather than later he finds out the reason his parents wont let him join the HJ is because his mother is actually a "full blooded" Jew who left her heritage in the past because she wanted to be completely German (hmmm).  His Father is a World War I veteran and decorated Aryan war hero for Germany.  This does not serve his father as well as he had thought because he ends up losing his law practice, home, wealth and standing in the community all because he refused to divorce his "Jewess" wife.  This also makes Daniel a half Jew and the social outcast at his now completely Aryan anti-semitic school and fatherland.  Daniel initially resents his mother and hates his half jew status but once he is confronted by a member of his soccer team about his heritage he directs his hate not towards himself or the jews but at the people that are creating all of this hatered: the Nazis.  The book is told from Daniels perspective as an adult traveling back to Germany after the war.  The peice goes into their escape form occupied Nazi Germany, the hardships, as well as the devastation faced by Jews living in Germany at the time.

    The story can give young readers and students an oppertunity to see what life might have been like living in this country during such a dark period in their national history.  Also it offers alot of perspective in terms of what a person might be thinking or feeling on both the Aryan side of the fence and the Jewish side.  Daniels best friend is Armin a full blood Aryan German who eventually becomes a member of the SS. After the war Daniel finds Armin under interogation in a concentration camp and has to due his military duty by declaring his once good friend a true Nazi that now must face what he has done in the courts so that some justice is served.  It is a strange twist of fate and exemplifies the human experience when extreme evil reigns supreme.  The work is a fine recreation of the time and not only tells a story but shows that perception is a very fickle thing and we cant really know what impact we have on others until weve walked in their shoes/boots. I recomend this highly to any class working on world history, WWII or students looking for excellent historical fiction.  


      

Eyewitness Auschwitz

Genre: Adult Books for YA readers
 Eyewitness Auschwitz is the true account of a man named Filip Muller's experience at the Nazi Death Camp Auschwitz.  He is allowed to live through the full run of the camp due to his appontment as body burner.  He and a few other Jews are given the job of running the crematorium and disposing of the hundreds of thousands of corpses that were the result of the gas chamers.  These gas chamers were disguised as showers and upon arival every week people were instructed to strip down and prepare for a shower after their long cramped duisgusting train ride to the camp.  They were then herded into the showers and cyclon b a deadly ghas was relaesed from a vent in the ceiling.  Filip muller had thoughts of suicide and joining them in these "showers" becuase of his sick twited rsponsibility.  On one such attempt he was told by one of the soon to be victim that he must in fact continue his service so that he may recount and live to tell the story of what really happened here.  The book is incredibly raw, graphic and sad.  He writes of his march away from the camp as the Russians draw nearer to the camp and his incredible luck of surviving the entire ordeal unitl the war is ended. 

    I have read and seen many things on and about the holocaust but this account is by far the most telling, terrifying and real story I've ever read.  It is most definately an adult work but in highschool we read Elie Weisels "Night" which was another memoir of a survivors experience in, through, and out of the death camps.  Students studyiung World War II and Nazi Germany will gain incredible insight from this piece and get an understanding of the true systematic anylation of the European Jewish people and every other people aka Gypsys, Gays and persons with disability or illness that were murdered.  This is not an easy read and goes deep into the evil hearts of men, it is moving and brought me to tears more than twice.  Their is much to be learned and reinforces the haunting phrase "Never Again".   

Fantasy!

The Giver was probably the first book of any length that i actually read from beginning to end and it rocked my world.  You know a book is good when you can remember where you were  when you finished it.  I was in middle school in my basement at home up against the hamper reading with out any ability to stop myself completely lost in the magic of the story and suspense.  Reading it now almost 13 years later it was till magic and incredibly nostalgic so many details I had forgotton even why i had loved it so much i had forgotten it was like getting completely reaquainted wiht an old friend not to mention i was reminded of how i had responded to different parts of the book when i was younger.  I was hearing my 12 year old thoughts replaying in my head agian it was soo cool.  The twisted society that the main charecter Jonas is apart of is basically an ideal utopia deviod of all meaningful experince and feeling. 

    This idea that they are all sheep and no one actually makes any real decisions but Jonas is the one in the society designated as the Reciever who gets to have all the painfull memories that society wants to do with out, Teens would love this story because you really connect with Jonas because he feels like an outcast with the burden of being able to see everything different from everyone else and the bearer of a difficult burden that he alone must cary which is very fitting for most teens who find their own lives uniquely excruciating.  I loved this book when i was young and had even more appreciation for it now as an adult with a literary young adult lens onit and would highly recomend it to any young person who hastn been able to find a book they actually want to read.