"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" By John Boyne

Izabella Orozco

                The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is the horrific story of the son of a Nazi soldier, Bruno, a 9 year old boy who is naive to what was going on in Germany at the time, and Shmuel, a captured Jewish boy in Auschwitz concentration camp. 
               The story is in 3rd person, but is told in Bruno's perspective, and can be confusing because of Bruno being so innocent and naive. For example, he confuses Auschwitz with "Out-With" and Führer with "Fury". 
             Set during World War II, after Bruno's father gets promoted by "the Fury" to Commandant, Bruno and his family are forced to move to "Out-With" leaving everything he's ever known in Berlin. While moving into his new room he notices there are other people at "Out-With", but they're on the other side of a fence and they all wear striped pyjamas. One day out of boredom Bruno decides to go adventuring, during his adventure he runs into the fence and on the other side is a boy named Shmuel. They very quickly become friends and see each other everyday. One day 2 years later Bruno finds out he has to go, and Shmuel's papa goes missing. They decide the next day, which would be the last time they see each other, Shmuel would bring a pair of "pyjamas" and he would go on the other side and help Shmuel find his papa, their final adventure. 
                  This book is amazing. I loved the idea of going through the Holocaust through the eyes of a naive young child who is unaware of what was going on. This book was tragic, fantastic, and sorrowful. I would recommend this book for people interested in tragedies.