Julius Locke

Read this book for school. Personally, I thought it was well rounded for a majority and the losing of innocence and the point of view of a child very much puts the holocaust into perspective for those who did not experience it. This helps me understand what it must have been like for a child during this time period and it heightens Spinelli’s writing and story-telling capabilities. All of the characters are intriguing and go through major arcs over the course of the book. Janina is compelling, but is frustrating most of the time as she almost gets Misha caught smuggling half the time. Uri is essentially the most interesting of the side characters. We see him working for the Nazi’s, while also being against them which gives us a glimpse of how many people must have survived during this time, while also showing us a character with an arc worth telling, more that who we spend much of our focus on (with the exception of Misha). Misha is a fun and engaging character who gives us a great insight on how a child would have been dealing with all of this terror, and Spinelli delivers an arc, on an otherwise flat cast of characters. Other students were confused and frustrated with the lack of answers but I think that makes this story more compelling, as it adds a sense of realism and makes these events really sink in. It leaves a lot for you to think about and theorize. It makes this story more intriguing when you think about all of the different outcomes for the characters. You’ll never know what happened to these characters, as a lot of people will never know what happened to their loved ones and others who fell victim to this tragedy. The story is rounded out nicely like present, however, Spinelli fails to perfect the bow tying it together, providing a lackluster and unfit ending to an otherwise excellent and intriguing tale. We spend most of the book getting to know all of these characters only for them to be dropped and then Misha has a wife, kid, and granddaughter all within 5 pages. They realism of his immigration and name change, and the nature of his immaturity add to the nature of the book but no other details do anything in the books favor. Not to mention he spends two chapters, wasting time with Misha being on a farm, which is never set up nor mentioned throughout the rest of the books run. The book is overall fast paced which does work in its favor but the climax seems rushed and is hard to understand. The novel has a somber tone which makes the majority of the book feel real and meaningful while, the last 20 - 30 pages spoil it. Let me just say “I am poppy-noodle” is not the way this book should have sent off our protagonist. Overall, great overall work and novel, but the ending fails to succeed in any way shape or form.