THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS (SPOILER) BY JOHN BOYNE

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Adarsh V

Imagine moving to a new home where everything feels strange, and no one will tell you why. That’s what happens to Bruno, a curious nine-year-old boy, in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. One day, while exploring, he meets a boy named Shmuel sitting on the other side of a barbed-wire fence. Even though they come from different worlds, they become friends—but Bruno doesn’t realize the terrible truth about where Shmuel lives. This is a powerful and emotional story about friendship, innocence, and the horrors of the Holocaust.

One of my favorite parts of the book was Bruno’s friendship with Shmuel. Even though they live very different lives, they understand each other in a way no one else does. Bruno is curious and doesn’t see why the fence should keep them apart, while Shmuel knows more than he can say. Their friendship feels real and makes you care about both of them.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Boyne, John (2006) Hardcover

Bruno’s family also plays an important role in the story. His father is a strict Nazi officer in charge of the camp, his mother starts to realize something is wrong, and his older sister, Gretel, slowly changes as she begins believing in the ideas of the adults around her. Then there’s Lieutenant Kotler, a young soldier who is always at Bruno’s house. He is cruel and harsh, especially to the people on the other side of the fence, showing just how unfair and dangerous the world around Bruno really is.

As the story unfolds, we learn that Shmuel is a prisoner in a concentration camp during the Holocaust, a time when millions of Jewish people were taken from their homes and sent to camps where they were treated terribly. Bruno, who doesn’t understand what’s happening, thinks the people in striped pajamas are just living another kind of life. The fence between him and Shmuel is a symbol of the way the world separates them.

One of the most intense parts of the book is the ending, which is both shocking and heartbreaking. It makes you think about how unfair and cruel the Holocaust was, especially for innocent people like Shmuel. The story stays with you long after you finish reading.

What I liked most about The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was how it showed the world through a child’s eyes. Bruno doesn’t see enemies or differences—he just sees a friend. This makes the story even sadder, but also more powerful. If you like books that make you think and feel deeply, I highly recommend The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded from Libby.

White Bird

Posted on April 10, 2025 by Eden B.

White Bird, is a book by R.J Palacio that I read about three years ago that tells the story of a young Jewish girl called Sara Blum who lives in a small village in France. Soon the Nazi Party, which was a movement under the direction of Adolf Hitler that believed that Jewish people had no right to live in Germany, defeated France and caused France to surrender which split the country in two regions, The Occupied Zone, and the Free Zone, Sara was placed in the Free Zone. However, even living in the Free Zone, the Nazis arrive and rounded-up many Jews to bring them to camp, Sara is brought to the woods for safety and meets a boy who invites her to live with his family and him in the meantime.

This book has really captivated me, and has overall become one of my favorite graphic novel books. The drawings, illustrations, and movements created in this book really add a whole level of contrast and emotions that really capture the reader’s attention. There is one part in this book, that really grabbed my attention due to the combination of the writing and the illustrations. It is when Sara Blum has a dream of herself flying up above the woods with a flock of birds, allowing herself to express and feel the sense of freedom while flying, this parts really brings a sense of emotions to the reader.

I would really recommend reading this book, as it is a great read and is really informative. The live-action movie is currently streaming and is available to watch on Youtube, Apple TV, and Amazon. I have not yet watched it yet, but is definitely on my watch list currently. White Bird is currently available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library today!

Anne Frank–The Diary of a Young Girl

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Gwendy M.

On a spring day in May, in the year 1940, German Nazis stormed the Netherlands. The persecution of Jews quickly escalated, forcing many Jews to evacuate or go underground. One family, the Franks, went into hiding like thousands of others. Anne Frank is known for writing a diary that captured the horrors of World War II and her experience underground.

Reading this book, or diary, was exceedingly somber. In her diary, Anne highlights the constant fear, boredom, hunger, and threat of living life as a Jew. Despite the seriousness of the situation Anne is in, readers notice how cheerful and clever she is. Although she is put in the worst situation possible, Anne continues her fight for life in her ambitions to learn and become a writer. Even though she died as a young woman, she is a significant symbol of life, dreams, and the future. After reading this novel, I’ll admit that I was humbled to take everyday life for granted. Anne Frank’s Dairy is a wonderful commentary that is filled with her amusing, inspirational, and courageous thoughts that touched the hearts of millions.

November 1, 1944, was Anne’s last journal entry; the reason for the discovery of her family is kept as a long-lost mystery. One of her lasting passages reads, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart,” showing the depth of her optimism regardless of her circumstances (Frank).

Anne Frank’s Diary is a masterpiece that everyone should read once in their lifetime.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Sound of Music Review

Posted on December 25, 2024 by Nicole R.

One weekend, my Mom had me sit down with her to watch the classic, The Sound of Music. I had put off watching it for a while and went in not really knowing what to expect. After watching it, I wish I had watched it sooner.

The Sound of Music is set in Austria during the 1930s, just around World War 2. The movie follows Maria from the nunnery who is asked to help take care of the children of an officer, Captain von Trapp. Maria heads to the von Trapp family home and tries her hardest to be accepted and show the family love. Slowly, she becomes a light of hope and happiness for them, bringing them back as a lively, close family.

I loved The Sound of Music. Both the storyline was so sweet and the music was fantastic. The movie had so many different plots that all tied in smoothly together. One developed plotline was the love story between Maria and Captain von Trapp. Maria and the Captain were super cute to watch as they chose each other despite having other commitments. But while I adored the love story between the Captain and Maria, I can’t help but fall for the family trope. I loved to see the development of relationships between the kids and Maria and the renewed relationship of the Captain and his kids. The love between Maria and the Captain sprouted from their shared love of the children who also loved both of them. Their family dynamic was a beautiful development to watch, seeing them all overcome their own hardships and decisions. Additional points of the movie were Maria’s own insecurities and doubts and the uncertainty of the upcoming war and danger. All these plot points really helped to show how in depth and well thought out the movie was.

The Sound of Music of course had great music. It starred Julie Andrews who really brought a range of talent through her singing and acting. All the songs in the movie were super catchy. The two main songs I hear replaying in my head are ‘So Long, Farewell’ and ‘Do Re Mi’ which is why I find myself singing them randomly as I say good-bye to my friends or when I hear someone sing Do-Re-Mi. But while these are most prominent, all the other songs are also great, especially ‘Climb Every Mountain.’ Plenty of them made it onto my personal playlist.

Overall, The Sound of Music was a fantastic movie. It kept me engaged the entire time with the various storylines–some of which I hadn’t even mentioned–and especially with the awesome music. This classic is definitely a must watch, if not for the characters and music, for the historical significance; being placed during difficult moments of the world and seeing the effect it has (even if it was a smaller part of the movie). I highly recommend this movie to everyone, young and old; this movie has no age limit. It is definitely one I think anyone can enjoy.

-Nicole R.

The Sound of Music is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Resistance By: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Posted on October 14, 2024 by Adella S.

Resistance portrays Chaya Lindner, a Jewish teenager who lives in Nazi-occupied Poland during World War 2. When her younger sister is taken to a death camp and her brother mysteriously disappears Chaya is left all alone with her parents. To survive Chaya’s parents send her into the countryside all alone with no resources. Chaya goes to the house of old friends who live outside the ghetto system, they then recruit her to be a courier who smuggles food in and people out of the ghettos.

Chaya, inspired to do more, joins a resistance cell that raids Nazi supplies. After a few missions, something goes horribly wrong and many of her friends and colleagues are arrested or killed. Unsure where to go, Chaya enlists Esther, a cell member. They begin their journey to the Warsaw Ghetto for an even larger uprising than ever before.

I really like this book and have periodically reread it many times. I find the characters inspiring and thought the storyline kept me hooked and intrigued the entire read. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, more specifically World War 2. Also, anyone who enjoys books with deep friendships and very emotional and heartfelt moments.

Resistance by Jennifer Nielsen is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Code Name Verity By: Elizabeth Wein

Posted on September 30, 2024 by Adella S.

Code Name Verity (Anniversary Edition ...

The story begins in 1943 amid World War 2 when a British spy named Julie is captured by the Gestapo in Nazi-occupied France. Taken to an old Parisian hotel transformed into a prison for war criminals, Julie is tortured and emotionally manipulated by the leader of the Gestapo, Hauptsturmfuhrer von Linden. She is then forced to turn on the Allies by sharing information with the Germans and is given 2 weeks to write down all of the information she has or she will be executed.

Julie unfortunately doesn’t have much information to provide. During wartime, they only share the information necessary to complete their mission, so there isn’t any major breach if someone is captured. So she begins to tell the story of Maddie, a friend from before being captured. Maddie was a pilot trained by one of Britain’s only female pilots before the war began. She began working in a radar tower for an airstrip controlled by the Allies. This is where she meets Julie, and they begin a long-lasting friendship.

Maddie soon gets recruited to fly transports and ferrying planes across allied countries. This separates her and Julie for almost 2 years. They mostly communicate through letters but they occasionally get to see each other. They are united when Maddie transports Julie to Nazi-occupied France. But over the flight, they are shot at, and their engines get hit. Maddie instructs Julie to bail out on a parachute She does leaving Maddie behind on a burning plane, not knowing what happened to her.

I overall really liked this book. I thought there were very enticing twists to the storyline and I found that having female main characters was especially inspiring, due to most historical fiction novels having male main characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction. As well as anyone who likes a book with a lot of twists and turns.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

We Are Not Free Review

Posted on September 25, 2024 by leahkmorita

We Are Not Free is a World War II historical fiction about the Japanese internment camps written by Traci Chee. The book switches perspectives between the main characters. It starts off with 14 teens in San Francisco selling their things because they can not take a lot of their possessions with them. The characters did not have that much time to pack up their lives and leave for an interment camp. Some of them join the 442 Regimental Combat Team, but then disaster strikes….

Warning: this next paragraph contains spoilers. One reason why I like this book is that it has characters that I can get behind. It plays up the innocence aspect of the time, so I can pity them. One of the last scenes made me want to cry because it was just so powerful. I was not expecting Twitchy to die. I sped through the book in less than a week, and I am generally not such a fast reader. I also like how it switches the perspectives between the characters, so I can see what is going through my favorite characters’ heads. The fact that it switches perspectives is actually what made me like a lot more of the people. If it were not for that, then I probably would not have really liked Masaru (Mas), Francis (Frankie), or Minoru (Minnow) which are some of the characters.

Another reason behind why I like this book is because it has a concept that I am generally pretty interested in –World War Two. And I am Japanese American like the characters in the book, so I feel like I can relate to them. Also, it tells the perspective of two fictional characters in the 442 RCT (Regimental Combat Team), so I got to see how the soldiers were treated. I also took great joy in trying to figure out what the different war terms meant…😁. The book took a perspective of World War Two that I do not see that often.

I hope that you have enjoyed my post on We Are Not Free and if you have any comments or questions, please tell me in the comments!

Thank You For Reading!

We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

All The Light We Cannot See By: Anthony Doerr

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Adella S.

Anthony Doerr All the Light We Cannot ...

This novel is told from the perspective of two young children during World War II. The first is Marie-Laurie, a blind girl from the center of Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. The other Werner Pfennig an orphan, from a mining town in Germany who learned how to build and fix technical instruments by tinkering with a broken radio that he found.

When Marie-Laurie was twelve, the Nazi Regime began to occupy Paris, she and her father fleed to Saint-Malo and met her reclusive great-uncle, Etienne. The Museum of Natural History was rumored to own a diamond called the Sea of Flames, under the threat of occupation the museum director created 4 copies of the diamond. He then distributed these to 3 employees and hid one in the museum, but none knew if they had the real diamond. Soon after arriving in Saint-Malo Marie-Laurie’s father is called back to Paris and is arrested by Germans.

As the Nazi Regime, took power over Germany Werner’s talents for technology attracted certain local attention, and at fourteen was recruited to a specialized training program. He sees it as an opportunity to grow and get out of the orphanage that he’s lived in his entire life but his sister worries that he will be corrupted by Nazi propaganda. After 2 years of training at his technical school, he’s documents are falsified to make him seem like eighteen so that he’s able to fight on the front. After 2 years of rising through the ranks, Werner is assigned to Saint-Malo looking for radios, used by the resistance to broadcast their messages.

Marie-Laurie’s uncle begins engaging with in resistance work with the other French townspeople, but he’s agoraphobic so he’s unable to leave the house without intense anxiety. So Marie-Laurie works with her uncle by gathering messages from the resistance for him to transmit from his radio tower in his attic. Werner and Marie-Laurie’s lives begin to further intertwine.

I liked this book, I thought it had a good mix of suspense and historical fiction. I also really liked that one of the main characters has a disability, that is rarely seen in historical fiction. I think if you like historical fiction and has blind representation then this book is for you.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

Posted on December 1, 2023 by Moer K.

Mab Churt, Osla Kendall, and Beth Finch are an unlikely trio. All from very different backgrounds, connected by one mysterious letter, calling them to action.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn captivated me in its pages. This historical fiction novel shines in how Quinn wove her meticulous research into the plot. This book is perfect for anyone looking for a book that you can’t put down.

The story takes place at the start of World War II where women are called to action to help with the war. Not in the field, but as spies. Spies behind a desk, cracking codes. As I read further down the chapters, the rich history of Bletchley Park was connected with both stories of love and grief.

Mab Churt continues to wow me in everything she accomplishes despite being from the lower east end. Her heartbreaking secret will leave you in tears by the end of the novel. She certainly will jump off the page and you can easily envision her as a strong female heroine.

Osla Kendall, a cunning and smart debutante shows off her skill at espionage and shines in every situation she is in. Her relationship with a certain prince of Greece ends in tragedy but also hope. Read the Rose Code and dive into her secret relationship with the future king of England.

Beth Finch is a girl who has been lead in her abusive household to be homely and slow all her life. She has been stuck with her overly religious mother and push over father for too long. When the letter than Bletchley Park comes, she couldn’t believe her eyes. Beth slowly climbs up the ranks at the Park and becomes one of the greatest codebreakers.

This story is interesting as it has two different timelines. Alternating between 1940 and 1947, it shows a completely different story and the end of Bletchley Park. One of the girl’s story ends in confusion, one ends in a mental asylum, and one in a never ending road of grief. The trio of never ending female solidarity shatters into pieces as a traitor rips into the Park. Will they ever find who it is and rescue their friend from the sanitarium? Will they ever forgive and move on from the momentous secret that was exposed? Read the Rose Code by Kate Quinn to find out.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

All the Light We Can Not See: (Contains some Spoilers)!

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Alia C.

Last week, I finished reading the book, “All the Light We Can Not See.” It is a beautiful book about life in World War 2, and how a German boy and a Jewish girl from different sides of the conflict try to be good to one another. Marie Laure, a Jewish girl, escapes with her father during the war and lives with their grandfather, Etienne. On the other side, Werner Pfennig, a German boy, wants nothing more than to join the exclusive training camp and not end up like his father, working in the mines.

The book is complicated, and the perspective jumps from Marie Laure, to Werner, to other unknown characters you will just have to keep reading to find out. My favorite aspect of the book is the unexpected surprises this book holds. For example, in most books, the main characters don’t usually die, but in this book, Werner dies by stepping on a landmine. Talk about not watching your step. Come on, you’re in a WAR ZONE! But anyway, one thing that did surprise me was how this book was actually quite poetic. It talks about World War 2, and when you start reading it, some parts, to be brutally honest, just don’t make sense. But Anthony Doerr wrote this book in such a way that it deeply saddens you, but throughout the book, teaches you that people can be good to each other, no matter where they are from. During some parts of the book, I was actually about to cry! There are some characters that are evil, but they all have reasons to be that way. Gloomy but heartwarming, this book would be good for people who should be reminded of the good in life and can handle a gritty ending.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby.

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