THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS by John Boyne

Yesterday I found this book stuck beneath a much bigger volume in a dusty corner of my shelves. Glad to have found it, I sat down straight away and read it.

I knew a little of the story and had heard about the movie too. I was expecting a powerful and moving read and that is exactly what I got.

Here's a quote from the back cover by Ireland on Sunday: "Simply written and highly memorable. There are no monstrosities on the page but the true horror is all the more potent for being implicit."

I've read several other books set during the Holocaust, but this was such a different perspective.

Nine year old Bruno, the son of a Commandant, doesn't know why there are so many people behind the fence in Out-With. He's angry with the Fury for sending his family to this place where he has no friends and he just want's to go home to Berlin and his five story house with a bannister to slide down. And then he meets one of the boys from across the fence and a friendship develops.

For those of you that have read this story, you know the ending and it will have touched you deeply. If you've not read it, I urge you to. It is one of those stories that will stay with you for a very long time.