Milkweed

Milkweed By: Jerry Spinelli

Milkweed, written by the great author Jerry Spinelli, is an interesting book. It will pull at your heart and then in other parts make your spine cringe. It is such a realistic story that once you pick up the book you can't put it down. It gives the reader a whole new understanding about what actually happened in the Holocaust.

Milkweed is a heart breaking story about a boy who lives in Warsaw. He does not live in just any Warsaw but the Nazi occupied Warsaw, Germany. He has many names Jew, Gypsy, Stop Thief, Runt, Happy, Fast, and Filthy son of Abraham. He lives a hard live in the streets of downtown Warsaw. He smuggles food daily for himself, friends, and other orphans. He believes strongly in mothers, angels, bread. He is a small boy. He thinks about being a Jackboot or a Nazi until one day he finds out it is best to be no one. He lives in the times and trials of the Holocaust.

I connected personally to this book. Any reader could connect through this story by being small, having a hard life, or by being called names. One way I connected through this story was that he wanted to belong to a family or a group of friends. Secondly, he wanted to be a Nazi. Sometimes I want to be something I'm not and other times we need to be ourselves.

I have never read a book by this author before but now I wonder if I may read another. It was a funny book. It was a sad book. It was also a scary book. This author has a unique way of writing it is as if you are there with him and his friends along with the dead. This has made me think that Jerry is a very accomplished writer in literature.

In conclusion, this is a really good book. I have really enjoyed reading Milkweed. I have read very little about the Holocaust and now after reading this book have a totally new understanding

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