Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Title: Milkweed
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: Short (about 200 pages)
Rating: 4 out of 5

This was a very interesting book. It could be very emotional at times and explored a very frightening and sad topic. The book takes place in Nazi occupied Warsaw during the years of World War II. The main character is a small orphaned Jewish boy who has lived off the streets all of his life and knows nothing about the world. When the "Jackboots" come to Warsaw, he is fascinated by them and dreams of one day becoming a Nazi. He has no idea what the Nazis really are and what they want.

Throughout the years of the war, things progressively get worse and worse for the Jews. All the while, the orphan just goes on with his life, stealing food with his group of fellow orphans. He befriends a little girl named Janina and their friendship becomes a big part of the book.

The situation gets worse and worse throughout the book, until, finally, the Jackboots build a wall around a section of the city and the Jews are trapped there. It is the ghetto. That is when things really begin to change.

It is very hard to summarize this book, as there are so many little details that make it what it is. So many little pieces of the puzzle that make a very abstract picture. So I won't dwell on the summary.

What I liked: The perspective. The main character was a young boy with absolutely no knowledge of what is going on in the world and even within his own city. everything he learns, he learns from other orphans who don't know much more than him. This added an interesting angle to the topic that I thought gave the book depth. This also gave a progression of knowledge. You didn't learn everything up front, there was a slow distribution of information throughout the book. The writing style was also very good. It captured the simple and crude thoughts of the uneducated boy on the streets superbly.

What I didn't like: The ending really left me wanting. However, there is depth to it and it is more than just a bad ending. It was anticlimactic, but the topic didn't leave much room for a climax. There was no way the author could sensibly have a couple children go up against the Nazi population of Warsaw. There was not much he could do except what he did, and I understand that. Without giving away too much, I will say that there was a lack of closure involving a few characters that I didn't like. Also the last ten pages of the book span about 40 years in a very rushed sort of way. However, the ending did give a kind of conclusion in the only way possible. If you look hard at the last ten pages, you will see how the main character healed emotionally the only way he could.

This was a great book that I recommend to anyone who likes emotional stories or tense topics.
4/5
~B-Man