Surviving Hitler: A Boy in the Nazi Death Camps - Andrea Warren - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR: Andrea Warren

GENRE: Historical Fiction.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 1, 2001

RATING: 4.5 stars.

A factual biography based on the life of teenaged concentration camp survivor, Jack Mandelbaum. Jack, who was 14 when WW-II began, narrates his struggles about life in the camps, and later, to locate his family. This is supposed to be a recommended read for children.

I read this little 140 page book last night and was blown away by the narrative. This is exactly what I would expect of a biographical book. Only facts, no masala. 

Andrea Warren narrates Mandelbaum's life in such a well-penned manner that you can't help but turn the pages to find out what happens next. Jack's line, "This is a place of endless sorrow. Think only of yourself and those closest to you. If you allow yourself to feel emotion, you will die quickly", shows his determination to come out of the concentration camp alive, all the time motivated by the thought of seeing his family. He admits that to survive a concentration camp, you needed a great deal of luck on your side.

Surviving Hitler is supposedly aimed at children who want to know more about concentration camps, but considering how I felt after reading it, I don't think I'll recommend it to any school-going child. It is nightmarish in its details, though it doesn't narrate anything other than what Jack actually saw. I wouldn't give this book to my kids until they start college at least, but yes, I will give this to them some day as a must-read. Recommended for everyone above 15.