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The Final Journey
During World War II, eleven-year-old Alice, whose life has been sheltered and comfortable, discovers some important things about herself and the people she meets when she and her grandfather board a train and begin an increasingly intolerable journey to an unknown destination.Routed from their safe haven and crowded into a train bound for an unknown destination, eleven-year-old Alice and her grandfather must confront the horrors of Hitler's Germany
160 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1992
15 people are currently reading
748 people want to read
About the author
Gudrun Pausewang
131 books45 followersGudrun Pausewang (1928 - 2020) was a German writer of children's and teen fiction, also noted in science fiction for young-adult novels like The Last Children of Schewenborn.
Pausewang was born in Eastern Bohemia of German ancestry and after World War II her family settled in the former West Germany. She later became a teacher and taught in Germany's foreign school services in South America. She has written 86 novels with many of them involving the Third World and environmental concerns.
She has won several awards, including the German Federal Cross of Merit, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for The Cloud in 1988.
She was the older sister of Freya Pausewang.
Pausewang was born in Eastern Bohemia of German ancestry and after World War II her family settled in the former West Germany. She later became a teacher and taught in Germany's foreign school services in South America. She has written 86 novels with many of them involving the Third World and environmental concerns.
She has won several awards, including the German Federal Cross of Merit, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis and the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis for The Cloud in 1988.
She was the older sister of Freya Pausewang.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
February 20, 2010
This is a grim, brutal, and heartbreaking book. It’s told from the point of view of a young eleven-year-old Jewish girl in Germany during the Nazi era, who is on a train to who knows where.
It’s exceptionally well written and an engrossing story. All the characters seemed very real.
I thought the author got it just right in the depiction of a child who’s been lied to and deceived, knows something is not quite right but is trusting, and who inevitably finds out the truth, or in this case, something close to the truth. That aspect in particular really resonated with me. At first I had a difficult time believing in the girl’s naiveté, but then it did seem genuine and believable.
I wouldn’t suggest this book as an introduction to the Nazi holocaust. There is an short afterword that gives pertinent information, but I think I enjoyed this book more because I knew what was going on every step of the way. But, maybe that’s just me.
I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone younger than eleven and that would be too young for some readers. I consider this an adult/young adult book, not a children’s book.
To all potential readers: Do not plan to snack/eat while reading this. Seriously!
It’s exceptionally well written and an engrossing story. All the characters seemed very real.
I thought the author got it just right in the depiction of a child who’s been lied to and deceived, knows something is not quite right but is trusting, and who inevitably finds out the truth, or in this case, something close to the truth. That aspect in particular really resonated with me. At first I had a difficult time believing in the girl’s naiveté, but then it did seem genuine and believable.
I wouldn’t suggest this book as an introduction to the Nazi holocaust. There is an short afterword that gives pertinent information, but I think I enjoyed this book more because I knew what was going on every step of the way. But, maybe that’s just me.
I wouldn’t recommend this for anyone younger than eleven and that would be too young for some readers. I consider this an adult/young adult book, not a children’s book.
To all potential readers: Do not plan to snack/eat while reading this. Seriously!
October 8, 2016
A close account of what a Jewish child might have gone through in the Holocaust, written from a hopeless perspective of someone who doesn't survive. Not heavy to read, and not necessarily bringing any new information, but rather emotional charge and moral questions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 12, 2009
The Holocaust is an all-too-popular subject for young adult literature, so it was with reluctance that I opened this book. Unlike so many books in this genre, there are no real heroes, no noble acts, and no redemption in this claustrophobic tale first published in Germany. Instead, this short novel focuses on the tedium, uncertainty, and unease in one railway car full of Jews making the forced journey to Auschwitz.
Alice, the central character, is nearly twelve, but has lived such a sheltered life that she seems much younger. Despite hiding in a basement for more than two years, she knows nothing of the war or the atrocities being committed. Her own parents disappeared in the dark of night, but her grandparents reassured her that it was only because her mother needed emergency dental care, which the naive child believed. And so Alice finds herself in a herd of humanity, heading east, hoping to be reunited with her parents. Over the course of the brief journey her illusions are shattered as she witnesses death (including her own grandfather's), birth, and the entire spectrum of human emotions. When the torture of the journey is finally over, she is only too relieved to be offered the opportunity to shower.
Unlike other YA novels about the Holocaust, (Number the Stars, for one), that remain somewhat removed from the actual details of the tragedy, Pausewang's work wallows in the repetitive, mundane trivia of the journey. Most of the passengers in the railway car are neither horrible nor heroic, but are instead preoccupied with bodily functions normally kept private. The two corpses occupying valuable space in the car are treated in the same matter-of-fact style, further emphasizing the dehumanizing effects of the journey. The birth of a baby in the midst of such depression should have been cause for celebration, but the assorted travelers cannot find enough hope in their hearts to rejoice. It is only the false promise of a shower and hot coffee that causes some to lift their heads in anticipation, making the final, inevitable conclusion that much more poignant.
Due to explicit language and uncomfortable situations, The Final Journey is probably best suited for older middle school and high school readers. I would proceed with caution before using with with a fifth or sixth grade class.
Alice, the central character, is nearly twelve, but has lived such a sheltered life that she seems much younger. Despite hiding in a basement for more than two years, she knows nothing of the war or the atrocities being committed. Her own parents disappeared in the dark of night, but her grandparents reassured her that it was only because her mother needed emergency dental care, which the naive child believed. And so Alice finds herself in a herd of humanity, heading east, hoping to be reunited with her parents. Over the course of the brief journey her illusions are shattered as she witnesses death (including her own grandfather's), birth, and the entire spectrum of human emotions. When the torture of the journey is finally over, she is only too relieved to be offered the opportunity to shower.
Unlike other YA novels about the Holocaust, (Number the Stars, for one), that remain somewhat removed from the actual details of the tragedy, Pausewang's work wallows in the repetitive, mundane trivia of the journey. Most of the passengers in the railway car are neither horrible nor heroic, but are instead preoccupied with bodily functions normally kept private. The two corpses occupying valuable space in the car are treated in the same matter-of-fact style, further emphasizing the dehumanizing effects of the journey. The birth of a baby in the midst of such depression should have been cause for celebration, but the assorted travelers cannot find enough hope in their hearts to rejoice. It is only the false promise of a shower and hot coffee that causes some to lift their heads in anticipation, making the final, inevitable conclusion that much more poignant.
Due to explicit language and uncomfortable situations, The Final Journey is probably best suited for older middle school and high school readers. I would proceed with caution before using with with a fifth or sixth grade class.
February 24, 2021
Eine unglaublich gute, mitreißende und auch herzzerreißende Geschichte. Der Text ist symbolisch so stark aufgeladen, dass das Lesen trotz der schweren Thematik eine Freude ist. Ich lege jedem ans Herz, dieses Buch zu lesen!
March 3, 2023
This book is about Young Alice who is only 11 but nearly 12 and she has gone on a train with her grandfather. They basically just show what they have been doing and how Alice feels through out this train ride. They have no idea what awaits them when they arrive to there destination. She also hopes wherever this train takes her her parents will also be there. They aren't the only people on this train to though. Alice learns more about the other people there and there stories. Overall though this book is pretty goo. The genre is realistic fiction. The author of this book has other books too and this wasn't his first either. This book is very well written they way that they like explain and go in debt in things is nice and I don't know I just really like this book. This book isn't really what I expected it to be it was pretty sad and I really loved the characters too. It breaks my heart that people actually had to go through this back then.
4/5
Would recommend.
4/5
Would recommend.
February 7, 2013
The Final Journey by Gudrun Pausewang takes place in a train that is on its way to concentration camp during World War 2. Alice, a 11 year old, naive Jewish girl, just wants to get off this train to meet her family. However, the reader knows that Alice and her grandfather are being sent away to become part of the concentration camp. The author used dramatic irony as a very good tool there. The readers knew exactly what was going on, while Alice didn't. This made readers like me feel pity and sympathy for Alice who obviously waited death. The general plot of the story is very depressing for it doesn't end with a happy ending. It shows how sad the lives of the Jews were during the Holocaust and how much they suffered. The beginning of the plot is a bit slow and sticks mainly to describing the situation in the train. However, the story progresses as readers meet new characters on the train and events like, begging for water, death, and birth to a baby happens. After these events, the story does progress a bit but it still takes on quite a simple pace. It doesn't have any dramatic climaxes, other than the death that awaits the Jews. Although the general plot was not very dramatic, the book kept me turning pages because of its uniqueness. There are so many books out there that have been based on World War 2 and the Holocaust, but this one was so different from them all. It took on the perspective of people who suffered on the way to concentration camp, knowing that death awaited them. In addition, the life of Jews which had no hope and joy taught me to be more thankful with everything that I live with and the horrors of WW2. One aspect that I didn't enjoy of the book was the amount of tragedy. The tragedy of the book was a very important element in keeping the book more entertaining, but as someone who likes to enjoy the bright side and always has hope, the depression in the book was a bit unpleasing to me. The Final Journey is a book that ends with death and shows readers the tragedy of the Jews, but taught me that my life I have right now is truly blessed and I'm so lucky to be where I am right now. In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading this unique take on the tragedies of the Jews and I learned a lot about being thankfulness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 18, 2012
The Final Journey
By Gudrun Pausewang
The final Journey’s genre is juvenile fiction based on historical events. The novel was took place during World War II (1939 – 1945) in Auschwitz Easter Europe. Gudrun Pausewang born in March 3 1928 at Germany, and she is a German writer for children and teens. Gudrun Pausewang wrote 86 novels, and The Final Journey is one of them. She wrote this novel because she was there during that time period, and she believe lots of Jewish children desert better than what just happen to them.
The brutal message of The Final Journey by Pausewang is it was merciless to be Jewish During this time period, because it was during World War II, and the Jewish Holocaust. There were brutal forms of opposition where six million Jews died in what has become known as the Holocaust people with disabilities and dissidents of all kinds.
The Final Journey is about eleven years old girl name Alice, during World War II. Alice is a young Jewish girl doesn’t know anything outside her house forced to get in a train with her grandfather to unknown destination. Alone the way, she forced to come to grips with death, and she learns new things that she too young to know. However she wants to works hard to fit in with the group. This book would be a preface read for young girls, for them to know how some girls have to go to during the holocaust.
This book very heart wrenching book, and in some how when I’m reading it kind of connect to my life litter bit. How she has to travel to another place and don’t know any body on the way beside her family it remind me of when I come to United States.
September 9, 2012
There are a lot of books on the Holocaust but not many of them talk in detail about the actual journeys to the camps, the trains. This book, which is about as low-key as it can be given the topic, is about a twelve-year-old girl, Alice, being deported to Auschwitz, and almost the entire story takes place in the cattle car, packed in with dozens of other miserable Jews. The grimness and inhumanity of the surroundings is quite evident. The wretched people quickly fill their waste bucket and finally just eliminate in a corner, and eventually the whole car floods. A nice young man is shot to death when he tries to escape. Although it's not explicitly stated, Alice is sent to certain death in the last chapter of the book. However, more important is the protagonist's journey of self-discovery.
As the train rolls onward to its destination, so does Alice learn more and more things about her life that she never knew. Extremely naive in the beginning -- she was kept shut away by her loving grandfather and was completely unaware of the persecutions and the danger surrounding her -- Alice quickly wises up and realizes the (almost) entire truth of the situation. She begins to menstruate during the last pages, a symbol of her new emotional maturity.
Children would appreciate this book and I don't think it's too graphic for them, but adults will also appreciate it for the many layers of meaning in the story.
As the train rolls onward to its destination, so does Alice learn more and more things about her life that she never knew. Extremely naive in the beginning -- she was kept shut away by her loving grandfather and was completely unaware of the persecutions and the danger surrounding her -- Alice quickly wises up and realizes the (almost) entire truth of the situation. She begins to menstruate during the last pages, a symbol of her new emotional maturity.
Children would appreciate this book and I don't think it's too graphic for them, but adults will also appreciate it for the many layers of meaning in the story.
April 8, 2009
There are so many books on the Holocaust and written in so many different ways. This book takes that very short time span it took to transport a group of Jews from their home by train to Auschwitz.It moves a little slow but it adds to the discomfort you are feeling as you relive those long grueling hours they spent packed in train cars meant for transporting cattle. You feel their hunger, their pain, their discomfort, their confusion and fear and wonder about what lies ahead for them once they arrive at their destination. When the trip finally comes to an end and they think their basic needs will be met with a shower and hot coffee they are separated; able bodied workers to the right, women and children to the left. We all know the ending from here. I just wish I could have that moment back and let it all be a bad dream and watch Alice grow up and marry Paul, and be reunited with her family. The reality is too much grief for one person to bear.
July 28, 2010
This is one of the very few books, non-fiction or otherwise, on this subject that I'd recommend to younger people. Even though the majority of this book details the train ride Alice takes to Auschwitz there is still much tragedy involved as is to be expected. But it's written in a way that can be handled by young people I think. Maybe because instead of putting it out there very plainly it all goes "through" Alice. That may be why I feel this way.
I'm really surprised at this book to be honest. I read it ~ to be very honest ~ because it's missing it's dust jacket and I wanted it off my bookshelf. (My OCD thank you very much.) I was surprised at how well it flowed. As astonishing as Alice's experiences are it can be handled by someone younger.
This is also slim enough that someone younger may not be overwhelmed which is always a good thing.
I'm really surprised at this book to be honest. I read it ~ to be very honest ~ because it's missing it's dust jacket and I wanted it off my bookshelf. (My OCD thank you very much.) I was surprised at how well it flowed. As astonishing as Alice's experiences are it can be handled by someone younger.
This is also slim enough that someone younger may not be overwhelmed which is always a good thing.
February 12, 2016
I read the book The Final Journey by Gudrun Pausewang. This book was about a young Jewish girl named Alice. Alice had to stay locked in her grandparents basement after the death of her parents. One day in the middle of the night two Nazi officers came to Alice's grandparents house and told them to pack. Alice was unaware of what was going on because nobody told her anything about the war or what was going on. Alice and her grandmother were put on a pitch black breathless train. She goes through many events that lead her to eventually find out what is going on. When everyone gets off the train they are put into a concentration camp. Everyone gets put into a gas chamber and dies. I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a background of where the prisoners come from and what they have to go through.
February 13, 2017
I knew what the book is all about even before I started reading. The title says it all so ... it wasn't that interesting. Why read something I already know how the end will be like?
October 1, 2015
such a sad book !!!!! :(
December 9, 2020
One of the most poignant and memorable books I have ever read.
June 5, 2024
This was a very short novel with only 26 chapters and 154 pages. Although it was short, it took me a long time to finish compared to other novels, mostly because of my own busy life. But, the content of the events was a lot to take in. Which is common for me when I read anything with heavy subjects. I gave this book a personal rating of 4 stars. Alice's story is one I wished ended differently and the author's ability to introduce you to so many characters and make this story true to Alice's perspective is truly amazing. At a young age, you wouldn't want your child to know the horrors of the world, and that innocence is clearly depicted in this novel. It shows the accuracy of someone's world growing from such a small thing to something that can be scary.
Summary (SPOILERS!!)
This novel follows the journey of an 11-year-old girl named Alice. Alice is traveling by train to an unknown destination with only the clothes on her back and a small rucksack of what she can gather when the guards come for her and her grandparents in the dead of night. She has no idea what this journey holds for her, but all she can be glad for is leaving a basement that she hasn't left in almost 2 years. Her parents wrote to her saying that they would meet her later in the East, but she didn't know why she hadn't heard from them for weeks.
Her grandparents are separated at the station where she and her grandfather board a train and her grandmother is taken to a separate car because she can't walk well and keep up with them. Maybe they will meet again wherever the train stops. Grandfather holds Mousie, a nickname for Alice, close to him aboard a train stuffed with people. The train doesn't have proper seating, a lavatory, food, or water; the families huddle together, holding onto each other for dear life. They all have yellow Stars of David on them and look as sullen as you'd believe. You'd think they were all in a basement without sunshine and fresh air like she was.
The train begins its long journey and Alice meets other children and their parents, older people, couples with families just starting, and single men with twinkles in their eyes; but they know more than Alice thought. Her parents and grandparents worked hard to keep Alice's world small. It is among strangers that she learns the truth about the times she is living. She is the enemy of Nazi Germany, and her parents might have not escaped to the East but were most likely taken-never to be seen again.
Learning this truth brings a horrible revelation to Alice and she blames her grandfather. After exposing him for his lies and deceit, she reprimands him, and all the stress, sorrow, sadness, everything comes hard for him, and he dies. Leaving Alice alone among strangers, she must make the rest of this journey alone. She is on a train that may lead to her and her companions' demise. But, of course, they couldn't kill her for being something she didn't choose. She didn't choose to be Jewish, so it's not her fault. Why would someone kill someone else for no reason?
A single mother takes pity on her and makes it a point to take some form of responsibility for her after her grandfather dies. When they reach their destination at a place called Auschwitz, she leaves the train and is led by men in striped uniforms to a place to be processed. They make promises of food, water, and showers for everyone. They make orderly lines; men in one and women, children, and the elderly in another. Being asked to de-clothe and head to the showers begins a confusing journey to a very crowded and cramped room with spouts that surely couldn't clean all of them. She opens her arms to the water that's to come and is ready to start life clean and fresh.
Summary (SPOILERS!!)
This novel follows the journey of an 11-year-old girl named Alice. Alice is traveling by train to an unknown destination with only the clothes on her back and a small rucksack of what she can gather when the guards come for her and her grandparents in the dead of night. She has no idea what this journey holds for her, but all she can be glad for is leaving a basement that she hasn't left in almost 2 years. Her parents wrote to her saying that they would meet her later in the East, but she didn't know why she hadn't heard from them for weeks.
Her grandparents are separated at the station where she and her grandfather board a train and her grandmother is taken to a separate car because she can't walk well and keep up with them. Maybe they will meet again wherever the train stops. Grandfather holds Mousie, a nickname for Alice, close to him aboard a train stuffed with people. The train doesn't have proper seating, a lavatory, food, or water; the families huddle together, holding onto each other for dear life. They all have yellow Stars of David on them and look as sullen as you'd believe. You'd think they were all in a basement without sunshine and fresh air like she was.
The train begins its long journey and Alice meets other children and their parents, older people, couples with families just starting, and single men with twinkles in their eyes; but they know more than Alice thought. Her parents and grandparents worked hard to keep Alice's world small. It is among strangers that she learns the truth about the times she is living. She is the enemy of Nazi Germany, and her parents might have not escaped to the East but were most likely taken-never to be seen again.
Learning this truth brings a horrible revelation to Alice and she blames her grandfather. After exposing him for his lies and deceit, she reprimands him, and all the stress, sorrow, sadness, everything comes hard for him, and he dies. Leaving Alice alone among strangers, she must make the rest of this journey alone. She is on a train that may lead to her and her companions' demise. But, of course, they couldn't kill her for being something she didn't choose. She didn't choose to be Jewish, so it's not her fault. Why would someone kill someone else for no reason?
A single mother takes pity on her and makes it a point to take some form of responsibility for her after her grandfather dies. When they reach their destination at a place called Auschwitz, she leaves the train and is led by men in striped uniforms to a place to be processed. They make promises of food, water, and showers for everyone. They make orderly lines; men in one and women, children, and the elderly in another. Being asked to de-clothe and head to the showers begins a confusing journey to a very crowded and cramped room with spouts that surely couldn't clean all of them. She opens her arms to the water that's to come and is ready to start life clean and fresh.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2022
OMG!
Heartbreaking!
The book is told from the perspective of Alice, who is put on a truck, (train car), with her Grandfather on the way "east." No one knows where they are going for sure, just "east."
Alice learns from others on the truck that her family have not told her the truth about many of the things they know has happened to the Jews. She learns what it means to become a woman and about childbirth. So much growing up in the truck.
She tells of the horrors of people not being given the basic needs for humans; water, food, or bathrooms. They are given the indignity of human waste slowly heading toward them, or lack of privacy when they relieve themselves. They are stuck in the dark, both figuratively, (not knowing where they are going and what to expect when they reach their destination), and literally, (with the only light being some sun through grates or those who happened to pack flashlights).
I've read a few books about the Holocaust, but they have been those in hiding or after they are sent to the camps, never on the way to the camp. Heartbreaking.
I have to give this book 5 stars. Pausewang is able to introduce the characters with such personality I felt, at times, I could see them on the train and was pulled in to their fears and uncertainty. Beautifully written.
Heartbreaking!
The book is told from the perspective of Alice, who is put on a truck, (train car), with her Grandfather on the way "east." No one knows where they are going for sure, just "east."
Alice learns from others on the truck that her family have not told her the truth about many of the things they know has happened to the Jews. She learns what it means to become a woman and about childbirth. So much growing up in the truck.
She tells of the horrors of people not being given the basic needs for humans; water, food, or bathrooms. They are given the indignity of human waste slowly heading toward them, or lack of privacy when they relieve themselves. They are stuck in the dark, both figuratively, (not knowing where they are going and what to expect when they reach their destination), and literally, (with the only light being some sun through grates or those who happened to pack flashlights).
I've read a few books about the Holocaust, but they have been those in hiding or after they are sent to the camps, never on the way to the camp. Heartbreaking.
I have to give this book 5 stars. Pausewang is able to introduce the characters with such personality I felt, at times, I could see them on the train and was pulled in to their fears and uncertainty. Beautifully written.
April 17, 2018
The book is kind of all over the place in the beginning but the more you read the more understanding it gets. Anyways the plot is that Alice (the main character) is a quarter Jewish and is being sent to a work camp with her grandpa that served in WW1 under Germany. He tells Alice lies so she doesn't freak out. She finds out and yells at her grandfather and he dies from the guilt and the fact that he has some sort of disease that he has contracted on the prison truck. The book ends in a "shower room" in Auschwitz.
There are many figurative devices in Gudrun Pausewang's The Final Journey. First is imagery:"she washed her hands in the equally filthy wash-basin..."(22). Another example of imagery is:"something flat, large and unwieldy was stuck at the bottom of the bag: the family tree."(140-141) The next figurative language is Onomatopoeia:"Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat."(16) Next is simile:"moving his hand through the air like an aeroplane."(115) After simile, there is personification:"The train slowed down, with much creaking, rattling and screeching..."(90)
My opinion of this book is low. It took a little time to get started by that I mean it took half of the book to understand what is happening. I was confused when she was having flashbacks vs. when she was on the train.
There are many figurative devices in Gudrun Pausewang's The Final Journey. First is imagery:"she washed her hands in the equally filthy wash-basin..."(22). Another example of imagery is:"something flat, large and unwieldy was stuck at the bottom of the bag: the family tree."(140-141) The next figurative language is Onomatopoeia:"Rat-tat-tat, rat-tat-tat."(16) Next is simile:"moving his hand through the air like an aeroplane."(115) After simile, there is personification:"The train slowed down, with much creaking, rattling and screeching..."(90)
My opinion of this book is low. It took a little time to get started by that I mean it took half of the book to understand what is happening. I was confused when she was having flashbacks vs. when she was on the train.
June 22, 2022
Alice goes on a journey with her granddad that will forever change her. What Alice does not know is where the train goes, or why she was not allowed to leave the house cellar for the las year, or why her parents vanished after a dentists trip. Alices family protects her from all the bad things hapening in the world by not telling her anything.
Now she is in a train thats headed east and she slowly learns whats going on in the real world around her. The journey is life changing and the destination is one we all know.
Now she is in a train thats headed east and she slowly learns whats going on in the real world around her. The journey is life changing and the destination is one we all know.
October 9, 2024
Written from the viewpoint of an 11 year old, the story of the transport carries a freshness and authentic voice that would make this an equal with the "Diary of Anne Frank." What touched me most was the care of the adults to guard the children not only physically, but also psychologically. Even at the end, Alice retained much of her innocence and though the end was still grim, she did not carry mental anguish into her final hour.
May these stories of horrendous behavior never die so that they will never be repeated!
May these stories of horrendous behavior never die so that they will never be repeated!
October 11, 2021
A must-read, harrowing, graphic, and heart-wrenching, this is a sad account of a girl's last days before reaching Auschwitz...gripping, so sad, intense, and realistic...I'd definitely recommend reading it, in the same category as Elie Weisel's "'Night" like you are thrust into the girl's situation and watch her move from sheltered and naive through to a late-blooming maturity that is tragically short-lived.
February 24, 2025
It's difficult to rate this book because overall I liked it. It was detailed on what it must have been like on the train ride to Auschwitz. This is a somewhat old book so I can't really find information on it and how much of the book is based on real events from someone else's story. I would have given it 5 stars but the part with the dog hurt my soul and I wish that would have been left out. Human suffering is awful but animals just hit different for me.
December 24, 2022
The absolutely perfect Holocaust book. It is amazing to me now - surrounded by the carefully emotionally protected children of millennials - that I encouraged my children to read this book - which is after all a YA novel - back in the day. Because it IS an absolutely horrifying book as well as being perfect. It will tear your guts out - and so it should.
Please please, world, never again.
Please please, world, never again.
January 30, 2019
One of the most beautifully written and well crafted books I have ever read.
During the course of a train journey from Berlin to Auschwitz we see the central
character develop from child to young woman on the brink of adulthood.
During the course of a train journey from Berlin to Auschwitz we see the central
character develop from child to young woman on the brink of adulthood.
November 16, 2020
Gut geschrieben. Alice ist allerdings unrealistisch dargestellt, auch wenn Pausewang diesen "naiven" Blick sicherlich extra gewählt hat. Macht aber ein nachträgliches oder begleitendes Gespräch mit Jugendlichen unabdingbar.
April 12, 2024
This heartbreaking holocaust story starts with a 11 year old and her grandfather being loaded in a train heading to a camp. It was hard to envision their accommodations k owing their fate. The uncertainty and innocence of this character was heartbreaking.
December 22, 2018
I read this when I was around 17 and it absolutely broke my heart and stuck with me since. Plan to re-read.
December 24, 2018
The hardest and most painful book I’ve ever read. The last paragraph haunts me more than anything I’ve ever seen.
May 30, 2020
Läst denna på svenska: "Resa i augusti"
December 19, 2020
A very disturbing read that I couldn’t put down. I can’t imagine what these people went thru. It’s truly a tragedy. The last paragraph is haunting & will not be forgotten anytime soon.
January 17, 2021
2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge: A bestseller from the 1990s
Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews