YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

80% (view spoiler)[ victor got caught!! Ahhhh breaks my heart, he was so close. This is such a sad book. I am missing a lot of details by listening via audio, I think I’ll definitely reread this in physical. It was so sad when Dita’s dad died! And all alone :( (hide spoiler)]

Wow yay you're almost finished! We need some more points.

82%(view spoiler)[ that was such a lovely gesture from the polish boy to Dita. Giving her the egg. I wonder if they are writing a post card to their loved ones because of the same reason as the previous prisoners (right before they were executed) (hide spoiler)]

Oh yay you're listening right now. I'm really excited for this one XD Just have to get through my current one. Is it a long audio?

86% (view spoiler)[ far out that is intense how they have to take all of their clothes off and then get sorted into who they will keep and who they will kill. Heartbreaking!! (hide spoiler)]

92% (view spoiler)[ yes! They are free! But I agree, it would feel too late with all they have lost and been through (hide spoiler)]

95% (view spoiler)[ so glad dita was able to find Margot again! (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ loved the ending how they said about the real characters and what happened to them. I want to reread this ASAP haha! As I feel like knowing this info would help the story. (hide spoiler)]

12% (view spoiler)[This description of the gas chambers is horrid!! At least he really doesn't enjoy it, but it's terrible (hide spoiler)]

27% (view spoiler)[The different characters are confusing me. The Nazi officer who was talking about the gas chambers is the one who constantly exercised right? Or was that the person with Dita who ran the school? I'm getting confused. (hide spoiler)]

Maddison wrote: "27% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I have no idea. I got confused too. What’s their names? I can maybe tell you from that. I really want to reread this physical. As it was so good and I want to savour the details (hide spoiler)]

Uhhh one of them's Rudy and I'm not sure on the other's.

EDIT: I think the other one's Marschek? (view spoiler)[The spy. (hide spoiler)]

35% (view spoiler)[Oh wow! So waaaaiiiiit Freddy Marschek's not a spy?? He's just gay, and he's found another gay Nazi? Is that it?? (hide spoiler)]

How old's Freddy?

Ah alright so it's Freddy obsessed with the exercise to try and get rid of his feelings.

This book isn't as interesting as I thought it would be. There's kind of no plot.

42% (view spoiler)[Wow I really like Milan now. Just giving them the jacket and not taking the ration when he realises why they wanted it. (hide spoiler)]

45% (view spoiler)[Oh wow the officer that they thought wanted to rape Renee is actually just wanting to be a friend! It's people like these who make me feel bad for them being forced to be Nazis. I still hate them, but it sucks. (hide spoiler)]

46% (view spoiler)[Wow this is so messed up, those experiments on the women's ovaries and stuff! (hide spoiler)]

76% (view spoiler)[Wait what happened with Alice? Wasn't she escaping with Rudy? Oh actually she got taken away to the gas chambers didn't she?

How did Rudy end up with someone else then? I'm confused. (hide spoiler)]

Shae wrote: "82%[spoilers removed]"

Yeah I know so nice! I don't recognise him though.

I'm almost at the end, will finish tomorrow. Just going to play Dota tonight.

Shae wrote: "92% [spoilers removed]"

Dammit I read this spoiler before I reached it! Ugh!

91% (view spoiler)[Holy wow it's Anne and Margot from Anne Frank!! This is crazy! (hide spoiler)]

Shae wrote: "92% [spoilers removed]"

Just a few days too late for Anne Frank :(

Shae wrote: "Finished [spoilers removed]"

Review: I'm pleased to have listened to this book on audio, otherwise who knows when I would get around to reading it. This book was not that action-packed, but I also feel glad for it because it's a true story. Some of the things described in it are terrible, too horrible to imagine. At the end though, I loved the way Dita came across Anne and Margot Frank! It's just so sad that (view spoiler)[they were freed days after they both died. (hide spoiler)] That Epilogue that explained what happened to the characters after the ending of the book was very educational, and closed up the story very well!

I have to admit that when the narrator was talking about their research on writing the novel, and when they visited Auschwitz, I had tears in my eyes even just hearing about what it was like. That is one place that I both really want to and really do not want to visit. I feel like it would break me, but I also feel like I need to go out of respect. If I ever do go to Germany I will definitely visit there, just not sure if I'll be able to go inside.

Ch. 7 (view spoiler)[ The different view points are kind of disorienting. I'll be used to Dita's perspective, but then something else comes in and like distracts me from the main story line. There's a lot of history in this book and I love that he wanted to tell the story of the "World's smallest library". (hide spoiler)]

Maddison wrote: "27% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Rudy runs the intake desk and Freddie/Hershel(??) runs Block 31 where Dita works. I'm not sure who was talking about the gas chamber stuff lol. Freddie is the one that works out a lot too! (hide spoiler)]

Maddison wrote: "35% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yeah he's not a spy. I don't think the guy he was seeing is a Nazi as he's describes as wearing a pink triangle and I think that's the symbol the Nazi's used to mark gay men. (hide spoiler)]

Maddison wrote: "How old's Freddy?"

Older than Dita, but how much I'm not sure??

Ch. 14 (view spoiler)[ I love all of the random facts about how everyday life worked in Auschwitz. I really love the fact that the adults are trying to make a friendly environment for the kids. I love their little school, I think it definitely gives the kids hope. I was kind of disappointed in Dita's reaction to finding out Freddie is gay, but she didn't know any better and that's how they were taught to think. I love that his assistant Mariam(?) defended him when Dita told her everything. I'm super sad that Dita's dad died from pneumonia. Horrible (hide spoiler)]

It was also 80 years ago, and it definitely wasn't normal back then XD

Ch. 21 (view spoiler)[ I'm so sad that Freddie committed suicide rather than start the rebellion to try to save the children. Or was he murdered!?!. I love how Dita read the book about the soldier to the kids and teachers to help them grieve. (hide spoiler)]

Yeah Dita's got a kind heart

Finished (view spoiler)[ Oh this was so beautiful!! I love how resilient Dita was and that she got to see Margot again. Her meeting with her future was so cute! And I'm glad we finally got answers about Freddie! I loved the epilogue and how it talked about all the survivors who played roles in this book. I'm going to have to find and read it too! (hide spoiler)]

Yay glad you liked it!

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Date changed. Restarting April 10th 2019. Happy Reading ☺

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Starting today!

(view spoiler)[Such a heartbreaking description of the gas chambers and death camps. Dita is so brave to take on this new role, but it's so critical to surviving this horrendous experience. I really hope she doesn't get caught (hide spoiler)]
Ch 6

(view spoiler)[So Freddy isn't actually a spy, he's gay. Interesting perspective as I've never read any LGBT characters in WWII stories. I like how the school is the small glimmer of hope in this depressing heartbreaking setting. (hide spoiler)]
Ch 13