One of My Favorite Books: Milkweed

Milkweed (2003)

Spinelli, Jerry

Historical Fiction

5/5 Stars

Warning: Really shows how the holocaust was

There's a boy. He's an orphan. Nobody knows him. He doesn't even know who he is. Nobody cares about him. He steals and runs. That how he lives every day and thats how the story starts. The little orphan boy is running in Warsaw, Poland with a stolen loaf of bread when he runs into Uri. A red-headed boy that's also an orphan. Uri takes the boy to live with him in the basement of an old abandoned barbar shop. Thats how the boy becomes who he is today; Misha Pilsuduski. Uri made up an entire history for the boy and he suddenly becomes Misha Pilsuduski; a 9 year old gypsy. As the Jackboots (Nazis) come into Warsaw, all of the Jews are prosecuted. Misha and all of the other orphans, along with the Jews, are all forced to live in the Ghetto. It's a fight to survive for everyone.

     When everyone one is forced to live in the Ghetto, living conditions are harsh for everyone. There is not enough food and people starve everyday. While they live in the Ghetto, Misha sneaks out every night to steal food. Not only is he endangering his life, but then he also shares the food with people. They could have easily starved to death if it wasn't for him. It shows that one person really can make a difference and that helping others is always a good thing.

     Milkweed, is in the first-person perspective and is told by Misha when he is an old retired man. It is told really good and I think that by being in that perspective it is very detailed and realistic.

     This book has some mature stuff in it but isn't a very hard read. I think it's intended to be read by middle and high school age readers but it could be read by anyone older too because it is a great book.

     I first read this book in 6th grade and have read it many times since then. I would reccomend it to anyone that is able to read it because it is one of my favorite book. School Library Journal says about Milkweed, "This historical novel can be appreciated both by readers with previous knowledge of the Holocaust and by those who share Misha's innocence and will discover the horrors of this period in history along with him." It really is a very informatic realistic story and I love it. Amazon.com Review says, "Spinelli has written a powerfully moving story of survival--readers will love Misha the dreamer..." Milkweed, is a great book.