By Megan Ouellette
CMS, Grade 7
Title: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Author: John Boyne
The character I noticed who changed the most is Bruno. When he first moved to Out-With, he was very skeptical and upset about the move. The main reason why he was upset about his move was that he had to move far away from his three best friends for life, and he had no one to play with. His house was fenced in and he couldn’t even go exploring – one of his favorite things to do with his friends. One day he found a gate open and he snuck out of his house and snooped around the place. Finally he came across a fence and saw many people wearing striped pajamas. He saw a boy sitting on the other side of the fence about his age named Shmuel – he would be Bruno’s secret best friend. Although it had to be kept secret (and they couldn’t play together), Bruno and Shmuel got very close in the few months they had known each other. Shmuel had changed Bruno’s thoughts about Out-With. Bruno really didn’t mind Out-With at this point, he had all he needed. A new best friend for life.
Bruno changed because he met Shmuel. Before Shmuel he was miserable at his new house. After he met him, his perspective changed completely – even when his dad asked him if he wanted to leave he said that he loved it at Out-With and he didn’t want to leave.
Author’s purpose: The author wrote this book to show that everyone is equal, no matter what religion, how rich or how poor you are. I think John Boyne wrote this book to say that anyone can be friends, your lifestyle shouldn’t matter in a friendship.
Intended audience: Anywhere from grades 6-8 could be able to read this. The lexile level is above 1,000 so you’d have to have a good reading level and understanding of background knowledge of this setting or you’d be lost often.
