The Boy Who Dared

I was pleasantly surprised by this novel.  Although, I have to admit my resignations against this book were based not on the subject area, title or cover art, but because this woman I met at a Holocaust conference years ago recommended it.  I realize this sounds crazy, but this woman was so, so clueless about the most basic of Holocaust facts, I doubted the value of this novel.  I mean if someone truly didn't understand the events of the Holocaust, could this book be worth reading?  The turning point for me was when a student was totally engaged while reading this novel.  This particular young man is NOT a reader.  He's not much of a student, but he was engrossed with this story.  How could I not give it a chance?

I learned a bit of new information about the Hitler Youth and one young man in particular, Helmuth Huebener.  A boy who was executed because he dared to speak the truth.  As a Mormon, Helmuth felt a particular duty to God and country, but he just did not agree with Nazi politics.  He chose to speak out against the Nazi policies through the publications of pamphlets speaking out against the actions toward the Jews.  

Bartoletti takes great care with the historical facts and elements of this novel.  She want so far as to interview Helmuth's brother and one of the boys that was also involved in Helmuth's resistance efforts.  The end result of this extensive research is a well-written, engaging book about a German boy who does the unexpected.