Emil is growing up in Passau, Germany under Hitler’s rule. He attends his Deutsches Jungvolk meetings with fervor and wants to be a pilot. Emil begins to see the faults in Hitler’s plans as tensions arise and the hatred of the Jewish people grows. Emil’s friends Moritz and Johann discover the truth behind the German propaganda with the BBC news broadcast over a shortwave radio, not everything is going so well for the German’s during the war and fatalities are much worse than reported. The three friends decide to distribute the news with the help of Johann’s sister, Katharina. As the years pass, the boys grow older and are eventually trained to fight and sent to the front for a war they no longer want to fight; even Katharina finds herself in training as the German losses mount.
Playing With Matches proved to be a moving coming of age story told from the point of view of a German teen. The history in the story really grabbed me and I learned about the German Youth meeting, the effects of World War II on the average German Home and the efforts of The White Rose resistance. It was interesting to watch Emil’s character grow as he began to emulate his Deutshes Jungvolk leader and argue with his parents as a youth, to seeing his Jewish friends business destroyed, to taking huge risks by distributing treasonous pamphlet and eventually fighting. Emil’s character struggles through many emotions: fear, hope, survival and love to create a realistic story of a German youth growing up during World War II.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Playing With Matches proved to be a moving coming of age story told from the point of view of a German teen. The history in the story really grabbed me and I learned about the German Youth meeting, the effects of World War II on the average German Home and the efforts of The White Rose resistance. It was interesting to watch Emil’s character grow as he began to emulate his Deutshes Jungvolk leader and argue with his parents as a youth, to seeing his Jewish friends business destroyed, to taking huge risks by distributing treasonous pamphlet and eventually fighting. Emil’s character struggles through many emotions: fear, hope, survival and love to create a realistic story of a German youth growing up during World War II.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
