All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Reviewed by: Michal, the mom (does age matter?)

This exquisite book was one that I wanted to immediately re-read once it was finished. It tells the story of its two main characters so beautifully and poignantly. The ending wasn't what I had hoped for, but did feel like the right ending, if that makes any sense. I am glad to have read it.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Time Period: World War II

Introduction:

The book tells the story of two people who seem completely unconnected, but artfully connects them throughout their experiences. One is an orphan boy growing up in Nazi Germany, the other a blind girl in Paris. The author jumps around in time and between the two characters, but it works.

Themes: family, light, overcoming, racism, war, 

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Full Disclosure:

There is occasional swearing and one minor character who makes a few crass (sexual) comments. There is some violence, although not as much as you would expect for a book about war. Some heavy content, thus the older recommendation.

Rating: 5 stars

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl (Autobiography)

Reviewed by: Kimball, age 15

Genre: Autobiography

Time Period: World War II

Introduction:

Viktor Frankl is a renowned Jewish psychiatrist famous for the concept of logotherapy, that man's drive is not power or reproduction but seeks those things and others in their true purpose to find the meaning of life. He illustrates this concept by first detailing his experience in a Nazi concentration camp and how his tribulation helped him develop his theory and find deeper meaning in life.

Viktor could have left for America and avoided the whole thing. However, he would have had to leave his parents behind. Reading the first of the Ten Commandments, he decided to honor his father and mother by not abandoning them, even though this meant that he and his family would surely be taken by the Nazis for it.

Separated from his wife, children and parents, Viktor lived in a mens' concentration camp, he finds that the inmates go through three stages: upon entry, they are shocked, and gradually become apathetic and develop a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. When they are in their final stage, if they have not given up entirely on surviving, they become worse creatures than their captors, seeking vengeance to vent their bitterness and justifying cruelty because they have suffered worse cruelties.

Themes: our true purpose is to find it, men must not let the injustice inflicted upon them to turn them amoral

Recommended Age: 14 and up

Full Disclosure:

There is some nudity and occasional swearing. The experiences described are extremely sad and horrifying.

Rating: 4 stars