Milkweed, a historical fiction book by Jerry Spinelli, is set back in Nazi Germany during World War II. It tells the story of a young orphan boy trying to survive in Warsaw, a poverty-stricken town controlled by Nazis. The young boy, Misha, is faced with new challenges of survival each day. Some days he doesn't know where he is going to sleep at night. Other days, he sleeps in abandoned buildings, old barns, or underneath rubble. Everyday he must find new ways to steal food for himself and the others. He meets a young girl along the way, whose family is taken from their beautiful home to the ghettos. Misha makes it his responsibility to take care of the family because unlike him, they are not used to living on the streets with no possessions and no food. Throughout the book, the Nazi soldiers torture, starve, and ridicule the Jewish population in Warsaw. Many do not survive. Does Misha? What about the the girl and her family?
I thought this book shared an interesting perspective of life during these unthinkable times in Germany. Many accounts do not share the true details of life for Jews who lived in the streets. Often we hear of stories of concentration camps, but not as much about life before the camps. Misha is a strong character who fights against so much adversity throughout the book that I felt myself rooting for him along the way. Jerry Spinelli is a remarkable young adult author, and I would recommend this book and his others to many middle school students.
