The kids and I just finished reading another book. This time it was North to Freedom by Anne Holm. The book has been around the house for ages and I never paid any attention to it. It belongs to my wife and she recommended it for our little book club the boys and I have had going. So the other night we went for it and I'm so glad we did.
Twelve-year-old David has spent much of his life in a concentration camp. He knows very little about the outside world and almost nothing about his parents. At the beginning of the story, he is given the opportunity to escape, which he does. The only instruction he's given, aside from how to get out of the camp and where to find some meager supplies, is to go North and try to make it to Denmark. He has no idea what is waiting for him there but it's all he has to go on so he makes the attempt. Along the way he makes some important discoveries about himself, about God, and about other people.
The novel was the perfect length but I found myself wanting more. I had become aquainted with this marvelous little boy and I wanted to spend more time with him. The lessons he taught all of us as we followed the tale will stay with me for a long time. It's nice to find a story that delineates the difference between good and evil. The book is intended for children and, as the word "Nazi" is never mentioned, the reader will most likely not equate the mysterious "them," as David refers to his enemies, to Hitler, which is just as well. As one reviewer says, "The ambiguity [tells] the lesson that evil [is] evil, regardless the political justification." The kids seemed to enjoy it, too, though not quite as much as I did. I spent most of the time in tears, hiding my face from the boys. They, on the other hand, when I had read the last sentence, said, "That was good. What's next?"
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