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Summary: Learned discrimination overturned in friendship...
Review: A book we read in my children's 'Classic Book Club' in their elementary years (15 years ago). A young German girl who belonged to the Hitler Youth in Germany, reunites with her actor parents who are entertaining German troops in Holland. They are brought to live in a home, filled with beautiful items of furniture, art... and a family portrait; the borrowed house. The mix of characters habitating this house are both good and ugly. Her growing doubts about what she'd been taught to believe about an inferior race, are mingled together in a beautiful story of confronting the evil of discrimination, its' insideous, subtle indoctrination, and the triumph of a mind being set free--- The believable transformation of the heart of an adolescent girl as she confronts 'the enemy'. This is a book that should never have been allowed to go 'out of print'. It's a wonderful understanding of the roots of discrimination and its' undoing. Should be required reading for all children, combined with class discussion. The world could be a better place.
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Summary: Well-Written Story With A Bit Of Hypocrisy
Review: I am a 35-year-old who is currently doing research about Nazi Germany. I was inspired to study this time in history when I was a kid, after reading books like this one. Unlike many of the reviewers below, I did not read "Borrowed House" as a child. I came across it recently and, surprised that I had actually missed the book when I was in school, I decided to read it now. The story is well-told. The relationships between the main characters are interesting; there is a touch of mystery, and an exciting ending. This is an excellent piece of historical fiction. However... I want the young readers out there to avoid making the same mistake I did. When I read these books as a kid, I noticed that the authors seemed to be FROM Germany, Austria, Holland...where ever the story took place. I figured, they were THERE; they KNEW what it was like; so everything I was reading was true. I thought, "This is the same as reading a history book, but more fun." What I did not realize was that most of these authors were people who were against the Nazis and had fled Germany. A lot of the books I read about kids in the Hitler Youth were written by people who were never actually members. "Borrowed House" is supposed to be written from the point of view of a German girl living in occupied Holland, but the author is Dutch. She is a good writer, and she tried her best to IMAGINE what it would be like for a German girl, but her own experience was from the opposite side. "Borrowed House" is a book about a girl named Janna who discovers that everything she has been taught was a lie. There is a scene where her new Dutch teacher tells her that what she was told about the Bible in Hitler Youth was wrong, and the teacher suggests that she read it for herself. The heroine reads the Bible, trembling with anxiety, because, "The Bible was a forbidden book for the Hitler Youth." I have recently had the opportunity to interview people who were IN the Hitler Youth, and they say that it was NOT forbidden to read the Bible. They also told me that they could not use Hitler Youth meetings as a way of playing hooky from farm work, as the heroine of "Borrowed House" does in the opening scene. Kids were needed to work on the farms because the war was making food scarce. I spoke to 2 former Hitler Youth members, one male and one female, and they both told me that they had to go out into the fields to catch and kill Colorado beetles with their bare hands, so the crops would not be destroyed. How did the beetles get from Colorado to Germany? Our own American planes dropped them there. So, like Janna, I am finding out that not everything I have been taught is true. How interesting that a book about a girl confronting misinformation based on prejudice should CONTAIN misinformation based on prejudice.
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Summary: I still remember reading this book 20 years ago!
Review: I remember reading this book in elementary school. This was one of my best friend's and my favorite books. We learned about history and people's lives during WWII. I am so happy it is back in print, so I can own a copy and share it with my children.
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Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: My children and I are very interested in World War II and I have read many books about it: adult as well as young adult and children, fiction as well as non-fiction. I previewed this for my young teens. This was a great one! The story was not predictable, but it did have mystery, family love and strength of character at the forefront. While the main character is a German girl of 13, any boy would enjoy the story because it is intriguing and has enough male characters to sustain a boy's interest. So boys and girls alike should enjoy it. Janna is transported to occupied Holland to be with her actor-parents after 2 years separation, and she is immersed into a world of mystery, suspense, war, deception, love and prejudice. With as much knowledge that I have about WWII, I still learned a lot from this book. It's a keeper. One outstanding quality of the story is the author's portrayal of the sacredness of marriage and family. The story reminded me a bit of The Hiding Place and The Diary of Anne Franke. The supporting characters (a cook, a Baron with a castle in Bavaria, a bratty little German boy aching for his father's love) provide many surprising twists to the story that make it the page turner it is. Whether your young teen's interest in (or knowledge of) wartimes is high or not, he/she will enjoy this book. So will you.
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Summary: a favorite book of mine in elementary school
Review: This book was a favorite of mine in elementary school. It is set in WWII, about the persecution of the Jews, but told from the point of view of a little German or Dutch girl who has moved into a house where a Jewish family used to live. She learns that things are not exactly as she's been told, and the book is full of surprising twists and turns. It is delightful!
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Summary: I still remember reading this book 20 years ago!
Review: This is a wonderful book about debunking prejudice. It is a nicely told story about how a young girl comes to question, challenge and later renounce the prejudiced notions she had been exposed to. In some ways, I can't help thinking about Ann Frank. She, too, was German/Dutch. This is a lovely little story that will not be forgotten by those who read it. It's a treasure.
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Summary: An Eye Opener
Review: This is a wonderful book about debunking prejudice. It is a nicely told story about how a young girl comes to question, challenge and later renounce the prejudiced notions she had been exposed to. In some ways, I can't help thinking about Ann Frank. She, too, was German/Dutch. This is a lovely little story that will not be forgotten by those who read it. It's a treasure.
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Summary: A great book!
Review: This is a wonderful book! it takes place in the Netherlands during World War II. Its about a girl and she's German. She was indocrinated with Pro-Hitler stuff and when she goes to the Netherlands to live with her parents who are actors she learns that Hitler isn't as good as she thinks he is. She learns that Jews aren't bad and that they are just regular people. It also has suspense and excitment! Its really good! Read it!
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Summary: WWII Amsterdam, from the viewpoint of a German girl
Review: This is an exciting story that deals with difficult moral issues. The central character is a young German girl who is a keen member of the Hitler Youth, until she is summoned to join her parents in occupied Holland. She is delighted by the elegant house they are moved into. Her room seems to have been designed for a girl just her age and the wardrobe is full of lovely clothes just her size. Why do the neighbours seem so hostile when she wears them? Bit by bit she learns the secrets of the borrowed house, and has to decide for herself where her loyalties lie.
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Summary: Wonderful Book!
Review: This was another mediocre book about the holocaust. One thing that made it stand out however, was that is was largely narrated by a young German girl (living in Germany during WWII). About midway through the book, the young girl finds out that their housekeeper has been hiding Jews in their house. The girl gets to know the Jews, and by the end of the book begins to realize the cruelty that Jews are being subjected to. Although this book was ok, it was not particularly gripping, page turning or especially unique. If your going to read a holocaust book, I would recommend Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, or The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen as much better choices. Happy reading!
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