Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe

41 reviews

bookwormcat's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Torture, Police brutality, Suicide, Bullying, Child death, Body horror, Racial slurs, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, War, Excrement, and Violence

emmaleigh55's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Death, War, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Murder, Excrement, Hate crime, Rape, and Torture

featheredpages07's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, War, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Body horror, Deportation, Domestic abuse, and Confinement

Moderate: Sexual violence

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

challenging dark sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Ooof, that was a tough one. It is dark, heavy and very atmospherical/vivid. I understand that this is what may make it so great for some. For me, it was just a bit much. But I one hundred percent understand the privilege I have in saying this. I enjoyed the story and Dita as a character. The story was multidimensional as were the characters. The translation was done very well; it read like it was written in English. What surprises me is that this is listed as young adult. with the writing style, details and description, I would not say it is.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Emotional abuse, Child death, Torture, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, and Death

Moderate: Racial slurs, Suicide, Racism, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Confinement, and Hate crime

Minor: Deportation, Classism, Grief, Medical content, Xenophobia, Rape, and Cursing

mj_86's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Death, Death of parent, and Antisemitism

Moderate: Murder, War, Violence, and Torture

rachjaki744's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Classism, Death of parent, Slavery, Torture, War, Xenophobia, Racism, Violence, Hate crime, Murder, Death, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Rape, and Terminal illness

rachel_sheppard's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A heart wrenching book with both the depravity of humanity alongside courage and resilience. It paints a vivid picture of the horror of Auschwitz and the pockets of hope, love, kindness, bravery that could not be stopped.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Murder, Grief, Torture, Blood, Death, Physical abuse, Child death, Antisemitism, Genocide, and Death of parent

cooldudenick's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Hate crime, Genocide, War, Violence, and Antisemitism

Minor: Suicide

oceanwriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Honestly, I could spend the entirety of this review simply gushing over the prose to the point where I want to learn Spanish just so I can see if the original words are even more beautiful than the translation. This is the second book by Antonio Iturbe I’ve read and it didn’t disappoint. 

 

Based on the true story of Dita Kraus’ days in Auschwitz, the book follows her and her family who have been sent to a part of Auschwitz set up to fool the Red Cross and keep the mistreatment of prisoners under wraps. There, Dita and her block mates form a secret school for the children where they pass along smuggled books. Dita puts herself at risk delivering these books but is more concerned about evading the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele. Despite being in the ‘safe’ block, they are still very much in Auschwitz. 

 

There are so many beautiful quotes in this book. This made up for a sometimes stale delivery (which might be due to being translated). My interest in the plot faded in the middle though picked back up again toward the end. It’s definitely a long book for historical YA but does maintain a fast pace. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Antisemitism, and Genocide

Moderate: Violence, Suicide, and War

Minor: Sexual harassment

livia_jewel's review against another edition

dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, War, and Deportation

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Grief, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

Minor: Child death