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A review by belles_bookshelves
Run Like Jäger by Karen Bass
4.0
I wasn't completely sure what to expect from this book. It was good, but in a different way. I wasn't captivated by the story, but I think that was mostly because I had a lot going on while I was reading this and the book had a steady pace. It didn't have huge climactic moment (although I guess this is debatable), instead you are given information slowly, not giving away everything at once.
Quick overview: Kurt Shreiber is a Canadian boy who's in Germany for an exchange student program. He shares the name of his grandfather. Peter Neumeyer (a boy bullying Kurt) gives them both another name. Feigling (coward). Kurt doesn't know why anyone would call his grandfather a coward. Seeing as his grandfather never talks about what he did during the war, Kurt starts looking for answers in the town his grandfather grew up in. And he finds them in the form of Herr Brandt, an old man he sees at the cemetery who says he was friends with his grandfather. Reluctantly at first, Herr Brandt starts to tell the story of their childhood growing up in Nazi Germany and what it was exactly that his grandfather did during the war. Through Herr Brandt's stories, Kurt starts getting answers, but then finds that they are not the answers he wanted to hear.
At the beginning I was frustrated at how little information I was getting. It felt too slow, but I think that it's meant to show you how Kurt feels. I was also frustrated at how fast Kurt was to assume that his grandfather was a monster before hearing the whole story. Although it took a while, Kurt starts to see the young man his grandfather really was. I loved the friendship that you see between Jager (Kurt's grandfather) and Wolf (Herr Brandt). The ending was perfect. Kurt was also a sweetheart. Of course this book was written by a women so I'm still suspicious that boys like Kurt and his grandfather either are very rare or don't exsist. My brother sure as heck isn't that thoughtful. Although it starts off slow this is a satisfying read. It isn't one of those blow-out books with a flashy cover and gutsy characters. It's just good story telling.
Quick overview: Kurt Shreiber is a Canadian boy who's in Germany for an exchange student program. He shares the name of his grandfather. Peter Neumeyer (a boy bullying Kurt) gives them both another name. Feigling (coward). Kurt doesn't know why anyone would call his grandfather a coward. Seeing as his grandfather never talks about what he did during the war, Kurt starts looking for answers in the town his grandfather grew up in. And he finds them in the form of Herr Brandt, an old man he sees at the cemetery who says he was friends with his grandfather. Reluctantly at first, Herr Brandt starts to tell the story of their childhood growing up in Nazi Germany and what it was exactly that his grandfather did during the war. Through Herr Brandt's stories, Kurt starts getting answers, but then finds that they are not the answers he wanted to hear.
At the beginning I was frustrated at how little information I was getting. It felt too slow, but I think that it's meant to show you how Kurt feels. I was also frustrated at how fast Kurt was to assume that his grandfather was a monster before hearing the whole story. Although it took a while, Kurt starts to see the young man his grandfather really was. I loved the friendship that you see between Jager (Kurt's grandfather) and Wolf (Herr Brandt). The ending was perfect. Kurt was also a sweetheart. Of course this book was written by a women so I'm still suspicious that boys like Kurt and his grandfather either are very rare or don't exsist. My brother sure as heck isn't that thoughtful. Although it starts off slow this is a satisfying read. It isn't one of those blow-out books with a flashy cover and gutsy characters. It's just good story telling.