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A review by analenegrace
Not Nothing by Gayle Forman
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Thanks to the publisher for a finished copy of this book.
As a Jewish person, I am well aware of Holocaust stories and the importance of them being passed on, especially verbally. This middle-grade novel takes a non-Jewish 12-year-old boy who has done a very bad thing (revealed very late in the book), living with his aunt & uncle while volunteering at a nursing home and pairs him with a 107-year-old Jewish man who hasn't spoken in many years but decides to begin speaking again to tell Alex his story.
This book makes a Holocaust story very accessible for the young mind while also not pulling any punches on the Holocaust. While it emphasizes a Jewish story, Forman takes the time to reiterate the many other groups persecuted and genocided during the Holocaust. It has a very diverse cast, with Alex's new friend, a Chinese girl who was adopted by Jewish Lesbians, and many other side characters, including a Trans man.
At a time now when Genocide is an important topic, as Palestinians are murdered every day by the State of Israel, I think Holocaust stories are important, and I think this book captures what is so viscerally important about this book.
I think discussing Alex's crime is important; he attacked a gay boy at his school with a baseball bat and was accused of a hate crime. Because we are in Alex's head, we know that he didn't attack the boy because he was gay but because of the trauma Alex was dealing with. While this book is about redeeming Alex and how one can rise to the occasion, it doesn't let Alex get away with what he did. He ends up with two more years of community service and has to really personally deal with why he attacked the boy.
Altogether, this is an important book that I think can be useful for any child over the age of about 10 to understand more about the Holocaust and also about being a better person than you were before, and redemption.
As a Jewish person, I am well aware of Holocaust stories and the importance of them being passed on, especially verbally. This middle-grade novel takes a non-Jewish 12-year-old boy who has done a very bad thing (revealed very late in the book), living with his aunt & uncle while volunteering at a nursing home and pairs him with a 107-year-old Jewish man who hasn't spoken in many years but decides to begin speaking again to tell Alex his story.
This book makes a Holocaust story very accessible for the young mind while also not pulling any punches on the Holocaust. While it emphasizes a Jewish story, Forman takes the time to reiterate the many other groups persecuted and genocided during the Holocaust. It has a very diverse cast, with Alex's new friend, a Chinese girl who was adopted by Jewish Lesbians, and many other side characters, including a Trans man.
At a time now when Genocide is an important topic, as Palestinians are murdered every day by the State of Israel, I think Holocaust stories are important, and I think this book captures what is so viscerally important about this book.
I think discussing Alex's crime is important; he attacked a gay boy at his school with a baseball bat and was accused of a hate crime. Because we are in Alex's head, we know that he didn't attack the boy because he was gay but because of the trauma Alex was dealing with. While this book is about redeeming Alex and how one can rise to the occasion, it doesn't let Alex get away with what he did. He ends up with two more years of community service and has to really personally deal with why he attacked the boy.
Altogether, this is an important book that I think can be useful for any child over the age of about 10 to understand more about the Holocaust and also about being a better person than you were before, and redemption.