Milkweed

Written by Jerry Spinelli

In Nazi-occupied Warsaw, a boy learns survival means becoming nobody.

4.0 Goodreads · 32,376 ratings

208 pages· 49,915 words· Est. 5.5 hour read· 510L

$11.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

In the war-torn streets of Warsaw, a nameless boy survives by stealing food and dreaming of becoming a Nazi. But when the trains arrive to deport the Jews, he faces a life-altering choice. As the ghetto empties, he discovers that the safest path is to become invisible. This gripping tale of survival and identity unfolds through the eyes of a young orphan, capturing the heartbreak and hope amidst the horrors of the Holocaust. Will he find a way to endure in a world where being nobody might be his only salvation?

From the publisher

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.

He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread and mothers and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi someday, with tall, shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.

Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable - Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II - and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a

young orphan.