Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli

Have you ever wondered about life

without food?

See dead people curled up in the 

street?

A life where your best friend tries to kill you?

Have everyone you love taken away from you?  

Well welcome to the life of Misha Pilsudski. Set in war-torn Poland, Jews struggle to survive in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. There are two types of people in this world: The Jews and the Germans.

Misha Pilsudski is an abnormally tiny Gypsy caught up in a Jewish ghetto. In this time, Germans despised Jews; however, Misha is a gypsy so he can live to see another day, right? Wrong. Misha is seen as a Jew to the Germans. Who can tell the difference? Certainly not the Germans in World War 2.

Stealing is his instinct, his sixth sense. With his small size, and agile body, this is a great advantage for Misha living in this time, World War 2, although, he doesn’t know what he steals for. Misha doesn’t understand many things as he is only young but he experiences events that many would scream about in their nightmares.

Throughout the novel, Misha is called a number of names such as idiot and stupid due to his actions. Misha’s actions are unplanned. He always has to run. When he is forced to walk, to not act guilty and to be invisible, he is aching and pleading to do the opposite.  If he sees just one person running, this turns him into race mode. He sprints out of the crowd as if a race and runs where he thinks the race ends.

‘Milkweed’ is a great book to read as it recapitulates the horrors of World War 2 with upmost detail. It captures the conditions, the people and the events the Jews had to live with at the time. This book is about hope and has a positive message about never giving up. I unquestionably recommend this book to all who enjoy a good read and a moving storyline.