The Wrong Boy
Age 13+
General Fiction
The story of a Jewish girl sent to Auschwitz with her family. She falls in love with the wrong boy – the German son of the camp commander.
“Being kissed by Karl Jager was devastating. And beautiful. War makes you do dangerous things.”
Hanna Mendel liked to know what was going to happen next. She was going to be a famous concert pianist. She was going to wear her yellow dress to the dance on Saturday night. But she didn’t plan on her street being turned into a ghetto. She didn’t plan on being rounded up and thrown in a cattle truck. She didn’t plan on spending her sixteenth birthday in Auschwitz, in a wooden barrack with 200 other prisoners. Most of all, Hanna didn’t plan on falling in love with the wrong boy.
Resources
Creators
Suzy Zail has worked as a litigation lawyer, specialising in Family Law, but now writes full time. Among other titles, she has written her father’s story, The Tattooed Flower, his life as a child survivor of the Holocaust. Her first novel for young adults, The Wrong Boy, was short-listed for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards, the Adelaide Festival Awards for Literature, the WAYRBA, USBBY and YABBA awards. Her second novel with Black Dog Books, Alexander Altmann A10567, was a Notable Book at the CBCA Awards. She lives in Melbourne and has three children.
Reviews
This is a must read for any teenager or adult interested in the past, the tragedy of war or what happens when humans believe they are superior.
Kids' Book Review
With its authentic voice and spare style, The Wrong Boy offers a young adult audience a moving reading experience.
Magpies Magazine
