Part 1 Pages 3-134

Many things stunned me in this book but the one that suprised me the most was when Gerda's brother had to sign up for the military. this part in the book I found very sad and depressing because the brother Arthur had to sign up for the military even though he had herd about the stories of how they would load the boys onto to trains like some sort of animal. This was very sad because the familly could not do anything about the fact their son was leaving for a war that they did not agree on. Another thing I found very dispiriting is that the father had to give up his factory which he had worked so hard to make successful and the Nazis just come by and shut it down. One thing in this book that confuses me is how the family is not harassed more often by the Nazi's, where normally when you hear stories about World War 2 and the nazis you hear all about how completely and utterly just plain ruthless they were to everyone. Other things that confuse me is why they do not just pack up and sneak throught the woods till they get somewhere they can be more safe at. Other than these questions I have I actually enjoy this book considering the fact that I did not enjoy the other to books we were required to read. this book is also easy to read and understand making it a very enjoyable book. The one thing i do not like in this book is the fact that there is not much action and suspense in the book. I look forward to reading on in this very well written and intriguing book, and I hope that the family's situation improves farther into the book.