Max

Great read. X

My new favourite book! Educational and captivating! Could not stop reading.

I received this book for free from the publisher Walker Books in return for a review.Max is the perfect Nazi baby. Born as part of the eugenics programme his blond hair, blue eyes and entire body are perfect. But raised with Nazi ideology and living through the brutality of war, how long can Max cope before reality questions his own beliefs?'Max' is such an amazing and powerful novel it had me gripped, shocked, horrified and even had me crying! Told in the first person perspective throughout, Max tells us his story. It starts with him talking to us from inside the womb. This may seem odd but I got into the story straight away and I'm surprised how gripped I was from just the first few lines. As Max is born and begins to grow up he tells us his story though his own Nazi ideology. Although children may have not been born with that mindset, they were conditioned to think a certain way, and this is how Max thinks from the first moment we read. His attitude and opinions are full of hatred and are offensive, but it's the way the Nazis thought and this is what makes this novel so powerful.The book is separated into four parts. Each one a different time period in Max's life. As the book spans the timeframe of 1936 to 1945 Max doesn't grow up much in age but what he goes though and the experiences he has are far more mature than any nine year old should have gone through. The story is Max's and we learn about his life, growing up without love, conditioned to be the perfect future soldier, but as we read on other characters sometimes relay stories, or Max is able to see something happening which gives a greater insight into what was happening not only with the eugenics, titled the 'Lebensborn' programme, but we see other things that the Nazis did during the war.The horrors or war get more and more dark and shocking the further you read into the book. This may be a YA novel but it doesn't hold back from describing what really happened. You read about sickening and bloody deaths, sex, rape and many of the horrors including some of the details of the holocaust. This book is designed to shock and horrify and it really does. I've known a lot about the horrors of the Nazis in world war II both from what I learned at school and my various Polish extended family, but reading this stuff in a novel, when you feel you are part of the story was just all the more shocking and brutal. I liked the fact that towards the end, the story didn't hold back from telling the truth of what happened in the end of the war and didn't just focus on the brutality from the Nazis.Despite all the horrors I was so gripped by the novel that I only put it down when real life got in the way. The ending is a satisfying one but the whole book isn't a happy one. Apart from some quite graphic descriptions and mentions of deaths, there is use of the f and s swear words (as well as some milder ones) though this isn't too frequent. I usually don't enjoy too much swearing in novels but this felt so right and it made the story all the more intense.At the end of reading this novel I feel exhausted, I felt like crying too, but I'm glad I read this. Not only do you feel for this character Max as he's just a young child, and what he goes though isn't anything a child should go through, but at the same time you find yourself shocked at hearing the Nazi ideology come from him. It was really chilling to read at times but you still feel for this character and it really makes it all the harder to put this book down as you want to see what happens to him.I'd give this book a hundred stars if I could. It deserves them. It's so well written and you feel such emotions when reading it. It's a book that should be read by everyone, young and old, and it's the sort of book I wish I'd had when learning about the holocaust and war at school. It's endorsed by Amnesty International which isn't surprising. The authors notes at the end show how most of the characters are based on real people, making this again more chilling and dark. This book is sold as a YA novel but given the content I'd say older teens should read this and not anyone younger, the details are just too dark, but a book I'd recommend everyone around the world to pick up and read.

I read this directly after Ian McEwan's Nutshell, a book wholly narrated by a foetus in the womb. Not on purpose, but it led on nicely.Max begins in the womb as well, the story told at first by the Nazi-to-be Konrad (called Max by his mother), created through a programme of racial breeding by Hitler's regime in 1930s Germany. He races to be the first born on the Fuehrer's birthday, already certain of his purpose in life - to fulfil Nazi doctrines.We see the regime through his biased eyes, but their bias does not colour our own. He interprets 'codes' for us, shows us the world behind the Nazi propaganda.As he grows, we see the start of the War, his childhood, schooling and the 'Operations' the beautiful blonde boy is sent on, for the good of the Reich.At once sickening and moving, Max (Konrad) is a product of his time but the same as any child who grows to question things around him that don't make sense.The truths of the story, explained by the author following its finish bring home just how horrific things really must have been.Max takes us on a tour of Nazi Germany, and doesn't shy away from bad language, sexual acts, descriptions of some of the worst atrocities committed.I loved it though. A unique narrator, a story that you can't help but want to finish, I was impressed by his changing perspective and how he forgets his youngest years but retains certain sense memories that haunt him at key moments. Max is the perfect tour guide to the Third Reich, and develops beautifully as a character through to the end of the War.Some minor characters also make a huge impact and their scenes are hard to forget.It is also impressive that this is a work translated, only a couple of times did I think this was the case, the English is smooth and seamless. Excellent work.Warning: sexual/language content make this unsuitable for under 13s.Recommended for classes in KS4 looking at World War 2, or issues such as the Holocaust.