Customer Reviews

The Boy Who Dared

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I couldn't put this book down once I started it. The incredible courage Helmuth had -- as a teenager!-- to do what he could against the Nazis during WWII in Germany was staggering. And since its a historical novel based so carefully on Helmuth Hübener's real life, it gave me lots to think about. Would I be this brave in this kind of situation? Honestly, I really don't think so. What makes a hero? What freedoms do I take for granted? How can people be so cruel to one another?
I LOVED this book and everything it made me think and feel.

The Boy Who Dared
Susan Campbel


Helmuth stands ready. Quietly, with dignity and courage, he looks up at the guillotine. He knows he did the right thing.
The Boy who dared takes place in Germany during World War Two right when Hitler comes in power. Helmuth, the main character breaks the law and listens to the British radio, his loyalty and thinking changes for the worse of his countryman. I guaranty that you have never read a book like this.
This book amazed and shocked me till the end. The plot was very well planed and the flow of the book was amazing. I acutely felt like I was in the book living the life of
Helmuths life. It was wonderfully written and well thought of. I recommend this book to any one who doesn't mined a slow beginning and loves history. Every time I had to put down this book I couldn't stop thinking about it. The only thing I hate knowing fact that this was a true story and that he was a real who thought he could change history. So, my final review, two thumbs up.
- Erik o.

This historical fiction is based on the true life of Helmuth Hubener, who made leaflets against the Nazis during WW2. I enjoyed this book and like how the author included one important fact of Hubener life, his faith. This story shows the courage of one teen who was willing to stand up to something he thought was evil.

At the end of the book is interesting information on Helmuth and his friends. Also photos, some that are chilling.

As Helmuth sits in his prison cell awaiting a death sentence, he recounts his life as it leads up to his rebellious choices.
In Helmuth's world you can't say bad stuff about the government, you can't write or read things criticizing the government, freedom of speach is gone, and the Gestpo [police] constantly bully people into bending to their will. What will? The will of the Nazis. Helmuth lives in Germany during Hitler's rule in the 1930s-1940s, and he is not happy about it either. Everything Hilter does is supposedly "good" for the Fatherland. But does that seriously include killing Jews, imprisoning/murdering fellow Germans, filling minds of false "honor" and "duty" to their country, and trying to control half the world?
Helmuth sees lies and he wants others to see the truth-but will it all be worth it in the end?
The Boy Who Dared pries deep into Nazi Germany where so many believe in "protecting" Germany from Communism, Jews, etc.; yet there are some-like sixteen year old Helmuth Hubener-that see past the lies of Hitler. This book is based on the true story of Helmuth's life and how he sought to uncover the truth.

There always has been corrupt governments and dictators and their will always be. After The Great War (or WWI) Germany was in great need of a leader. Hitler's patriotic and promising words of "hope" made him leader, but Germany (and the rest of the world) paid for it. With his twisted ways and corrupt thinking, the world will forever remember ONE of the cruelest leaders, Adolf Hitler; will the world forget to spot another "Hitler" and his corrupt government? This is what this book told me. What will it tell you?

Age Group: YA, ages 13+ Genre: Historical (WWII)
Content: Graphic reality and mild violence
Recommend? Yes

"to death and loss of his civil rights during his lifetime." That is what Helmuth Hubener was sentenced to, just for doing what he believed in.
Helmuth is a high school graduate "criminal" according to the Nazis. Since the minute Hitler was elected he did not believe in him. Helmuth's graduation essay was the greatest in the class, an A+. Maybe this is why he was sentenced as an adult for listening to enemy radios and distributing so called false news. Mutti was Helmuth's caring mom. Helmuth had a love/hate relationship his older brothers, Garhard and Hans. Hugo was Helmuth's step-dad who is 100% Nazi. Helmuth was a trusting courageous friend who loved to bend the laws like a kid with rulers.
This is a thrilling historic fiction novel based on World War II, and the innocent Germans. I think Bartoletti did an amazing job in The Boy Who Dared of showing Helmuth's courage. Although, the question is will Helmuth end up like many innocent victims to Hitler or will he get lucky? I would strongly recommend this book to a pre-teen boy who loves history or wars just like me because I flat-out loved this mind blowing novel.

This book is about a German boy named Helmuth Who is about to be executed. Helmuth tells us the events that led him to this point through a series of flashbacks interspersed with moments from this, his last day on earth. Helmuth tells us about Hitler's rise to power through the eyes of himself, a boy growing up in Germany just before World War II and in the early days of the war, and how it seemed to him that Hitler's actions didn't always match his words and his promises, although the German people see Hitler as their only hope out of the poverty ans dispair that has plagued them since losing World War I and the Treaty of Versailles. From a young age, Helmuth knows that he will somehow fight for the fatherland, Germany, when he is older, because he loves Germany and all things German. He joins the Jungvolk, the junior Hitler Youth organization, and then later the Hitler Youth when he is a bit older, even though he doesn't like what the Nazis are doing to the Jews or agree with Hitler and the Nazis much of the time, including the fact that they hide the truth from the German people about what they are doing and how the war is really going for them, and how the Nazis reward people who denounce each other to the Gestapo. Does gaining security have to mean losing freedoms? If Helmuth truly loves his country, is his real duty to the Nazis or to Germany itself and the German people? As the title of the novel says, the story is based on a true story. I thought the book was really well done, and I enjoyed it, even though I knew all along how it would end.

I enjoyed the book so much that my 12 year old is reading it not. He will then do a WW2 book report on it. I enjoyed every bit of it. It made me wonder how so many people did not recognize what was going on and yet this teenager was able to see through all the propaganda. A great read!

A German boy, an obligatory member of the Hitler Youth, conducts a secret leaflet campaign against the government, is captured, tortured, tried, and executed. This book is the fictionalized story of his memories on the last day of his life. OK for teens; too violent for younger kids.

The lead character is Mormon, but LDS parents may find this book not faith promoting.

Amazing! I could not put this book down. What a brave teenager. If you are one of many people who ask themselves, "Why did so many Germans just stand by and let the Nazis commit atrocities?", this book is for you. You can see through the eyes of those who were deceived, those who were silenced by fear, and those who dared to oppose the Nazis and paid the price. It is an exciting, shocking, heart-wrenching story. And it's true! These were real people and real experiences. Wow. If you want to teach your children about courage, compassion, facing adversity with dignity, and gratitude for their freedom and prosperity, share this book with them. Helmuth and his friends are an inspiration.

This is a fictional account of a true person, Helmuth, a teenage boy in Germany during Hilter's reign. He begins to work against the Nazi party by distributing pamphlets denouncing Hilter and his war. This is a powerful book. It shows that even Nazis were not necessarily for Hilter, but acted as such as a means of survival. This is a quick, good read and would be a great boy book.