9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
PRISONERS OF WAR, February 15, 2005
This review is from: Stones in Water (Paperback)
Stones in Water is book of many emotions; it begins in a small village outside of Venice, Italy. Roberto, a Gondolier's son, and his best friend Samuele are captured one day by German soldiers in a movie theater. They are taken to Nazi work camps where they are pushed into hard labor and grueling work. As the book continues work gets harder and one day the boys are moved to a camp in Ukraine. Trouble comes when a boy at the work camp discovers a dangerous secret about Samuele that could get Roberto and Samuele both killed.
When Roberto escapes out of the camp his journey home begins. He must battle rough terrain and harsh weather as well as Nazi soldiers storming cities to get back home to those he loves. With Enzo already dead from the cold Roberto thinks he has nothing to loose. He runs and runs not thinking about death but about perseverance and to never give up. He makes do with nature and survives eating sea creatures and sleeping in trees. While traveling through Russia trying to get to the Mediterranean Sea, he uses methods Enzo has taught him, and tries to survive in this deadly climate.
With Enzo gone he has no company, but While Roberto is traveling he comes upon two friends Rigazzo and Maurizio who help him travel land and sea and try to help
this unhappy gondolier son get back to his loving family, or will Roberto make a terrifying decision that could change his life forever.
My first reaction in Stones in Water was the friendship. Roberto and Samuele would literally do anything for each other. Even if it was a deadly situation It was all the way from trading food, to acting like they weren't friends, to hiding that Samuele was a Jew, sacrificing his life to be with each other, and being a great friend and telling good night stories to each other because they missed there family so much. It even showed about making friends when it is most important. Even when Roberto was tired, hungry, and cold he still went out of his way to be friendly to Rigazzo. This book really brought out the true meaning of friendship. Most of all, this book was passionate it really showed what life was like in labor camps and it almost felt like you were experiencing there situations.
Another reaction that I had was survival. Roberto did what every he could to stay alive. He ate disgusting sea creatures, slept in trees, and hid in the snow. The only reason he knew these methods was because of Samuele, Samuele taught him many tings things that kept him alive.
The last thing that I observed in the book was symbolism. The German boots represented so many different things. The most important thing to Roberto was that they reminded him of Samuele because Samuele was wearing them when he died. In addition, they kept Roberto worm. The last symbol of the German boots was a dreadful symbol, which almost caused Roberto to die. This is so, because when Roberto was in a village many people thought he was a German soldier and shot at him and almost got him killed.
I defiantly recommend this book because it is very real. When I was reading his book it almost felt like I was also a prisoner of war. It is a well written book that is very descriptive and emotional.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Holocaust Affects Italians, February 11, 2007
This story is set during World War II. Roberto is an Italian Catholic. One day he goes to a movie with his older brother and two friends, one of them a Jewish boy named Samuele. At the movie, soldiers gather up all of the boys and send them off to work camps to help the war effort. Roberto and Samuele are separated from the other two, and are sent to work digging ditches and building holding pens for Jewish prisoners. Roberto and Samuele, now calling himself Enzo because it is a more Catholic-sounding name, are terrified that their guards will find out that Samuele is Jewish.
Conditions in the camp are bad, especially after another boy finds out Samuele's secret and takes all of his food in exchange for keeping quiet. Roberto's first priority is keeping his friend safe. His next priority becomes finding a way to escape and get back home again.
I hadn't known until I read this book what was going on in Italy at this time and how the people there were affected by the war. I liked that the end of this book isn't happy. The author tried hard not to spare you from knowing some of the difficulties of living at this time.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Trials, November 2, 2003
By A Customer
A Review by Josh
Stones in Water is about the adventure of Roberto, a 13 year old boy and his friend Sameule, who is also known as Enzo during WWII. The story starts when Roberto, his brother Sergio, and his friends Memo and Sameule are kidnapped at a movie theater by German soldiers. All of them are split up except for Sameule, who is now Enzo, and Roberto. Roberto and Enzo face many different trials and work at a prisoner of war camp. Roberto ends up escaping from the camp by meeting a group of Italian deserter soldiers and he follows them to Ukraine. While Roberto is in Ukraine he meets a boy and they fight to stay alive during the cold winter.
I really liked this book because of how it was based around a snowy area, which is my favorite type of surrounding. The book has a wonderful adventurous storyline. I like the main characters in this book because they are very nice.
The book puts you in a first person point of view on WWII, which really helps you to understand the trials of WWII. I would recommend this book to everyone because of how well it is written.
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