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Liked It “Very good read but a bit difficult if your English is not great. ALso as this depicts a real story, you need to be ready to encounter famine, hardship and illness. Don't read this book if you are depressed but I recommend it if you want to be aware of the consequences of war.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Absolute rubbish!!! Don't waste your time.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“Very good read but a bit difficult if your English is not great. ALso as this depicts a real story, you need to be ready to encounter famine, hardship and illness. Don't read this book if you are depressed but I recommend it if you want to be aware of the consequences of war. ”
Maria Zabala Peña wrote this review Monday, January 28, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“one of the best books about freedom and comming of age. Ballard manages to portray the atrocities of WWII prisioners's camps through the innocent eyes of a boy.”
julianbernal wrote this review Monday, September 10, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This semi-autobiographical novel tells of an eleven-year-old boy who was separated from his parents at the start of WWII in Shanghai and spent the next few years at the Lunghua Interment Camp.
michael a. draper, Author wrote this review Monday, August 13, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Jim, is with his parents at a social function at the home of the President of the British Resident's Association. It is just prior to Pearl Harbor and that night Japanese attack and British and an American naval vessel in the harbor and war begins in Shanghai.
Jim is immediately separated from his parents and spends the next three months riding on his bike through places in Shanghai. He survives by eating the food left over from when his parents and their friends left Shanghai.
Finally, when the food runs out, he surrenders to the Japanese and is taken to the Lunghua Interment Camp. Jim's spirit and enthusiasm help him get through the lengthy stay in the interment camp and it helps many other prisoners.
He becomes fascinated with the air war that is taking place in the sky over Shanghai and dreams of becoming a pilot. Later in the war, he sees a second sun as he witnesses the explosion when the U.S. bombs Nagasaki.
I enjoyed Jim's enthusiasm and seeing about life during interment in the captured city of Shanghai.”
“Deeply personal and shattering war experience perceived through the eyes of a boy. Strong autobiographical novel. Spielberg's 1987 adaptation didn't surpass the original.”
Nikola Virak wrote this review Friday, November 16, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I could not stop reading this, i never wanted it to end”
The Grasshopper Blog wrote this review Wednesday, May 16, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Quite interesting.”
Madeleine S wrote this review Sunday, March 25, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Rachael M said: 4 stars
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die Shelf wrote this review Monday, January 30, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A different spin on an old story. It was really interesting to see a child's perspective on not only war but his imprisonment. It also highlighted a lot of dangers of living in an occupied country that I hadn't thought about. Some of the horrors seen by Jim don't bare thinking about and the impact of seeing this at Jim's age must have been awful which is well portrayed in the book.”
“Absolutely brilliant. Best war story I've read for years. Really brings home the futility of war.”
booktoad wrote this review Friday, November 11, 2011. ( reply | view 1 replies | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Absolute rubbish!!! Don't waste your time.”
Trevor Kew wrote this review Wednesday, June 6, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A different spin on an old story. It was really interesting to see a child's perspective on not only war but his imprisonment. It also highlighted a lot of dangers of living in an occupied country that I hadn't thought about. Some of the horrors seen by Jim don't bare thinking about and the impact of seeing this at Jim's age must have been awful which is well portrayed in the book.”
Rachael M wrote this review Saturday, August 6, 2011. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
