The Boy Who Dared By Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Helmuth Hubener was a boy who lived at the time when Hitler first came to power. If you want to know what courage is about, reading about Helmuth Hubener is a great way to start. This is one of the best books I've ever read. I was only going to read the first two pages but when I looked up, I was almost a third of the way through the book. It is a fast read and you'll never want to put it down.

The story begins with Helmuth as a young boy. He started out being very loyal to Germany but his feelings of loyalty gradually diminished until he was convinced that something wasn't right and maybe Hitler wasn't the leader Germany needed. So late at night, Helmuth got an illegal radio out of his brother's closet and listened to it despite his brother's warning before leaving for war. He was immediately hooked and listened intently every night while his parents were asleep. He found out that Hitler was lying to all the German citizens and that the Germans were actually losing the war. Helmuth decided he needed to make a change and let the German citizens know the truth about the war. Helmuth decided to bring his friends in with him. He and his two friends, Karl-Heinz Schnibbe and Rudi Wobbe decided to make anti-Hitler fliers that told what was really happening in the war. Then, Helmuth made the risky move of bringing a coworker into the "secret society" that he and his friends had started. Each night, the fliers became more numerous and more dangerous because they put them in very risky places, like in public phone booths. Helmuth certainly became The Boy Who Dared.

This book was extremely intriguing and interesting. If I would have had time, I would have read through this book in a day or a couple hours. Just the storyline is enough to keep anyone captivated and the suspense makes this really interesting. Many books have down parts. Not here! I never wanted to drop the book and I wouldn't have if it wasn't for a basketball game. This book has a much better story line than a lot of fiction books and this story actually happened!

The author has hardly any voice in this book except for the author's note because she is telling someone else's story. So since it's Helmuth's story, his opinions are being expressed. I'm not sure if I completely agree with his ideas. It should have been obvious that a little flier wouldn't cause the downfall of Hitler but a little flier could sentence someone to prison or even worse. I'm not completely convinced that it was the right or even a wise decision for Helmuth and his friends to make and distribute the illegal fliers and pamphlets. However, I go back and forth because I really admire Helmuth's courage and bravery and it serves everybody a very, very important life lesson. This book has made me think more than any other book I have ever read.

This book could teach a very wide range of subjects in school. It shows that every choice or decision has a consequence whether it is good or bad. Helmuth knows all the bad consequences that could happen while making fliers, but he has faith that everything will work. Faith is another subject The Boy Who Dared briefly touches on. Finally, I learned a great deal about trust and the importance of good friends through this book. Helmuth learned a lot about those subjects throughout his life because he had to know if he could trust his friends enough to bring them into his little flier making clan. He found a lot out about who his true friends were during his little escapade.

All things considered, this book was absolutely fantastic. The thought of boredom never entered my mind while I was reading. I really don't know how a book could leave you hanging more and the fact that it was history makes it that much more amazing. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. This is one of the best if not the best books I have ever read. Period.