Fourteen-year-old Karl Stern has never thought of himself as a Jew. But to the bullies at his school in Naziera Berlin, it doesn't matter that Karl has never set foot in a synagogue or that his family doesn't practice religion. Demoralized by relentless attacks on a heritage he doesn't accept as his own, Karl longs to prove his worth to everyone around him. So when Max Schmeling, champion boxer and German national hero, makes a deal with Karl's father to give Karl boxing lessons, Karl sees it as the perfect chance to reinvent himself. A skilled cartoonist, Karl has never had an interest in boxing, but as Max becomes the mentor Karl never had, Karl soon finds both his boxing skills and his art flourishing. But when Nazi violence against Jews escalates, Karl must take on a new role: protector of his family. Karl longs to ask his new mentor for help, but with Max's fame growing, he is forced to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites, leaving Karl to wonder where his hero's sympathies truly lie. Can Karl balance his dream of boxing greatness with his obligation to keep his family out of harm's way?
--This text refers to the
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Review
A meaty, readable account of the perils and pitfalls of daily life in Nazi Germany. --The Horn Book
A fine one-two punch with the author s previous powerful work, My Mother the Cheerleader. --Kirkus Review
Sharenow delivers a masterful historical novel. --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
A fine one-two punch with the author s previous powerful work, My Mother the Cheerleader. --Kirkus Review
Sharenow delivers a masterful historical novel. --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
About the Author
Robert Sharenow is an award-winning writer and television producer. His first novel, My Mother the Cheerleader, was chosen as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and a VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers. He is also an Emmy Award-winning television producer and serves as senior vice president of nonfiction and alternative programming for A&E Network and Bio Channel. He lives in New York with his wife, their two daughters, and their dog, Lucy.
--This text refers to the
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
By J. Prather
Format:Hardcover
I'm just going to add my voice to the chorus of praise for the Berlin Boxing Club. It is an excellent piece of historical fiction that will engage most any reader grade 7 and up. The characters are rich and vibrant, the pace and the plotting are seamless and the history is simply riveting.
Seeing the time before World War II through the eyes of fourteen year old Karl Stern gives a new perspective on the the terror that ran rampant in Germany for anyone who did not fit the Aryan mold. At times this book is truly chilling, and other times poignant and heartbreaking as you get a front row seat to the adolescent fears and trials of a young man desperate to hold on to his self respect and his manhood, when it seems that the whole world is disputing his right to even exist.
This is a must read for anyone interested in the time period. Also, any young person looking for a story of adventure, bravery, and self awareness. Boys especially will find much to relate to in Karl, a young man discovering himself and struggling to mark his place in a world gone mad. I work at a public library, and from now on when I get the question " Where can I find the historical fiction", I am going to send them straight to this book. It's a classic that stands well alongside Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared, and Gleitzman's Once. This one is not to be missed.
Seeing the time before World War II through the eyes of fourteen year old Karl Stern gives a new perspective on the the terror that ran rampant in Germany for anyone who did not fit the Aryan mold. At times this book is truly chilling, and other times poignant and heartbreaking as you get a front row seat to the adolescent fears and trials of a young man desperate to hold on to his self respect and his manhood, when it seems that the whole world is disputing his right to even exist.
This is a must read for anyone interested in the time period. Also, any young person looking for a story of adventure, bravery, and self awareness. Boys especially will find much to relate to in Karl, a young man discovering himself and struggling to mark his place in a world gone mad. I work at a public library, and from now on when I get the question " Where can I find the historical fiction", I am going to send them straight to this book. It's a classic that stands well alongside Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared, and Gleitzman's Once. This one is not to be missed.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars
33 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Knockout
4 Sep 2011
By Book Lover 9
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I could not put this book down. What I most liked about the book was that although it detailed the anti-Semitism in pre-World War II Germany, there were glimpses of what life was like before the Nazis starting gaining power, so the reader could understand why people could not believe what was happening, or that it would pass. This key component helps establish this huge sense of loss and incredulousness on the part of the Jews in Germany. While the ending left a lot up in the air (whether Karl's parents survived), a happy ending would have been too contrived, and a sad ending would not have been a satisfying conclusion to a great story.
While not as literary as "The Book Thief," it has some of the same elements that made that book so wonderful: a great main character - Karl Stern ended up being a hero; well developed secondary characters like his family, the men at the boxing club, his girlfriend, "The Countess," and, of course, Max Schmeling; interesting intertwined stories that included the ban on "degenerate" art, the world of boxing, and Karl's interest in comics books; and a sense of history.
I just read "In the Garden of the Beasts" about the US Ambassador to Germany in the early 1930s, and I would recommend reading that in conjunction with "The Berlin Boxing Club" to get two different angles on what was going on in Germany.
While not as literary as "The Book Thief," it has some of the same elements that made that book so wonderful: a great main character - Karl Stern ended up being a hero; well developed secondary characters like his family, the men at the boxing club, his girlfriend, "The Countess," and, of course, Max Schmeling; interesting intertwined stories that included the ban on "degenerate" art, the world of boxing, and Karl's interest in comics books; and a sense of history.
I just read "In the Garden of the Beasts" about the US Ambassador to Germany in the early 1930s, and I would recommend reading that in conjunction with "The Berlin Boxing Club" to get two different angles on what was going on in Germany.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasant Surprise
11 Jun 2011
By Ogr8ys1
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I received this book through the Amazon Vine Program and my initial reaction upon looking at the cover was disappointment seeing it was a teen novel. Well, there is truth in old sayings, "Never judge a book by it's cover." The book follows the path of a young teenager through the power grabbing years of the Nazi's. The protagonist does not relate to his heritage and does his best to "blend in" by hiding in plain sight, however when he is exposed to be of Jewish heritage he is forced to learn to fight back against overwhelming odds by making an unlikely alliance with a world class boxer.
The descriptions are brutal and the writing reminds me of another excellent book that my son read for 9th grade called "The Book Thief" and my guess is that many of the readers of that book will be reading this one and they and you won't be disappointed. An excellent read for any age.
The descriptions are brutal and the writing reminds me of another excellent book that my son read for 9th grade called "The Book Thief" and my guess is that many of the readers of that book will be reading this one and they and you won't be disappointed. An excellent read for any age.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Berlin Boxing Club is a Knockout!
30 April 2011
By Dreams2write
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Robert Sharenow does it again with his historical fiction, The Berlin Boxing Club. As a fan of his outstanding debut book, My Mother The Cheerleader, I was anxious to read his newest work. Sharenow takes a slice of American history and creates a window into the world of Nazi Germany through the eyes of a young man named Karl Stern. Karl's father is an art dealer, his mother is a manic-depressive, his sister is a young Jewish girl with all of the physical characteristics that the Aryan nation abhored. Karl is a young man without feeling about religion even though he is a Jew. He escapes the world crumbling around him through a barter arrangement his father made with a prized boxer, Max Schmeling. What unravels is a heartfelt tale of a young man coming of age in a tumultuous world who escapes the oppression around him through finding his true passion, boxing. It is a great read for people of all ages and especially insightful for young readers to understand the horrors of Nazi Germany at the beginning of the Holocaust.
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4.7 out of 5 stars
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