The boy who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Helmuth Hubener is only 17 years old and is getting ready to face his death.  Over the course of the book, the few moments that pass while he is in prison seem to last forever, as he re-accounts for his life and the circumstances that brought him here.  He is a young boy, who even at a young age, knows that Hitler's oppression and ideals are wrong and he dares to speak out against him and the Nazi regime.  Although simple small acts, his defiance shakes the Nazi party members and leads to the cause of his death.   

The Boy Who Dared is an amazing account of the actual Helmuth Hubener.  He lived in Germany at the rise of Hilter's power and from the outside was a typical German boy.  He was a member of Hitler Youth and was a "good Nazi" to everyone else.  But he felt deep down inside that something wasn't right.  He listened to banned radio stations, made flyers, stole banned books, all in an effort to remember exactly who he wants to be and learn how to fight the Nazis.  The story is based on an actual person and most of the account is true.  However, his thoughts and feeling and the exact way that things happen were fiction, but could closely resemble fact.  It was amazing to see how control slowly slipped from the people into Hitler's hands and how people didn't really seem to mind, because they thought they were being "protected."  It was heartbreaking to see all the Helmuth endured simply in the name of truth.  He really did want what was best for Germany and he knew that didn't mean Hitler in power.  It is wonderfully written and keeps the reader intrigued on how it will all turn out.  You hope for the best, but knowing that he is in an concentration camp is not a good sign.  I like how the book comes from a perspective that is rarely seen.  We have seen the view from Americans, and Jewish Germans, but rarely from that of a German who was once a Nazi and turned against the Fatherland.  I like how the back of the book has pictures of Helmuth and facts, so that the reader knows he was a real person.  It was a heartbreaking and interesting story about Nazi Germany.  Teens will really enjoy Helmuth's character, determination and courage.  They will also relate to his struggle against his society.  It would be excellent for any sort of history project or simply to read more on the WWII era.