Flames of the Tiger - John Wilson

Flames of the Tiger is a book set in the World War II era. So far in the book, there are two kids: Dieter and his sister Greta. They are wandering around in a dark and bloody battlefield, because although very young, they were forced into the army. Early in the book it tells you how Dieter likes to daydream to get past the present moment, because it is so tough being in a war. Most of the story is told that way, where it tells you a bit about the present moment, and then flashes back to an earlier scene, which gives you background information about World War II and what it is like for people. I like this way of telling the story, because it’s effective and interesting.

The main point in the story comes when the two wandering solders come upon a wounded Canadian solider named Joe. They stop to see if he is dead or not, and find out that he’s not dead, but very close to it. He’s sort of awake, and they fear that if he falls asleep, that he will die. With the little light they have, they find out that he is caked in dried blood. The duo are desperate for help, so they figure why not tell stories about Dieter’s life to keep him alive!

The stories he tells are about life in Berlin during the war. One of the main problems is how racist the Nazis are to the Jews. He tells of some of his friends that are Jewish, and explains how they were forced out of their homes. One of the main conflicts in the story is between Dieter’s parents and his older brother: Reinhard. You see, Reinhard is a very faithful supporter to Hitler and has a high ranking in the army. His parents, however, despise Hitler, and so there is a tension between Reinhard and his parents.

Reinhard is Dieter’s role model. Dieter has some doubts about Hitler, but Reinhard praises the man. Dieter is torn on what to think.

I finished the book, and thought it was amazing. Over the summer (and now I guess) I have been reading some of the MYRCA books for this year. I read about 4 of them and I would say that this is my favorite one. It also made me think about how horrible that period of history was. I highly, really highly recommend this book to anyone.