alexzhi

A heartrending story of war and loss, Fire in the Hills follows Roberto, an Italian 14 year old who has been forced to be a soldier by the Germans in World War II. Desperately trying to make his way back to his home in Venice after escaping labor camps, he befriends a brave, strong-willed teenage girl who helps him becomes involved with the partigiani, a resistance movement to the Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italian fascism. The brutality and violence, such as the description of a boy whose entire family is killed point-blank while he’s forced to eat a watermelon he stole from German soldiers, is raw and hard to read, particularly because of the historical truth behind the fiction. An honest and devastating depiction of a part of World War II that may be unfamiliar to many—the story of the Italian resistance movement—the book is a worthwhile addition to any library. Because of the harsh violence and at times slow-moving story, the book is recommended for sixth graders and up.

2022-11-14 16:51