The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas takes you on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno.

The blurb on the back cover tells you “this isn’t a book for nine-year-olds” but having read the book, I think the target audience should be that age and a little older.

The story is told through Bruno’s eyes – he is naive and can be selfish and is only interested in events that affect his small world. However, he is capable of kindness and finds friendship in the unlikeliest of circumstances.

I did find this book to be a reasonably good read, despite some of the childish language and ideas. The author encourages readers to start reading the book without knowing what it is about. But one look at the cover – which show the blue, striped pyjamas from the title – and I had images from a concentration camp in my head.

I could accept that Bruno could mispronounce/mishear ‘Out-With’ and ‘the Fury’, but I found it hard to believe that a nine-year-old living in Germany and the son of a camp commandant had not been indoctrinated in the ways of the Hitler Youth.

I would recommend this book for teenagers – as it is set during a time that young people should be made aware of. Perhaps it would be appropriate for the high school curriculum.