Extra Credit: Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi

Chotjewitz, Daniel. Daniel Half Human and the Good Nazi. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000.

Annotation: For Daniel, supporting Hitler seemed right, almost natural; until he found out he was half Jewish. He hated himself, and his family because they were Jewish and it was everything opposite he learned in school and everything he hated. His best friend was in the HJ, how could they be friends any longer? Who could he turn to, was there anyone left that he could trust with his secret, or would he be sent to a concentration camp like others in his family?

Justification for Nomination: Although this book is fiction, the author says it was based on things that did take place, but has been changed; while reading this book, I felt as if I were back in Nazi Germany. I felt the feelings that the main character Daniel felt when he was trying to keep his true identity hidden and then the relief and anger when it was revealed. There were parts of this book that I had a hard time keeping up with at the beginning, there were parts where it was present day, after the rise of Hitler, and the war, there were a few chapters that I had a hard time grasping on to. But these chapters began to become clearer and clearer as the book went on, and made more sense. This book is about finding truth and peace with who you are, even though it is extremely hard to do as a young adult. In this book Daniel struggles when he finds out who he really is, but finds out that some people do accept him no matter what. This book also highlights the prejudice that people faced, and their struggles just to be human, and live were so huge. There was another aspect of right and wrong that plays out throughout the entire book, and played a large part at the end of the book, that still leaves me a little puzzled as to how I feel about it; I'm not sure whether I thought it was right or wrong, I'm still thinking about it.

I would nominate this book because I feel that it is so much more than a young adult novel, it gives teens a deeper look into what life was life in Nazi Germany and creates feelings for those not present, which is all young adults. I think it is important for teens to see that there was life before cell phones and the internet.

Genre Category: Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Realistic, Multi-Cultural