Stones in Water

There are so many stories to be told in regards to World War II. In the list of twenty 2011 Caudill nominees, there are two very different ones - Yellow Star about a Jewish girl who is one of twelve children who survived the Lodz ghetto and The Boy Who Dared about a German boy who actively fights against the Third Reich and is executed for it. Stones in Water, a young adult novel, by Donna Jo Napoli is yet another World War II story. Chances are you have never heard anything like it.

The main character is Roberto, the son of a gondolier, who lives outside of Venice, Italy. Roberto, his brother and their friends sneak into a theater to watch an American Western. German soldiers raid the theater and take all of the young boys and put them on a train bound for a prisoner of war camp to use them for free forced labor. It just so happens that Roberto's best friend, Samuele, is Jewish, but he is not wearing his required armband because Roberto's brother hid it so Samuele could sneak in too.

The older boys get separated from the younger boys, but Roberto and Samuele stick together. Samuele is going by the name of Enzo which is a more Catholic name and Roberto gives his friend his St. Christopher medal to make him a more convincing Catholic boy. Keeping his identity a secret is of the utmost importance.  The boys realize that "Enzo" cannot be seen without his clothes because he is circumcised. Unfortunately the secret cannot be kept for long. Another boy discovers Enzo's secret and takes his ration of food as a payment to keep silent.

The boys are forced to move from place to place. They go where the work is. They move away from the warm Mediteranean climate towards the wintery Ukraine, but they are still wearing the clothes they were stolen in. As those around them die, the boys are forced to steal and fight over the dead's clothes. They wear their shoes out, but have no guaranteed way to replace them. In an important scene, drunk German soldiers pass out and freeze to death. Roberto and Enzo steal their boots.

Those boots. Roberto will never forget them. One night, other boys slit open his sleeping sack to steal both his boots and his old shoes. Enzo comes to the rescue and fights to get them back for his best friend. Enzo is beaten to death in the process. Roberto has the boots back, but he has lost his companion. When Enzo is stripped by others for his clothes, Roberto defends his body. He won't allow his underwear to be taken and he covers him with his blanket for added protection.

Upon burying his best friend in the hard, cold ground, Roberto walks away from the camp into hiding and freedom. But his struggle is far from over. We are halfway through the book and a new journey begins - Roberto's journey to return home. Living in trees and feeding off of the land, Roberto eventually finds a river, a boat and a new companion. The gondolier's son is on his way home, but the reader will not have the satisfaction of seeing that happy ending.

This is an amazing and emotional piece. It is one of those historical novels that is so very hard to read. But I believe those are the ones that we must read so that we will never forget.