The Berlin Boxing Club (YA)

#19 Book read in 2012
The Berlin Boxing Club (YA)


This book is set in Nazi Germany but that is sort of in the background of Karl Stern's learning to box and coming of age.  Karl is given boxing lessons from a premier German boxer.  He does well once he trains for a while and begins to win in tournaments.  But the others in the boxing club do not know Karl is a Jew and he makes sure to keep that a secret.  


This book details the discrimination faced by Jews, the condemnation they faced by others and the horrors they endured.  But it is not strictly a holocaust novel.  Karl is a complex and interesting character and this book details his progression from boy to man.  He becomes a strong figure in his family dynamic and he stands up for what he believes in.


This book was a good YA historical fiction read.