This book was hard to read in so many different ways.partly because I see so much of it going on today.partly because so many lives are ruined by people that have no business being in control.partly because it was so unfair in so many different ways.but mostly because I was shown all of this from the eyes of a child who was unable to do anything to change any of it.how many kids suffer in silence? The worst thing we can do is to allow these things to happen again.but also, we really need to stop grouping all the wrong doings in the world in these great numbers and ignore the personal aspect of it all. Sure I can always fall back on the old perseverance that comes from times of difficulty, that bad times as well as good times help shape the future leaders and people that change the world be it through movement, laws, art, or anything else you can think of.but sometimes I wonder if those future achievements are ever worth the price of what some people have to go though. Yes, the alternative history for *this* young person could have been much worse, but the fact remains that sometimes the pressure the young feel at times when nothing can be done.and when things happen that are no fault of their own or any fault of the adults directly responsible for their impact is long lasting and devastating. This book really hit home for me about the individual suffering a child deals with in times like this.

We know it's a catastrophe.however, I think we just look at the overall picture.or we just lump that suffering in with the overall suffering. I think we all read these history books and so often.well, the kids are there.we know they suffer. These two things tied together.well they absolutely gutted me. This brings me to the second thing.as I read this, it was like watching a playbook from today's headlines with only a few details changed. Two things that strike me.first, this is the first one that was told through the eyes of a child. Sure, I've read countless WWII novels.even a couple of alternative history WWII novels. Bottom line, I'm thrilled I finally picked this up to read. I thought it might have been a documentary type non-fiction book (remember, I'm the book muse that prefers to go into a book blindly and avoid reading blurbs). I had no idea that this was an alternative history novel. I'm a huge fan of alternative history novels.

The Plot Against America by Philip Roth