...Despite the mayhem that followed, Bruno found that he was still holding Shmuel's hand in his own and nothing in the world would have persuaded him to let go.

People spoke in whispers, as if the war was listening

He sweeps her hair back from her ears; he swings her above his head. He says she is his émerveillement. He says he will never leave her, not in a million years.

Because they are ignorant and their parents are ignorant. Because they don’t know any better.” Pastel Orphans

Ari: The serial number was now my new name. I was dehumanized. I was branded like an animal, but was treated worse. This is what racism can do to people.

Waves of ice cold shock swept over Theo.Mrs. Dietrich, the woman who fed him chocolate cookies every time she pulled a sliver from his finger, the woman who’d tended him through every sickness and illness he’d had, the woman he loved as much as his own mother: a war spy and traitor.Impossible!“You think your mom is a spy?” He said the words slowly, not quite believing they came from his mouth. “For Germany? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.