The Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin Modern Classics)

Needed for school reading list. Good price and so convenient to buy on Amazon instead of traveling to book stores.

I first read this book in jr high school. It was a captivating way to introduce preteens/young teens to WW2. I recently saw that it was on a “banned” list, while I could remember all the details, I remembered really enjoying it. So I bought it. It came today, and I finished it within a few hours. I will be giving it to my 11 and 12 year olds to read as well. This book reminds us how important it is to remember the past, even if it is ugly and uncomfortable. The authors not at the end says it perfectly “ Today, a lifetime later we can echo Winston Churchill who wrote: ‘There is no doubt that this is probably the greatest and most horrible single crime ever committed in the whole history of the world’ And yet it is STILL impossible, unimaginable, difficult to grasp. Even with the facts in front of us, the numbers, the indelible photographs, the autobiographies, the wrists still bearing the long numbers, there are people in the world who deny such things actually happened”

I was immediately drawn into the plight of the main character as she was sent back to WW2 a few months into the war. The plight of this Jewish family was not the same for each family member, but none of them continued on with their lives untouched. As a small bonus, THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC explains many Jewish beliefs and traditions as they appear in the lives of the characters. I read this story aloud to both a third and fourth grade classroom. The students were spellbound as the tale unfolded. This led to many discussions and questions about why the war was fought, why the Jewish families were treated with increasing harshness. The prison camps and terrible conditions in them shocked and worried my classes. What an excellent book to help children understand what happened in ww2.

I would recommend this to any reader being introduced to the Holocaust. My only big hiccup is that some of the translations were a little choppy. Hannah is opening the door for this Elijah and the “transition” occurs, but she doesn’t question it too much. I’d be up in arms, especially if I were the ripe young age of 13.

The story of the survivors of one village and remaining family members. One girls family memories brought vividly to life.

My 12 year old read this in school last year and asked me to read it as he was rereading it so that we could discuss the events and his thoughts. I found the book to be gorgeously written and deeply moving, showing the horrors of the war at a level appropriate for his age. We must never let this happen again. And to achieve that, we must make sure the coming generations know how horrific it was. 10/10 must read.

Item arrived in excellent condition, good price, fast shipping, story is very different from the movie of the same name.

I choose this rating because it was brilliant. I am a grandmother and my grandson was reading it for school. He is twelve and I wanted to see what he was learning. This book reveals, in a simple yet realistic way, some of horrors of the holocaust. I liked the bringing together of the generations and story of survival in the midst of constant atrocity and death. This was my grandsons first introduction to the history of Nazi Germany. I’m glad it was this book that taught him.

Very well written. A good insight into the plight of the prisoners in the concentration camps.

I read this book after seeing the film (which was great), and found the book to be even better! The prominence of the young inmate who lets the newcomers know how to survive, the midden where the underage inmates hide - all here in the book and missing from the film - all in all a most worthwhile read.

I really loved that one. A bery important novel.

Holocaust is one of the terrifying facts which has happened in world history & this book has depicted the same through a girl who didn't knee the gravity of the incident & had to relive her past by going through the same .This book is worth the buy & it's my 2nd time in reading it.

I am not realy happy with the quality of the book : it was not Good, as mentionned but the prince was low-cost.