A gripping tale - I couldn't put it down. Gretel, the sister of Bruno (the boy in the striped pyjamas) is now 91 years old and has lived a lifetime of guilt and remorse moving from place to place. Her past haunts her until finally and chillingly, she finds the answer which will come as a shock to the reader. A wonderful book that I can highly recommend as it links so well with the previous book although can be read as a stand-alone novel.

A magnificent sequel! I was afraid that there was no way the sequel could compare to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas but I was wrong. This book manages to be as emotional, impactful and thought provoking and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas in its own unique way. The exploration of guilt and innocence was incredibly well done and Gretel as the protagonist was perfectly drawn and suitably complex. I hope this book becomes the success it deserves to!

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this one.
John Boyne is a master of historical fiction and tales of redemption, carefully crafted in prose that leaves a powerful emotional impact. I found this one a challenging read, being set against the backdrop of the Holocaust, with a plot that moves backwards and forwards in time. However, Boyne’s versatile ability to write in a woman’s voice as convincingly as a man’s is very impressive - and I could not resist getting caught up in the elderly female protagonist’s story. This will no doubt reach the NYT bestselling list once more.

Delighted to have had the opportunity to read this book as I am such a fan of John Boyne. I was nervous about reading this as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is such a well known book.
Written this time to tell the story of Gretel as an old lady looking back at key points in her life, interspersed with a developing story regarding her new neighbours.
Interesting to read how her early life affected her adult life, and how her thoughts changed as she matured.
I would definitely recommend this book to others.

📚BOOK REVIEW 📚

📖 Book - A Perfect Stranger
✍️ Author - Shalina Boland
📕 Publisher -Bookouture
🗓 Publication Date - 11th JULY 2022
I have read books by this author before, so looking forward to this! Thanks @netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my review!

Annie is married to Aiden and they have a young son called Josh.. after being made aware that her husband has got himself into debt and they run away, trying to escape, ALSO changing Their names. surprises at the end of the book, there was a secret that came out about Annie - did not expect that but because it was told to us the very end wil.l there be another book - loll!?

Enjoy!!


https://www.instagram.com/Bookstagramshaz

This book is a sequel to "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and tells the story of the boy's sister Gretel. She is now 91 and living as a wealthy widow in present day London.

The story dips into other times into Gretel's life when her past catches up with her and she has to flee.

Her downstairs neighbour has died and she dreads a family moving in. As it happens,she becomes attached to the wife and her nine year old son, but they also have a dark secret.

A gripping tale and one of the best books I have read this year !


Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House Publishing for the chance to review this book.

‘All the Broken Places’ is the sequel to ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ and focuses on Gretel, Bruno’s sister. As John Boyne states in his Author’s Note, the novel explores ‘…guilt, complicity and grief…’. At 91 and still remarkably sharp, Gretel not only ponders her past decisions, some of which have damaged her irrevocably, but also eventually becomes brave enough to confront the violence and terror that is horrifyingly close to home.
As ever, Boyne’s ability to create vivid characters draws the reader into his narrative. We sympathise with Gretel to an extent and it is the author’s intention that we are not entirely on her side. Because she has been so harmed by her upbringing, it would be too neat to imagine that the first twenty years of her life could be easily expunged, as the rather implausible scene with Hitler’s spectacles suggests. (This is not the only clumsy instance in the narrative – her meeting with the Queen chimes false as does her link with her long-term neighbour.)
Nevertheless, Boyne’s exploration of the ramifications of damaged childhood is thought-provoking, not least in his modern-day focus on nine-year-old Henry. Sadly, despite Gretel’s best efforts, we can infer from her own experience that Henry may well carry his scars into adulthood too.
My thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

This is the sequel from the author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. The story of Gretel both in the past and present day. In the 1950’s Gretel lived in Paris hiding an accent, before that in Poland. Today she is in her nineties and lives in a grand apartment in London still trying to forget what happened. Alternate chapters take us back to after the war and to the present day where she has some new neighbours in the apartment below her, their nine year old son Henry brings back memories Gretel would rather forget. When she sees Henry and his parents in the garden, things take a different turn from just being neighbours. Can she protect Henry and his mother whilst keeping things close to her chest?
There is something wonderful about this book that draws you slowly in. I found myself being drawn to Gretel and making assumptions as she was only young at the time of the war. She is sharp as a tack and wiley, having spent her life keeping secrets. Slowly the past is revealed a little at a time, some of which is rather harrowing (but short) whilst at the same time knowing that she wishes things could have been different and how much she misses a very special someone.
Could this be read if you’ve not read or seen The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas? For me yes possibly, but why miss out on another stunning read or film? Do people feel guilty for what has gone almost a lifetime before even if they were not personally culpable? I believe there are exceptions (narcissists for example) but most people are good and kind, or at least I wish to believe so, so yes I think in twilight years the past may loom and they wish to try and at least amend or atone in some small way if possible. As the author points out even in recent times it's not just the monsters but those who knew and turned a blind eye who are just as guilty.
A wonderful story that I found captivating. Of guilt and complicity, of thought and happiness. One I will most certainly remember.
(rest of links on publication)

When I saw this was a sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, I just knew I had to read it and it did not disappoint. What a heartbreaking read but in differing ways to TBITSP.

One of the main characters, Gretel, my heart breaks for her, she’s had such a hard life and ended up fleeing Poland for Paris. Nearly eighty years later, a couple move downstairs from her and this is where the story really begins. Henry, the couples son brings back memories for Gretel - memories she has spent her life trying to forget; trying to heal from.

Gretel is a strong character and even at the age she is, she fights for what is right and tries to help the young boy. Gretel normally sticks to herself but despite being in her nineties, she’s very smart and on the ball. The story takes you through many events in Gretel’s life, the secrets she’s kept for years and how Henry affects it all.

John, you are such a wonderful writer, so passionate and deep both books I’ve read from you and I can’t thank you and @netgalley for allowing me a copy to work of art.

Having read 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' I was keen to read this, the sequel. It did not disappoint, as we follow the 'boy's' sister Gretel as she and her mother cope with the aftermath of the War and the stigma of their attachment to the commandant of a concentration camp. Gretel tries so hard to make a life for herself, while never really forgiving herself for her part in her brother's death. Which is interesting, as everyone else around her who learns her history blames her for not doing something about the Final Solution, as if a 12 year old could have done anything at all, other than identify some perpetrators after the War.

The book is powerful, shocking, and weaves an interesting story. I'm not a big fan of the alternate chapter technique - one in the past, the next in the present. It made the story more disjointed and I would have preferred a straight narrative, but overall its a very good read and makes the reader think about guilt, about responsibility and culpability.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a moving read, as a sequel to The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas, detailing what happened to the rest of the German Commandants’ family, but mainly Gretel, Bruno’s sister, who was 12 years old at the time of the first book. It’s moving, heartbreaking and thought provoking. It explores how the families of victims and captors deal with the fallout of their loved ones actions and experiences, as well as survivors guilt. This is so well written, thought out and researched, it has a real impact for the reader. A must read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

All The Broken Places is the follow up to the hugely successful The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. Whilst TBITSP was more of a young adult novel, this is clearly written for an adult audience and I have to say I enjoyed this book more than TBITSP.

In this novel, we follow Bruno's sister, Gretel - a largely unlikeable character from the first novel who was largely at odds with Bruno during the course of the novel. We are told Gretel's story in a dual time-line, the present day (where she is a 91 year old woman living in London) and the past after leaving Berlin following Bruno's death.

In the present day, she is living a largely solitary life until she encounters her new neighbours - a family with a young boy who brings Bruno to the forefront of her mind. All is not clearly well next door but can Gretel save this young boy without exposing her own past.

In the past we learn how Gretel ended up in London, trying to leave behind the guilt and the experience of the Holocaust and building a new secret life everywhere she goes, opening up to very few people along the way.

I honestly can't speak highly enough of this book. I am a massive fan of John Boyne and this certainly goes to the top (or maybe top three) of the books I have read this year. I still don't know how I feel about Gretel, her role and decisions as a child and adult and the redemption she seeks even as an older woman. The twist at the end was fantastic and the actual conclusion to the book was excellent also.

Easiest five stars I have given this year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Doubleday, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Firstly, many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is an extremely thought provoking and enjoyable book which is a continuation of an individuals personal story as opposed to a true sequel to the well known 'Boy In The Striped Pyjamas' making it preferable, but not necessary, to have read the latter prior to this book.

The main protagonist is 91 years old Gretel who over the last 70 years has been riddled with guilt about her own and her family's part in the horrific events of Auschwitz and lives with a constant fear that someone will find out who she really is. The impact of this on her day to day life is all encompassing and detailed skilfully by the author in a multitude of ways.

Boyne uses several different timelines from the 1940’s through to the present day to capture Gretel's story but all blend well and, unlike some other texts, are easy to differentiate. The inclusion of events in Germany, Poland, France, Australia and London all add to the richness of the account.

There are several twists and many interesting characters developed around Gretel's story making this a thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended read.

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot (there are reviews like that out there already if that's what you are looking for).

This was a very interesting - if at times rather sad and unpleasant - book. Although I've read other novels by John Boyne, I had not read "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas", but had an understanding of the outline of the plot. This novel follows the story of the said boy's sister Gretel (and initially mother too) as they try to move on with new lives and new identities away from Germany.

The plot moves back and forth through time and several locations - France, Australia, and London - which I felt added to the richness of the story - far more than if it had been told in a linear fashion.

The section set in France was quite unpleasant at times, describing how people with any association with the Nazis were treated (regardless of whether or not they had been involved in any atrocities). Although I did not entirely like Gretel or her mother at this point, I felt very sorry for them.

Having managed to escape to Australia, Gretel manages to make a new start, but is then thrown off course by meeting a former Nazi who has also moved there. Rather than ignoring him, she embarks on a (to me) rather bizarre course of action, which I felt showed that she had a very unpleasant and cruel streak in her character. At this point I liked her even less than before...but persevered with the novel as I wanted to learn more of her story.

For me, the most interesting sections of the novel were those based in London - when Gretel is 91 years old! By this time she's a widow, with a grown up son, who is keen for her to move from her valuable apartment (where she's lived a quiet life for decades) so he can get his hands on some money! Gretel also looks after another, younger lady in her apartment block who has developed dementia, and who is in turn being pestered by her son to move with him to Australia for similar reasons...

Into this mix comes a family, headed by a film producer, with a neurotic wife and a small boy - but all is not well within that family, as the man is the worst sort of manipulative bully. The best side of Gretel's nature comes into play as she befriends the wife and son; she clearly comes to care about them and wants to help. The unpleasant film producer meets his match when he tries to blackmail Gretel about her past. Gretel takes decisive action at great cost to herself, but in doing so undoubtedly saves the little boy from a terrible future - so feels redeemed in many ways.

There are a few twists in the tale along the way (I guessed the main one!). The pace is variable - at times rather slow - but it's a well crafted plot and the characters are believable.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

While still peppered with humour, this is one of the more wrenching and emotionally mature novels one could wish to read. And all of it can be reduced to the elevator pitch, "a sequel to 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' but for adults". And that pretty much is all you need to read before the book itself, that being the truth – it takes the adult woman who was once the older sister of the death camp commandant's son that mistakenly got disposed of, and gives her a life right up to the present day. Boyne writes here of it being planned as a kind of swansong piece, but I felt it had to be written here and now and produced here and now, at one of the last times the woman can give a reportage from the year her story culminates in. If he'd left it any longer, her longevity would have dropped this too into the semi-fable world of the original, or made the whole thing a historical piece.

Now, I always find it easier to report the flaws than eulogise in sensible ways about the merits of a book, so I will hereby list ALL the flaws I found in this, with the proviso that they may have been removed by the time this hits the shops.

One, someone driving a French car in France manages to have his left hand and not the natural right in a girl's lap, but hey ho. Two, a measured and precise and cultured woman sharing a bottle of wine is forced by the author to express surprise that it's "almost half gone already" when two glasses have been taken out. The "almost" and the surprise are both ridiculous rookie mistakes.

Yup, a long list of problems here, then. From one of the most consistently brilliant long-form authors the British Isles can currently lay claim to, this is outstanding. And I refuse to struggle to define why when the book is demanding your attention instead.

This a fantastic sequel to The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, and this time it is the story of Bruno's sister Gretel who is now 91 years old. Unlike The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which was predominantly aimed at a young audience this is an adult novel.
I am a huge John Boyne fan, his stories are always captivating and this is no exception, it is an intriguing, very well written book exploring guilt, grief, family and relationships and I highly recommend it!

I was quite sucked into the story and I liked the protagonist at her old age. I didn’t really like her as a young girl and some memories were a bit strange. It is a very interesting story of guilt, and it was fascinating to see how different people live with it differently. At the same time the story felt as not going into depth as I would wish, some ideas were only there as a background and I considered them either unnecessary or I felt that I would wish more attention. That’s why I can recommend the story but it was not the perfect one for me.

This is an excellent book which is a continuation of an individuals personal story rather then an actual sequel to the well known Boy In The Striped Pajamas.

Our main protagonist is a elderly Gretel, Bruno’s older sister who over the last 70 odd years has been riddled with a gut wrenching guilt about her horrific past from her youth in Poland and also events in Australia, and a constant fear that someone will find out who she really is.

Gretel’s character is someone you can sympathise with, but also at times in the book can be found to be infuriating, for example when you see at times that she would have wanted the Third Reich to have been successful. But her decision to do the ‘right thing’ to save another is also admirable after a lifetime of living with a type of survivors guilt. I personally loved her final meeting with Alex.

There are a few different timelines from the 1940’s, through to Gretals present day, but all blend well and easy to differentiate, that in itself is a great skill.

Truly 07/07
This dark thriller is a slow burn, and a huge negative to me is the repetitiveness but saying that the book does pick up its pace and I found it quite enjoyable. However I did not particularly like any characters.
I do like a book with a double time line and I enjoyed how this gave the earlier story from a young Sophie.
I am glad I persevered and read through to the end.
I would definitely try another book by this author.

This was the book I didnt know I needed, until the publishers announced it.
The complete feeling of satisfaction at knowing what happened to those left behind at the end of Boy, was so good, but to find out the before too.
Again, something I didn't know I needed until I had it.
I was torn throughout this book, on how guilty Gretel was in the original book, and have yet to decide.
Her future though, she revealed herself a little at a time, and by the end, I liked the old bird quite a lot.

Some surprising turn of events, but mainly thoughts on guilt and grief make this a book worth spending your time with.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is one of the most memorable books that I read during my childhood. I often wondered what happened next to Bruno's family and I loved getting the opportunity to read its' sequel All The Broken Places. I really enjoyed the plot of the book especially the dual timeline and read the book over the course of one sitting. Sometimes sequels can be disappointing but I really enjoyed All the Broken Places.