#153 in Historical fiction
Milkweed
- 224
- Pages
- about 4 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“Milkweed” is a moving young adult novel set in Warsaw during the Holocaust and narrated by a street orphan who hardly knows who he is. Sheltered by a band of Jewish orphans, he lives on the streets and tries to keep out of the Nazis’ way. Some readers find that the boy’s quick, light voice only sharpens the pain of what he witnesses. A hard but worthwhile book for young readers and adults alike.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Milkweed is a 2003 young adult historical fiction novel by American author Jerry Spinelli. The book is about a boy in Warsaw, Poland in the years of World War II during the Holocaust. Over time he is taken in by a Jewish group of orphans and he must avoid the Nazis while living on the streets with other orphans. Despite being a historical fiction novel, Doctor Korczak, a minor character in the story is based on a real person named Janusz Korczak.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 84 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 36% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Historical fiction average of 8.0. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.8 | 9 | 11% |
| Google Books | 8.0 | 43 | 51% |
| Hardcover | 7.4 | 32 | 38% |
Frequently asked
What age is Milkweed for?
Milkweed sits on the Young adult shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 13 and up. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 224 pages — shorter than 96% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 7.8 and 8.6, closest to this book.
