The Wrong Boy

Hanna Mendel liked to know what was going to happen next. She was going to be a famous concert pianist. She was going to wear her yellow dress to the dance on Saturday night. But she didn’t plan on her street being turned into a ghetto. She didn’t plan on being rounded up and thrown in a cattle truck. She didn’t plan on spending her sixteenth birthday in Auschwitz, in a wooden barrack with 200 other prisoners. Most of all, Hanna didn’t plan on falling in love with the wrong boy. 

What happens when a Jewish girl falls in love with the German son of the camp commander? Award-winning Australian author Suzy Zail’s young adult fiction book, The Wrong Boy, paints a story of identity, romance, hate and loyalty alongside the historical backdrop of the Holocaust. This gripping novel about a teenage girl coming to terms with first love amid the confronting realities of a war-torn world will leave readers wanting more.

Short-listed in the Older Reader’s category of the 2013 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards

“A compelling picture of life in a prison camp from the point of view of a determined but naïve teenage girl. Recommended.” – Aussie Reviews

“Four stars … From its opening page, the reader will feel empathy and heartache for those who suffered during this violent era.” – Read Plus

“A roller-coaster ride … This is a must read for any teenager or adult interested in the past, the tragedy of war or what happens when humans believe they are superior.” – Kids Book Review

“Compelling reading … Zail uses a deft hand.” – Buzz Words magazine

“An addictive read, well-written and, in spite of the horrow, warm-hearted.” – ­Around the Bookshops