John Boyne's novels include the bestselling The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Boy at the Top of the Mountain. One of his top ten unlikely friendships in children’s books, as shared at the Guardian:The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks (2013)Read about the other books on the list.
My own favourite YA book of the 21st century, this extraordinary tale of resilience in the face of inexplicable cruelty makes a hero of the young protagonist – Linus Weems – while the adults trapped alongside him in an underground bunker display varying degrees of violence and selfishness. The friendship that Linus forms with Russell, the oldest inmate, avoids any type of Morgan Freeman-type voiceover and is an essential and ultimately tragic part of the story. Ignore the why-must-we-throw-this-filth-at-our-kids brigade; this is contemporary literature at its finest.
Also see Alex Hourston’s top ten unlikely friendships in literature and Sarah Salway's top ten books about unlikely friendships.
--Marshal Zeringue
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