The Button War by Avi

Jurek is a crazy idiot! The Russian soldiers have left our town, the Germans have moved in, and he thinks his button war is the most important thing in the world. He's challenged us to find the best button from a soldier's uniform, which is dangerous to do while they're still wearing it. I should ignore Jurek, but I can't back down from his dares. Things will get really bad for our group of friends if he wins the contest. I thought the German bomb that blew up our school was the worst thing, it killed our teacher, but this button war has made the danger of war even more personal. Two of my friends have been killed because of it! All Jurek can think about is who has the best button, which makes me keep searching for them. However, I just found something different on the body of a dead English man. I shouldn't have taken the pistol, but I did, and now I know Jurek has his eye on it.

I don't normally read historical fiction, but the plot in this book moved quickly. As you might infer from my description above, Jurek's character drives the conflict. From the beginning, he displays a need to be the best at everything. The reason for this obsession is unclear, but Patryk, the narrator of the story, knows early on that Jurek is dangerous. Patryk doesn't want to look like a coward, so he accepts the challenges. As the plot moves along, Patryk's decisions are motivated by a need to protect his friends more than beating Jurek. Jurek is already a pain in the butt, but he would become dangerous if he were to win the button war; he's declared the winner of the contest will rule over everyone else. His callousness is a little upsetting, especially when his "friends" are hurt or killed. I used quotation marks, because I'm not sure Jurek actually has any real friends. The power he has over the group is amazing, since they all know he's crazy. I'm not sure how middle grade readers will react to the button war, it may not hold their interest, but the plot becomes much more interesting once the Germans arrive. The Button War is a thought-provoking tale about innocent kids caught in the middle of World War I.