Flames of the Tiger

by John Wilson

In this novel by John Wilson, Dieter is seduced by the pomp and circumstance of war as a boy growing up during Hitler's rise to power. But as global hostilities intensify, Dieter is called upon to fight for his country in a conflict that he doesn't fully understand. With most of his family dead, Berlin in ruins and the Russian army closing in, Dieter can no longer naively cling to his childhood beliefs. The world he is facing is brutal, dirty and unforgiving, and the most he can hope for is the chance to survive.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, War, Fiction, Young Adult

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 10, 2003

About the author

John Wilson, an ex-geologist and frustrated historian, is the award-winning author of fifty novels and non-fiction books for adults and teens. His passion for history informs everything he writes, from the recreated journal of an officer on Sir John Franklin’s doomed Arctic expedition to young soldiers experiencing the horrors of the First and Second World Wars and a memoir of his own history. John researches and writes in Lantzville on Vancouver Island. There are many more details in his memoir, Lands of Lost Content, https://www.amazon.com/Lands-Lost-Con...

Reviews

[BooksNCrannies · Rating 2 out of 5]

"It had all seemed so simple once: all you had to do was believe the good things Hitler said and everything would be fine. But instead, everything had fallen apart."

✏️ Review ✏️

While it provides a different perspective of life during World War Two, Flames of the Tiger is a mostly mediocre story. The plot isn't that intriguing. But rather very disjointed and jumpy because of the flashback-based structure. Flames of the Tiger lacks any real drive, not to mention that the present-day storyline is lackluster. I enjoyed the flashbacks more, but it came with the cost of interrupting the story's flow. The unusual perspective is enjoyable: a teenaged boy living in WWII's Berlin, Germany. Because it gives an insightful look at this turbulent historical time, the perspective is what I liked the most.

Even though it gets the point of the story across, the writing style isn't anything memorable. More than once I felt just like I was reading a news article, so the writing style didn't impress me at all. It's mostly dry and unartistic.

Character development is minimal. So while the characters function well in their various roles, the flatter potrayal and lack of development makes them below average.

Okay, all that to say that I didn't particularly enjoy Flames of the Tiger. The different WWII perspective was intriguing to read, but I didn't really enjoy the rest of this book. Wouldn't really recommend.

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📊 A Quick Overview 📊

👍🏼 What I Liked:
• The unusual WWII perspective — lends intrigue to the storyline.

👎🏼 What I Did Not Like:
• The writing style — it's mostly bland and unimpressive.
• The lack of any substantial character development.
• The disjointed plot structure.

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❓ To Read or Not To Read? ❓

— Would I recommend this book? I guess... *shrugs* maybe?*

— To whom? To those who like WWII historical books with a unique perspective. And if you're okay with a disjointed plot, minimally developed characters, and a bland writing style (hmmm, doesn't sound like a very promising recommendation 🤭).

*(Note: I leave it up to each individual to decide the maturity and discernment level required to read the books I recommend, based on my content warnings below [in my Book Breakdown]. My content warnings [if any] should always be considered alongside my recommendations when deciding who these books are best suited for.)

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📖 BOOK BREAKDOWN 📖 (Overall: 2/5)
~Fundamentals: (1=worst; 5=best)
— 📈 Plot: 2/5
— 📝 Writing: 2/5
— 👥 Characters: 2/5

~Content: (0=none; 1=least; 5=most)

— 🤬 Language: 1/5

• Ten uses of "d*mn(ed)"; a few uses of "h*ll"; and one use of God's name in vain.

— ⚔️ Violence: 1/5

• A few potentially disturbing descriptions of brutality.

• A few mildly graphic descriptions of injuries (mentions blood).

• A few scenes of mild war violence, including some potentially disturbing mildly vivid descriptions about circumstances of death.

— ⚠️ Sexual: 1/5

• Mentions "rape" twice.

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📣 Random Comments 📣

• (None)

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💬 Favorite Quotes 💬

• (None)

[Kevin M.]

Theme=you should always do what's right

[Daniel Kieffer-rhea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title Flames of the Tiger
Author John Wilson
Pages 200
Genre Fiction
Reading level 5th


Explosion
it begins when the Nazis took over the Germany government. Dicter and his sister are hiding in the brushes when they came upon a Canadian soldier that was shot in the head. He needs him to stay alive so he and his sister can go to Canada. So he started to tell his story on how he found the Canadian

Conflict
The Nazi came into power on January 30 1933. That is when the Dicter came to one of the parades with his older brother. At the time he didn’t know what he believed in so he thought that they were all good. As time went on, his older brother wanted to join a youth Hitler youth group. His father wouldn’t let him but he went anyway.

Climax
Hitler ordered all of the German youth to join his youth so he would have more troops for the war so Dicter had to go and he lowered the recruiting age to 17. His brother went east to fight the Russians. When Dicter was finished with training he went west with his brother when most of his brigade was wounded. Thing were much more quiet there an then he headed east.

Resolution
when he was pulled out of Russia he was a signed the job of clearing the German country of Jews the Russians were on the borders of berlin. So Dicter and his sister and older brother tried to escape the country when one of his older brothers corned try to stop them from leaving. His older brother would not make it so they proceed without him. That is when he came upon the Canadian. Moments later a search team found them and baring them along.

A theme of this story would be just something can sound good does mean it is. An example would be when the Nazi came to power the people thought that they were good and they ended up not liking them at all. What I learn about the human experience is that we have to think before we act

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great short read, especially for those looking for a quick overview of some of the atrocities of the Holocaust, but more specifically about Hitler Youth. Reinhard joins up with Hitler Youth much to the chagrin of his father who is fearful of Hitler's ideas. The story is weaved intricately from the tale of Dieter and Greta, younger siblings of Reinhard who you find are alone and trying to escape Berlin when they happen upon a burning tanker and Russian soliders and to try to help save the solider from dying before their eyes, Dieter tells the tale of the past few years as Hitler came to power.

The font is large, it's 150 pages with enough action, family in-fighting, hope, and motifs as well as historical characters and events (Night of Broken Glass, Hitler Youth, Goebbels) to make it an exteremly realistic story.

[Ceager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flames of The Tiger
Flames of The Tiger is a great book, I love the way it's the perspective of Dieter telling his story to Joe after he escaped from Berlin. It's a short story about the horrors of WW2 and about a boy named Dieter growing up in Berlin during the rise of Hitler. This is probably my favourite WW2 book and I really love learning/reading about WW2. Story wise i think this book is awesome, it has lots and lots of detail and it really shows what people went through during WW2. Some characters I like in this book are Dieter, Greta and Reinhard. Starting with Dieter, he’s just a boy doing whatever it takes to keep his family safe during the terrible second World War. He keeps strong after losing his family and will do anything possible to keep his sister Greta safe. Greta will put herself before her family. All she knows is survival and how to keep positive. Reinhard, I think the people he supports and follows are horrible but all he wants is the best for his brother Dieter. He made a bad choice dragging him into believing Hitler is good but at least he somewhat acknowledged that being a Nazi in WW2 wasn’t good. At the end I have little empathy for what happened to him but I have some respect for him putting himself before Greta and Dieter, killing his best friend (because it was the right thing to do) and dying for Diter and Greta. Actual l book wise it was alright, the font was good and fit lots of story on one page and the book was a good size to fit in your hands. One thing i’d add is a mark for chapters which the copies did not have. They had little marks of tanks every 10 ish pages but it didn’t have an actual chapter number which made me lose track after a while of reading. Overall 4/5 book for me! I totally recommend reading Flames of The tiger if you really want to get a feel of WW2.

[Don LePan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a YA novel but it's great reading for adults too. Wilson has a real knack for plotting that powerfully pulls the reader forward, and he's skilled at characterization as well. With many well-plotted, fast moving books, the characters feel like little more than cogs in the plot. That's not at all the case here; the characters are well rounded and individualized, and the reader really cares about them.
One other point: reading this book is a great way to learn more about history. In this book (as in many others), Wilson has been careful to build his works of imaginative fiction around historical reality--and he does it very, very well.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a great book. The book is a little slow towards the beginning, but the only reason for it is to give a background of how the story plays out and who the characters are and their importance to the story. The story starts to build up about halfway through, introducing the military life and the combat that the two characters have to face. As you go through, you can the character's pride deteriorate to nothing.

[T · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written from the perspective of a teen who grew up during the rise and fall of Hilter's regime. Quite interesting.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the book was confusing at times, but also tied together well. If you like history and adventure, this is for you. The book has likable characters and well tied plot development.

[Dooter McSnooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book as a kid.

[Jewel]

it was good

[Kasey Kurtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is called Flames of the Tiger and it is written by John Wilson. It's about a family living in Berlin during around 1930 to 1945. It's basically a book about the main character, Dieter, explaining what that time was like for a teenage German.
I think that Flames of the Tiger is a very interesting book. It's interesting because it accurately shows what Hitler coming to power and the Holocaust were like from a child's point of view. I found that liked Reinhard and Ernst's dinner conversations because both of them had different opinions about what was happening in Berlin and the rest of Germany and they both had good reasons to back them up. I almost felt like I was Dieter, sitting at the table listening to them argue and hardly have an idea about what they were talking about. But I was hoping that it wouldn't just be Dieter explaining the whole story at one place and time.
The characters are all very realistic. This is perhaps my favorite part of the entire book. You've got the father, Ernst, who doubts Hitler and his goals and is really one of the few people who actually understands what's going on. Then there's the mother who really doesn't know what to do at all... There's Reinhard, a teenager who feels like this is a new era and that he can join Hitler and fight for his country. Dieter, who looks up to his older brother and doesn't quite understand what's really happening. And finally Greta, the little girl who just wants to have fun. :D Since it's the story of an average family, it's almost only in Berlin and because it's all Dieter explaining a non-fiction story to someone, there really is no real plot at all, which in my opinion is the book's only major fault.

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is called Flames of the Tiger it is by John Wilson. This book is about a kid living in Germany named Dieter. He lives with his mom, dad, brother, and sister. He lives a normal life they go to the Olympics, have food and water and are not poor and live a happy life until Hitler is elected. After Hitler is elected his life changes. Hitler pretends that he is doing good for Germany. Dieters brother believes that Hitler is a good man and he is doing the right thing for Germany but his father thinks different. His father doesn't believes that Hitler is really doing the right thing and Dieter doesn't know what to believe.


What I liked about the book was that there was some action and that there was a lot of detail. One thing I didn't like about the book was that some parts of the book were boring and I was waiting for something to happen but sometimes it didn't happen for a while. One other thing that I liked about the book was that it was really realistic and that is the kind of thing that happened in real life during World War 2. I liked the characters in the book and the place it was set in but sometimes it was confusing where they really were. Some of the events that happened were good while others were confusing and I didn't really know what was going on. I also liked how some of the events in the book were related to something I know, like the Olympics, I can relate to that because I watch that on T.V.

[Hanah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book .... Flames of the Tiger, written by John Wilson. The book was about the life of a little boy and a little girl named Dieter and Greta. In this book Hitler became the Fuherer of Germany and started the holocaust. Both Dieter and his older brother Reinhard joined the Hitler Youth groups and became soldiers.

The worst thing about the book was when Reinhard explained to Dieter what resettling the Jews is. It was a very disturbing image to put in my head. It was also kind of interesting learning more about what they did to eliminate the Jewish Race. The best thing about the book was when Marcus told the Russian soldiers that Dieter was not a Nazi and stood up for Dieter. I thought it was cute and it lightened up the story line a bit (:

I think the characters are very realistic. They were all very interesting because they were all completely different in their own ways. Greta was adventurous, light hearted, always tried to lighten up everyones day and was very good at scrounging for food. Dieter was always very cautious and seemed to try to take down the Greta's spirit. And they were realistic because the author made them seem real. He described every little detail of what they did and where they were. The author made it very easy for me to visualize in my head what was going on in the book.

[Marissaann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The name of the Book is well... Flames of the tiger By John Wilson.
This book is about a boy named Dieter who is growing up in Nazi Germany. He was a just little toddler when the Nazi's started taking control. His older brother is involved in the German S.S. But Dieters father is opposed to war and to Hitler. Dieter is between his father and brother. As a teen in propaganda ridden Germany, Dieter still questions the morals of the Nazis. Later Dieter is sent to war with his brother watching over him, because near the end of the war the Germans were so desperate they began using boys, and Dieter at 16 is drafted. Dieter escapes with his sister and his journey to Canada to live with one of his dads friends to start a new life.

It was a semi-good book. I mean live Ive heard to many stories like this. Holocaust and all that. And the characters are not very original. To be honest I did not like the book at all. I have no favorite parts nor least favorite parts. I'm tired of hearing about all the terrible things that the Holocaust caused. Tis time to move on.

The theme was overplayed. The Holocaust, I know that it was a terrible time in history but there is to many books exactly like this. Is there nothing better to right about? Yes the message of the book got to me. War is no fun, tis not a funny thing to laugh at. Why can't war just stop? Tis not fair. I can not help it.

[Connor Clow · Rating 4 out of 5]

the book that i read was Flames Of The Tiger. the author is John Wilson. the book was about a dieter, a young boy who's dream was to fight for his country by joining the Nazi's. but then things go bad and him and his sister have to escape Berlin and go to Canada but as the they're walking through a battle field a huge tiger tank explodes sending sending bodies flying everywhere that's when they meet a Canadian soldier, Joe who was dying and dieter tells him his life story to keep him alive.

in my opinion the best part of the book was when dieter was sharing what his life was like before and during the war. I thought it was very interesting because i like to hear stories like that. i also liked because it makes me feel good and proud because we live in a safe country were there is no war going on in it. the part i didn't like was the ending because of the way it ended. I think it should have ended with dieter and Greta making it to Canada and it saying what their new life was like.

The plot was well thought out and very interesting. i enjoyed it and felt like i was really in the story and it was also very fascinating to read. i also liked the characters because i found them to be very realistic and vivid. i liked how the author made the characters some what mysterious and never gave away any of the big secrets till the end to keep the mystery going.

[Danton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book "flames of the Tiger" by John Wilson is a book about a young boy named Dieter who is trying to escape to Canada. as he and his sister go they meet a Canadian soldier named Joe. Dieter tells Joe his whole story. I really enjoyed reading this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat waiting for the next part to begin. I gave this book a four star rating because it was a little hard to follow at times.

The character Dieter is a courageous young boy who wants to grow up to be like his brother but wants to please his father so he is often caught in the middle of conflict. Greta,Dieter's sister, is a strong willed girl who doesn't like to be told what to do. This helps her when she and her family are trying to survive. The events of the book often line up with what actually happened in world war two.It was interesting finding out what went on in those days. The book is set in Berlin and show how a family reacted to the war. It was hard to see the real theme in the story and even though Dieter wasn't physically forced in the army he would have to join it in the long run.I really liked this book.

[Evan_p · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flames of the Tiger by John Wilson is a book about Dieter, a young boy who is forced to fight in WWII by Hitler in his Nazi Germany. This book starts with Dieter and his sister Greta in one of the Nazi Tiger tanks. Dieter and Greta see a missile flying right towards them so they jump out into the ditch. Then it flashes to a couple years earlier, when his older brother Reinhard discovers Hitler and the Nazi's and is encouraged by his peers to join the Hitler Youth Group with them. For the rest of the book it talks about Dieter on the battlefield and Dieter's life as a child.

I liked this book because it explained a lot about child soldiers and why it is bad.

[Daltonbisson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flames of the Tiger-John Wilson
This book is about a boy named Dieter Hammer, who grows up in Nazi Germany. As he tells his life story to a wounded Canadian soldier in World War Two.
The best thing about this book is the story line. Also Dieter is fighting in Caen because I thought it was intense and entertaining. The worst thing about this book is that there is very few action moments. Therefore making most of the book fairly boring.
The setting of this book is mostly Berlin, Germany. Also takes place in Caen, France during World War Two. I think the setting is interesting because Dieters story starts in "The Great Depression" of Germany after World War One. Meanwhile Dieter grows up in Nazi Germany. It ends in the "Fall of Berlin" late World War Two.

[Laura Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was called Flames of the tiger by John Wilson. It's pretty much about a brother and sister who experienced Hitler's rise and fall of fame. They promised their parents that they would go to Canada. So they did.

The best thing about this book was how intense it was. I never saw anything coming. It made me kind of mad when Reinhart died though. That was uncalled for.

I thought the characters were pretty cool. Deiter was very chill, which is a good thing. Greta was so cute and innocent, until the war broke out, then she became this epic monster with no concern. Reinhard was a hardcore rebel, he always went against his fathers wishes. The parents were pretty cool too, I love how old-fashioned the dad was, but I didn't like how the mom was kind of a spaz.

[Aleczander Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once Quintana is transferred from UCLA to the Rusk Institute at NYU, she will tell Didion that her memories of the preceding months are “mudgy.” Didion describes a similar “mudginess” as she attempts to reconstruct the weeks she spent with Quintana at UCLA. She has clear memories of attempting to delay Quintana’s tracheotomy. Didion later realizes that she resisted the procedure because it would mean that Quintana could not come home with her at a moment’s notice. Though the notion that Quintana’s condition would improve that rapidly is impossible, Didion holds onto the idea that they may leave the hospital and recuperate in Los Angeles or fly back to New York. Soon after Quintana gets the tracheotomy, they move her to a stepdown observational unit.

[SUPER BRETT · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book is called FLAMES OF THE TIGER wrote by John Wilson its about a young boy called dieter, who is very intreged by adolf hitler, but dieter is only 8 at the timeso he has no clue of what hitler has done to people.the book is very interesting things one of wich is that the story has a past and presant, in preasant day deiter with his sister is in a feld and he see's a blown up tiger tank wich lay in flames on the horizon as he crawls closer he hears gun shots, but its just the ammo in the tank going off, then they hear a nois but what,theres nothing there but as they search they nothing

[Matthew lol cat mclean · Rating 4 out of 5]

flames. of a tiger by john wilson was a good book it is a about a kid named deter that is is growing up in nazi .germany. he is forced to be a. nazi and fight in the war he .finds a Canadian solider and try's to keep him alive the human right that was violated in this boo.k is kid. soldiers. i tout this book was. good it got. kinda boring my favorite. part was when they went to the Olympias. i liked because they saw hitler. it was a good good bbok it got boring because it was the same thing over and over again the end

[Kieran · Rating 5 out of 5]

flames of the tiger was an amazing book! it had action, suspence, and at times a little romance! It is about a boy named Deiter and he is growing up WWII Nazi Germany. He is forced to join the Nazi SS at 16 years old. He is exited at first, but soon learns that war is not fun and games, it's all really death and destruction.


i recommend this book to anyone who is interusted in WWII/ Holocaust/ History in general! It is a very, VERY, good book!!!

[Tristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this book had a very good story line and gave a lot of detail. This book gives a different view about WW2 and the Holocaust. One thing I liked about this book is the flash backs because you have to get that he is telling a story to Joe the wounded soldier that they found by the Nazi tiger tank. I think the characters names fit with everyone in the story so altogether a good book.

[Downsyndromeprincess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flames of the tiger by: John Wilson |This book is about a boy named dieter who has grown up during the war and try to saved a downed canadian solder.



I thought its was an interesting book.I liked the fact that it gave you the perspective of both ends of people who were fight in the war.

[Lindsay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the idea of writing from a youth in Germany who was affected by WWII and was forced to grow up in the midst of Hitler's reign, but it was too simplistic overall. Best for the middle school level, not an adult.

[Trevor O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the few books that I read when I was younger that I would actually reread over and over again. This book is great for those looking to see what life is like of a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

it was a good book

[Sam Higgins]

its ok