The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die: A Graphic Memoir

by Peter Lantos

A story of survival, of love between mother and son and of enduring hope in the face of unspeakable hardship. An important read.

The Boy Who Didn't Want to Die describes an extraordinary journey, made by Peter, a boy of five, through war-torn Europe in 1944 and 1945.

Peter and his parents set out from a small Hungarian town, travelling through Austria and then Germany together.

Along the way, unforgettable images of adventure flash one after another: sleeping in a tent and then under the sky, discovering a disused brick factory, catching butterflies in the meadows - and as Peter realises that this adventure is really a nightmare - watching bombs falling from the blue sky outside Vienna, learning maths from his mother in Belsen.

All this is drawn against a background of terror, starvation, infection and, inevitably, death, before Peter and his mother can return home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, Memoir, History

Paperback

Published January 1, 2025

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the full novel first and loved how well the graphic version followed the story. I could "hear" the author's voice throughout the graphic. It was a spare retelling, focusing on the nearly contstant movement the boy and his family went through to survive the different stages of the war. Black, white, blues, and greys with clear font made this easy to follow. It would be a good introduction for younger students who don't have a lot of background knowledge about the Holocaust. If I had to choose the graphic or the novel, I'd pick the novel - it's much more powerful but also has the child-like voice of the graphic.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very moving, factual record of the experience of one Jewish Hungarian family during the Holocaust. There is nothing here of sentiment, but nonetheless deeply moving.
These accounts need to be recorded, lest we forget.

[Francesca Pashby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely heartwrenching ... and yet the world edges towards the same situation again.

Do humans learn nothing?

[Olga · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up and instantly thought, yes, this is exactly what our kids need on the shelves.

The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die takes Peter Lantos’s memoir and turns it into something beautifully accessible for younger readers - honest, quietly devastating, and respectful of its subject without ever tipping into trauma-for-shock-value. It gives Holocaust history to 9+ in a way that feels truthful but not overwhelming, and the graphic format carries so much emotional weight without losing clarity.

Told through Peter’s five-year-old eyes, the story begins with a child’s sense of adventure and slowly, heartbreakingly, shifts into the reality of a world collapsing. The tent nights, the long walks, the strange new places… all of it slowly curdles into something darker as he witnesses fear, starvation, separation and the quiet, constant threat of death. And yet - threaded through it all - is love. His mother teaching him maths in Belsen. Small glimmers of humanity. The stubborn, instinctive hope of a child who simply refuses to stop surviving.

Victoria Stebleva’s artwork is stunning in its restraint: greys and blacks capturing despair, cut through by strokes of blue whenever childhood or hope flickers through the darkness. It’s haunting, but never overwhelming - perfect for young readers who need honesty without graphic horror.

This is exactly the kind of Holocaust narrative our students need: factual, compassionate, age-appropriate, and rooted in lived experience rather than fiction. A bridge for children who aren’t ready for Night but deserve more depth than The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

I’m genuinely glad I bought it for the school library. Books like this plant truth early and gently. They matter.

[Vivian Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Lantos’ graphic novel, The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Die, shares the powerful story of his childhood during the Holocaust in 1944-1945 - a heartbreaking yet deeply moving account of one Jewish Hungarian family’s struggle to survive in war-torn Europe.

Told through young Peter’s eyes, the story begins with a sense of adventure, but that quickly fades as the harsh reality of war sets in. From being forced into a ghetto to enduring inhumane conditions and the loss of loved ones, Lantos's journey had me teary at quite a few parts.

What makes this story especially impactful is how it’s pitched for younger readers: honest and emotional, but never overly graphic or distressing. It’s a thoughtful way to introduce children to the Holocaust, while also exploring themes of hope, resilience, and family.

The illustrations by Victoria Stebleva add another layer of meaning. Blue is used to represent childhood innocence and moments of hope, while grey captures bleakness and despair. The contrast is subtle but powerful, and it beautifully complements the tone of the story.

Thank you Definitely Books Kids (Pansing) for sending this touching middle grade graphic novel over for my review!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un roman graphique poignant du point de vie d’un petit garçon innocent qui va découvrir les cruautés de l’humanité.

Peter, 5 ans, nous raconte son histoire et celle de sa famille juive originaire de Hongrie. De leur transportation dans un ghetto jusqu’au camp de Bergen-Belsen puis à la libération, nous découvrons à travers les yeux d’un petit garçon les atrocités commises.

Les dessins sont simples mais réalistes tout comme les mots choisis par l’auteur pour raconter son histoire. Simples mais efficaces.

Un petit garçon touchant qui pose beaucoup de questions, à l’instar des enfants de son âge. Mais il doit grandir plus vite que prévu dans un contexte difficile. Peter n’a que 5 ans au moment où lui et sa famille sont obligés de quitter leur maison. Et pourtant il fait preuve d’une grande maturité pour son âge.

C’est un roman graphique à destination d’un jeune public et je trouve que l’auteur et le graphiste ont réalisé un travail remarquable pour véhiculer ce message. C’est une histoire poignante et pourtant si réelle.

[Jessica Edmonds · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really heart-touching book based on real events from a little boy who survived the holocaust during WW2. We read this in placement alongside our History topic of WW2. The children were engaged through the whole book and it put events into perspective for them. The illustrations were meaningful and the author, Peter Lantos, said that he used the use of the blue colour to signify moments where he felt hope and grey to show the distress and upsetting times.

[Helen Kingsley Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

GDST Book Award - Book 1.
A really great adaptation of the novel in graphic novel form. This memoir was v popular with Y5/6 book club and lovely to receive communication from the author which brought home the real life events retold in the memoir.

[readingwithjaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hadn’t realized this is originally a novel. I found it at a bookstore a couple of weeks ago and had never heard of it before, so I knew I had to read it. It’s a harrowing story about a young boy’s experience in the Holocaust. I loved the story and the art style and I would 100% recommend it.

[Amy Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful graphic novel of a small boy's hard life.

Stebleva (the illustrator) used the colour blue within the graphic novel to represent childhood innocence and joy. This was a brilliant contrast against the greyscale nature of the whole of the book.
At several parts of this book it almos thad me crying. I was reading this during a library lesson with my students at the part when Peter recounted how his Aunt Anna and Cousin Szuszi were loaded onto a train and never seen again. It was not until the end of the war, when Peter and his mother return home that they find out that Anna and Szuszi were on a train to Auschwitz.
Auschwitz.
It is one word that makes you automatically understand that they died.

For those who were intrigued by 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' by John Boyne, this graphic memoir would also be enlightening.

[Rose Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have already read the original novel, but as I was buying this GN for my school library I decided to read it too. It's just as good, and covers all the main points from the original book. The pictures help with the story for children, and there are descriptions in the text as well as speech bubbles.
An amazing account of a little boy's survival in WW2