SOLVED. Historical Fiction Book on Mentally Challenged Kid during WW2 [s]

[Ashley]

Hey recently I have started to try to find this book I read a while ago. It's about this boy who lives in Germany (?) I think and lives through WW2.

He's a kid, but he's also kind of slow, so you see everything that happens through his eyes. The reason I think he's also slow is because throughout the book he never catches on to what is going on around him. Like for example, he doesn't understand it's "bad" to be a gypsy when someone calls him that, so he runs up to a Nazi soldier and tells him. Luckily the soldier just laughs at him. He's an orphan I think (there are no parents in the book, as far as I can recall).

I'm pretty sure the title is one word, and has something to do with worms or cotton or something. I might be totally wrong about that though.

For a while he lives in a ghetto, sneaking out to steal food and living with this girl's family. I remember this one scene where to get rid of lice the kids hit each other really hard to shake the lice off of them.

**SPOILER, but not really, I think we all know what happened during the Holocaust**

Anyways his girl friend (not girlfriend) and her family are sent away on a train. Somehow he isn't (don't really remember how) but he is really upset that he is not on the train with her. Someone tells him they were going to the "ovens" so he walks along the train tracks and tearfully tells the farmers he passes by he wants to go to the ovens too. I remember I kind of cried at this point.

Oh well, if anyone can help and tell me the title of the book that would be great. I hope I described it well enough. Thanks!

[Tab]

Sounds like Milkweed

[Ashley]

Tab wrote: "Sounds like Milkweed"

YES THAT IS IT!! Thank you, it was driving me insane :D