Sometimes friendships form between the least likely people. Beauty and the Beast, Katniss and Peeta, the son of a Nazi and a kid inside a concentration camp… What's that? You're not familiar with the last example? Well, say hello to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, then, a book that tells just this tale.

Published in 2006, this book by John Boyne is told from the point of view of nine-year-old Bruno, the German son of a Nazi soldier who moves with his family from Berlin to Poland. And when he arrives, it turns out that their new house is just a stone's throw away from the Auschwitz concentration camp. Uh-oh… But while plenty of terribleness ensues, something really incredible happens, too: Bruno befriends a kid on the other side of the fence, Shmuel. And these two become the truest of friends.

If you're looking for a book brimming with facts about the Holocaust and World War II, this is not that book (go ask a librarian for help, though—she'll hook you up). If, however, you're a sucker for against-all-odds friendship stories, then look no further. Majorly applauded, as well as turned into a major motion picture, there's no denying this book packs a punch on the friendship and storytelling fronts.

That said, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas has also received some scathing—and we do mean scathing—criticism. For all the love it's received, it's also been knocked off its pedestal time and again. So whether friendship's your thing or not, pick up a copy, then join in the debate. Who knows? Maybe you'll form your own unlikely friendship in the process.

Be honest: Have you ever taken no for an answer? We'll admit that we have. And we're not just talking about when we'd ask our moms for more ice cream as kids—we've accepted nos and never minds and don't worry about its in response to more important queries before, too. Sometimes we've felt fine about this afterward—it's important to pick your battles, after all—but others, we haven't felt so good about. Sometimes you just have to keep pushing for an answer in order to fight the good fight.

And this is a lesson that The Boy in the Striped Pajamas teaches in spades. No one wants to tell Bruno, the main character, anything—and as the child of a Nazi commandant, who lives literally right next door to Auschwitz, he sees plenty of things that leave him curious about what's really going on. But whenever he asks, he's always brushed aside or told not to concern himself with such matters. Without giving away the ending, let's just say his unwillingness to insist on more information comes to cost him dearly.

While we hope you never encounter anything even remotely like the Holocaust, we're certain that you will encounter more moments in which you're given the choice to push for knowledge or turn away. And after reading this book, you just might find yourself refusing to quit your quest.