Es ist schon lange her, dass ich es gelesen habe. Ich weiß aber noch, dass es mich sehr bewegt hat. Beängstigend... ( )

I was around fourteen years old when we were shown the film in class and I did not come across this novelization until over a decade later, when schooltime cliques and peer pressure were distant memories. Perhaps as a result, I found the story to alternate between juvenility and illogicality, which wasn't helped by questionable copyediting. ( )

This is still one of the most interesting (and unethical) experiments done on group mentality and when communities become unhealthy. Although this ending is pretty true to what actually happened, the ending in "Die Welle" seems more accurate. ( )

¿Cómo se produce el fascismo? Un joven profesor decide llevar a cabo un experimento inusual. En la clase de historia del instituto quiere demostrar a sus alumnos que el fascismo no es un fenómeno del pasado circunscrito a un país, sino que la mentalidad y el comportamiento fascistas pueden desarrollarse en cualquier momento y en cualquier parte. Pero el «movimiento» que pone en marcha se le escapa de las manos.

I read this to see if I'd want to assign it to my class. I'm going to assign it although I have reservations. The writing is really weak, but the lesson is strong. We won't spend a lot of time reading the book (it's a quick read), but it'll be a good springboard into deeper discussions.

As far as the book, Strasser's writing is too simplistic. He either underestimates teen readers, or just wasn't up to the task himself. The character development isn't really there either and the story ends so abruptly it's as if he was working to hit a word count and made it, so called it a day.

What ultimately helped me decide to go with assigning the book is the fact that National Poetry Month is coming up in April, so I'll have the opportunity to put real talent and artistry in front of students at that point. ( )