Schulman, L.B. Stolen Secrets

Schulman, L.B.            Stolen Secrets            Boyd's Mills Press     2017   303p   17.95  978-1-62979-722-9            ms/hs Historical        E-BN   

Livvy and her mother move to California for a new start.  Instead, Livvy finds herself embarking on a journey of discovery, first to figure out who Oma (Grandmother) really is and second, to find recovery from alcoholism for Livvy’s mother.  With historical fiction as the setting and the Holocaust as a compelling topic, Livvy finds herself completely absorbed. This novel is engrossing as much for its suggestion of new possibilities as for its well-developed, believable plot.  The possibilities allow for a new interpretation of Anne Frank’s experience in Bergen-Belsen, and the drama that unravels is both startling and thought-provoking.  When Livvy and her mother make a move to San Francisco, Livvy believes it is to make a new start.  Instead, it is about picking up a relationship that she had believed to be long gone, a relationship with her grandmother.  Conflicts begin instantly:  man v man pits Livvy against a caregiver named Vickie, a woman who is untrustworthy and sly as a fox; man v. self pits Mother against her drinking,(why does she relapse now of all times? Livvy must figure this out.); man v society pits Grandmother against a society that hated Jews in the middle of the century and now against herself as, with Alzheimers, she struggles to make sense of her fragmented memories.  It is up to Livvy to figure out Oma’s role in all this, and with the help of new acquaintance Franklin D, she embarks on a journey to self-discovery that will leave readers asking lots of questions about themselves.  When Livvy finds diary pages about a concentration camp, she realizes that her grandmother has secrets that are profound.  Livvy comes to believe her grandmother knew Anne Frank in her last days, or, to be Anne Frank!  This cast of characters comes together to make the reader ponder Frank’s final days.  The plot keeps the reader fascinated, and the climax and resolution are stunning.  Writing of this quality is unimaginable, as much for its creativity as for its style and message.                               Squaresky(2), Martha          Livvy’s grandmother is hiding secret from WWII