Schulman, L.B. Stolen Secrets.

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

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-versus-man pits Livvy against a caregiver named Vickie, a woman who is untrustworthy and sly as a fox; man-versus-self pits Mother against her drinking (why does she relapse now, of all times? Livvy must figure this out); man-versus-society pits her grandmother Oma 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 profound secrets.  Livvy comes to believe her grandmother knew Anne Frank in her last days, or is herself 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.

Summary: 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 her grandmother really is, and secondly, to help her mother recover from alcoholism.  With post-war America as the setting and the Holocaust as a compelling topic, Livvy finds herself completely absorbed.

World War II-Fiction, Holocaust-Fiction             --Martha Squaresky

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Making Bombs For Hitler.

Skrypuch, Marsha Forchuk. Making Bombs For Hitler. Scholastic Press     2017  230p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-545-93191-5      ms/jr   Historical Fiction  VG-BN  

In this historical novel, Lida, a young Ukrainian girl, is captured from her home by the Nazis during the early '40s. Her little sister is also captured by the Nazis, and the two girls are separated. For years, Lida works as a slave for the Nazis and wonders if her little sister is still alive. Her only goal is to find her sister, and this sustains her through some very brutal experiences.

Working as a slave for the Nazis, Lida learns a lot about the tenacity of the human spirit. She bands together with her fellow slaves and tries to make their lives bearable by singing, talking and sharing whatever she can with them. At first she works as a seamstress, but then she finds herself working in a factory along with others, making bombs for the Nazi forces. One day the girls discover that they can sabotage the bombs they are making by stuffing them with dirt instead of explosive chemicals.

Lida’s story is a very sad one, about the suffering of innocent children at the hands of brutal dictators and murderers. It can be heavy-going at times and should be read by kids in the context of studying World War Two and the Holocaust. At the end there is a glimmer of hope for Lida, which is very rewarding for the young reader, if a little bit unrealisitc. But along the way, the author has dealt unflinchingly with the horrors of war, and specifically this war. A timeline and further explanation would have been helpful, although there is an author’s note at the end of the book.            

Summary: In this historical novel, Lida, a young Ukrainian girl, and her little sister are captured from their home by the Nazis and separated. Lida works as a slave for the Nazis and wonders if her little sister is still alive. Her one goal is to find her sister, and this goal sustains her through some very brutal experiences.  

Holocaust                                                         --Carol Kennedy

Wiviott, Meg.  Paper Hearts.  Simon & Schuster/McElderry Books  2015  368p.  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-4814-3983-1  ms/hs  Historical fiction  E-BN     

The story is a fictionalized account of a group of girls who become friends in the Auschwitz death camp as they struggle to survive and work in a munitions factory.  In 1944, Zlatka and the other girls make a birthday card for Fania, her best friend in the group, to mark her twentieth birthday.  This undertaking is an enormous risk for them, and the origami heart is treasured and hidden through the remaining time in the camp and the death marches afterward.  The actual heart can be seen at the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre.  The story is told in verse format and covers flashbacks to life before the war, the dark days in the camp, and the daily struggles and familial losses of the inmates.  It is a tale of love and loss, hope and survival.  Highly recommended for secondary collections.

Summary: Fictionalized account of girls who become friends in the Auschwitz death camp and the risks that they take to make a simple paper birthday card for one member of their group.

Holocaust-Fiction, Novels in verse                          --Stephanie Pennucci

Cerrito, Angela. The Safest Lie.

Cerrito, Angela.  The Safest Lie.  Holiday House  2015  180p  $16.95  ISBN 978-0-8234-3310-0  ms  Historical fiction  E-BN     

This novel follows the life of one young Jewish girl in Poland during the German occupation during World War Two, as she is moved from her family home to keep her safe from the Nazis.  Anna, who is only nine years old, must take on a new identity as a non-Jew and be housed first by a family in a safe house, then by nuns in a Catholic orphanage, and finally by another family that is involved in the Polish Resistance movement.  Moment by moment, the reader is drawn into Anna’s feelings and thoughts as she negotiates her difficult life and sticks to her assumed identity.  The story is based on the true story of a Polish woman who rescued children from the Nazis, and the author met and spoke with this person before writing the book.  Because of the excellent writing, the reader becomes intrigued with Anna and the other characters she encounters along her way, and feels a deep connection with her and with all the children who suffered as a result of the Holocaust and the war.      

Summary:  This novel follows the life of one young Jewish girl in Poland during the German occupation during World War Two, as she is moved from her family home to keep her safe from the Nazis.        

World War II-Fiction, Holocaust-Fiction                     --Carol Kennedy

Hidden.

Dauvillier, Loic, and others.  Hidden.    Macmillan/First Second  2014  76p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-873-6  ms     Graphic novel E-BN 

Hidden is the fictional account of a young girl, Dounia, who is hidden by her neighbors when her parents are put into concentration camps during the Holocaust.  The story is told by a grandmother to her granddaughter, even though she has never shared the experiences with her son.  The story covers the time just before Dounia is forced to wear a yellow star and the Jewish population begins to be harrassed and ostracized.  She spends her time on a farm outside of Paris until the war is over and it is safe to return to the city and try to locate her parents.

Summary: This is the fictional account of a young girl who is hidden by neighbors when her parents are put into concentration camps during the Holocaust.

Holocaust-Fiction                                     --Stephanie Pennucci