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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
dark
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
3.5 I was intrigued to read the story of the young librarian in Auschwitz. I had never known books had been smuggled into the camps, and the story of Dita and her family and fellow inmates was unfathomable.
I agree with several of the other reviewers that there are several more powerful first hand accounts from this horrific period of history, but let’s keep in mind this is a young adult NOVEL. I think it does a wonderful job of describing the atrocious, life threatening conditions prisoners faced daily. Not many YA holocaust novels go into detail regarding these horrors. Because of this I would recommend mainly for high school readers, or very mature MS students.
Like the author states - Dita and his interviews provided the bricks of the story. I liked the inclusion of many important figures, Jewish and Nazi, and the follow-up of these real life characters.
Overall a great addition to the many stories detailing this incredibly important piece of history.
I agree with several of the other reviewers that there are several more powerful first hand accounts from this horrific period of history, but let’s keep in mind this is a young adult NOVEL. I think it does a wonderful job of describing the atrocious, life threatening conditions prisoners faced daily. Not many YA holocaust novels go into detail regarding these horrors. Because of this I would recommend mainly for high school readers, or very mature MS students.
Like the author states - Dita and his interviews provided the bricks of the story. I liked the inclusion of many important figures, Jewish and Nazi, and the follow-up of these real life characters.
Overall a great addition to the many stories detailing this incredibly important piece of history.
I really enjoyed this story, there are lots of different perspectives that shift between one another as seamlessly as a movie. I really enjoyed how he connected each characters story to the main theme of resilience. For much of it though there was an emotional detachment, and while at times I felt connected to the characters, there were many I didn’t.
Content:light amount of swearing, casual mentions of sex (not in detail), a homosexual character
Content:light amount of swearing, casual mentions of sex (not in detail), a homosexual character
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
I feel like the writing style (or maybe it was the translation?) Did this story a big disservice. It was like a textbook was trying to be a novel, but did not try hard enough. There were often shifts in POVs and in timelines that were not properly indicated or clear enough, most of the time, I was just confused and I feel like it took away from a story that did not dig deep enough into the emotion I'm looking to find in such stories.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This story was harrowing. It felt weird rating it as a fiction book when so much of it is based on true events. Dita (who is still alive at the time of this review!) is marvellous, and the afterword where the author discusses their time getting to meet Dita in person was so nice. Dita is, and was, truly the epitome of human resilience.
Naturally, reading about the Holocaust is always going to be reading true horror. The descriptions of the conditions of Auschwitz were gruesome and so upsetting. However, I think that books like this should be required reading. I also came away from this book feeling like I need to visit the real Auschwitz.
Naturally, reading about the Holocaust is always going to be reading true horror. The descriptions of the conditions of Auschwitz were gruesome and so upsetting. However, I think that books like this should be required reading. I also came away from this book feeling like I need to visit the real Auschwitz.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Classism, Pandemic/Epidemic