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julesthefool's review against another edition
5.0
I began this book not knowing what it was. It was on audible so i thought why not. man. i wasn’t expecting to have so many feelings about this. this is beautiful and everyone should read it.
one of my favorite books i’ve read this year for sure.
one of my favorite books i’ve read this year for sure.
juliaspaperback's review against another edition
4.0
My Real Name is Hanna is based off of real events of the Stermer family. You follow Hanna, a 14 year old, and her family through Stalin and then Hitler invading their hometown.
"My name is Hanna Slivka. I was born on February twenty-second, in the winter of 1928. I am still breathing. This is my story."
The book is YA so it is ok for younger readers but at the same time it's relevant for adults. The writing seems monotone and straightforward to me, but I can't see this story being told any other way. You follow a young girl and her family through a span of years where their life goes from normal to horrible. I think the author did a great job at retelling the Stermer's story and those around them with similar experiences. One thing that was a new reading experience for myself was reading about the families experiences fleeing their homes to live in bunkers, and then in underground caves. I had not read accounts of situations such as this and learned something new.
This book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
The only negative thing I experienced while reading this book is the copywrite and cuts in text since it is a free, advanced copy of the book. Despite the interrupted story all throughout the book I enjoyed Hanna's story. I am not including this in my rating as it has nothing to do with the story but was merely a minor obstacle.
"My name is Hanna Slivka. I was born on February twenty-second, in the winter of 1928. I am still breathing. This is my story."
The book is YA so it is ok for younger readers but at the same time it's relevant for adults. The writing seems monotone and straightforward to me, but I can't see this story being told any other way. You follow a young girl and her family through a span of years where their life goes from normal to horrible. I think the author did a great job at retelling the Stermer's story and those around them with similar experiences. One thing that was a new reading experience for myself was reading about the families experiences fleeing their homes to live in bunkers, and then in underground caves. I had not read accounts of situations such as this and learned something new.
This book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley in return for an honest review.
The only negative thing I experienced while reading this book is the copywrite and cuts in text since it is a free, advanced copy of the book. Despite the interrupted story all throughout the book I enjoyed Hanna's story. I am not including this in my rating as it has nothing to do with the story but was merely a minor obstacle.
jenacidebybibliophile's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: This book was sent to me by the author, Tara Lynn Masih, for an honest review.
Opinion:
“My last thought, before I say the Shema, is of the young mother Jacob told us about, while he choked on his own tears-a mother who smothered her own child in her winter coat before the shot came, so the child would not feel the bullet.”
A book hasn’t left me speechless in a while…
…
But here I am…
…speechless.
This book will ignite a fire in your bones and put an ache in your heart.
It is a beautiful, devastating and horrific story, but a story of one light that is incapable of being extinguished.
A light that burns so fiercely with conviction, resilience, hope and determination.
That light is the Slivka family.
My Real Name is Hanna is set in a small Ukrainian village called Kwasova where the reader is introduced to fourteen-year-old Hanna in May of 1941 at the height of Adolf Hitler’s reign. She describes the drastic changes to her town, the way neighbors and villagers begin to shun her family, and the non-Jewish children who throw stones at her siblings. How countless signs paint the Jewish people to be disease ridden with lice and infection, and that they should be eradicated from the Earth. As the Germans attempt to make Ukraine “Jew Free”, Hanna and her family are forced to flee their home into the forest. For two years they hide with other families in first a small shelter, and then underground caves for thirteen months.
“We leave on the first cloudy night, so the moon won’t betray our fleeing figures.”
It is never easy reading the terrifying experiences that millions were subjected to during WWII. But it is especially difficult living those moments with a character you cherish so deeply, as they experience each second of terror, confusion and fear. Hanna is everything I could ever hope to become in life. She is brave, unyielding, and hopeful. She is a force that sees the beauty and kindness in the world, even when the same world seems so set on ripping her to pieces.
She exudes a strength that is almost unfathomable for a girl so young. She is impossible not to love as she portrays such compassion and care to her family members, and the families that run with them. But reading about Hanna was exhausting. It put a cloud over my already blue head, cut my air supply in half, and made my stomach flutter with anxiousness.
Reading this book is like holding Hanna’s hand as she is forced to live in darkness; starving and scared. All you can do is sit in silence, and hope that she lives.
“For she was in a black dungeon…for she was in a cage…She had been in that cage a long time now, but now long enough to break her spirit.”
Where reality really set in for me, is when the families arrive at the caves. Their plan is to live underground, in the hopes that they won’t be found and that they can survive until the war ends. Though this story was incredibly sad up until this point, my stomach didn’t actually drop to the floor until Hanna began crawling inside. To say this moment is heavy, would be a completely inappropriate and horrid description of the situation.
It isn’t heavy.
It’s devastation.
But with each moment of bleakness and suffering, there are tokens of brightness littering this story as well. Countless people assist the families in finding shelter and food, there are meaningful stories shared during their days in hiding, and a tree that is a symbol of their hope and salvation. The writing is superbly done, and the voice of Hanna is captured beautifully by the author. She is youthful and views her surroundings with a tint of innocence, but knows the seriousness of the situation she and her family are in. She is an old soul full of wisdom and strength, and you can’t help but look up to her.
Though these characters are fictional and created by the author, the Slivka family is based on real-life survivor Esther Stermer, her extended family and four other families who survived WWII by hiding in caves for over 500 days. My Name is Hanna is an incredibly important story that NEEDS to be shared with all ages. In a world where there is so much hate and lack of communication and listening, this book will will serve as a reminder that we are all human and deserve the same amount of decency.
Please read this. It’s important.
“I am jealous of how quickly they forget”.
Opinion:
“My last thought, before I say the Shema, is of the young mother Jacob told us about, while he choked on his own tears-a mother who smothered her own child in her winter coat before the shot came, so the child would not feel the bullet.”
A book hasn’t left me speechless in a while…
…
But here I am…
…speechless.
This book will ignite a fire in your bones and put an ache in your heart.
It is a beautiful, devastating and horrific story, but a story of one light that is incapable of being extinguished.
A light that burns so fiercely with conviction, resilience, hope and determination.
That light is the Slivka family.
My Real Name is Hanna is set in a small Ukrainian village called Kwasova where the reader is introduced to fourteen-year-old Hanna in May of 1941 at the height of Adolf Hitler’s reign. She describes the drastic changes to her town, the way neighbors and villagers begin to shun her family, and the non-Jewish children who throw stones at her siblings. How countless signs paint the Jewish people to be disease ridden with lice and infection, and that they should be eradicated from the Earth. As the Germans attempt to make Ukraine “Jew Free”, Hanna and her family are forced to flee their home into the forest. For two years they hide with other families in first a small shelter, and then underground caves for thirteen months.
“We leave on the first cloudy night, so the moon won’t betray our fleeing figures.”
It is never easy reading the terrifying experiences that millions were subjected to during WWII. But it is especially difficult living those moments with a character you cherish so deeply, as they experience each second of terror, confusion and fear. Hanna is everything I could ever hope to become in life. She is brave, unyielding, and hopeful. She is a force that sees the beauty and kindness in the world, even when the same world seems so set on ripping her to pieces.
She exudes a strength that is almost unfathomable for a girl so young. She is impossible not to love as she portrays such compassion and care to her family members, and the families that run with them. But reading about Hanna was exhausting. It put a cloud over my already blue head, cut my air supply in half, and made my stomach flutter with anxiousness.
Reading this book is like holding Hanna’s hand as she is forced to live in darkness; starving and scared. All you can do is sit in silence, and hope that she lives.
“For she was in a black dungeon…for she was in a cage…She had been in that cage a long time now, but now long enough to break her spirit.”
Where reality really set in for me, is when the families arrive at the caves. Their plan is to live underground, in the hopes that they won’t be found and that they can survive until the war ends. Though this story was incredibly sad up until this point, my stomach didn’t actually drop to the floor until Hanna began crawling inside. To say this moment is heavy, would be a completely inappropriate and horrid description of the situation.
It isn’t heavy.
It’s devastation.
But with each moment of bleakness and suffering, there are tokens of brightness littering this story as well. Countless people assist the families in finding shelter and food, there are meaningful stories shared during their days in hiding, and a tree that is a symbol of their hope and salvation. The writing is superbly done, and the voice of Hanna is captured beautifully by the author. She is youthful and views her surroundings with a tint of innocence, but knows the seriousness of the situation she and her family are in. She is an old soul full of wisdom and strength, and you can’t help but look up to her.
Though these characters are fictional and created by the author, the Slivka family is based on real-life survivor Esther Stermer, her extended family and four other families who survived WWII by hiding in caves for over 500 days. My Name is Hanna is an incredibly important story that NEEDS to be shared with all ages. In a world where there is so much hate and lack of communication and listening, this book will will serve as a reminder that we are all human and deserve the same amount of decency.
Please read this. It’s important.
“I am jealous of how quickly they forget”.
ddurst20's review against another edition
4.0
I found her OPINION at the end in bad taste. If it had been stated differently I could see it being something that was worth noting.
justjoel's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a little frustrating at times. Ostensibly written for a YA audience, the simplistic writing style veered more toward younger children, while the subject matter (WWII, Holocaust) was definitely YA and above.
I think maybe I've reached a saturation point with novels of this type, because at this point I'm looking for something new, and this book didn't really have it. It was a retread of a great many other stories all mashed together, even though it was supposed to be a fictionalized account of a real family's story.
I felt like it borrowed too much from other stories and wasn't wholly its own creation. As such, I wasn't really gripped by the story as it seemed like something I've read a dozen or more times already.
2 out of 5 stars.
I think maybe I've reached a saturation point with novels of this type, because at this point I'm looking for something new, and this book didn't really have it. It was a retread of a great many other stories all mashed together, even though it was supposed to be a fictionalized account of a real family's story.
I felt like it borrowed too much from other stories and wasn't wholly its own creation. As such, I wasn't really gripped by the story as it seemed like something I've read a dozen or more times already.
2 out of 5 stars.
smkean's review against another edition
4.0
My Real Name is Hanna was an emotionally powerful read. Based on true events during WW2, this book centers on Hanna's family as they are driven from their home and into the forest to hide from the Nazis. There's a horribly realistic feel to the storytelling but it manages to not push too far, the pain as well as the hope these people felt comes through. I enjoyed the sense of family, community and Jewish traditions that brought light to the bleakness of the time. I think this is terrific for middle grade/YA readers with an interest in what things were like for the Jewish community during the Nazi takeovers.
brittanyhyphen's review against another edition
challenging
dark
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mdpbernal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0