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anbar 's review for:
The Dollmaker of Krakow
by R.M. Romero
A difficult book to review. It has a light, fairytale feel in the story of a doll that comes to life and is the companion of a lonely toymaker, but it also deals with the pretty heavy subject matter of the Nazis persecuting the Jews and sending people to their deaths. That part isn't told or shown in a graphic way, so it's not unsuitable for grade-school-aged kids--due to family history, I grew up hearing WW2 stories from kindergarten-age, and I wouldn't call it traumatizing (rather, I'd call it important), especially in the age-appropriate non-graphic way used here; the novel could be more of a conversation-starter for kids just learning about it, but fair warning: it does get very sad. By the end, this is NOT a feel-good story; it's more a story of those who endure great cruelty and survive great loss, and what do you do with all of those complex feelings after you've come out the other side. It did leave a bit of a heavy feeling in me at the end. But there's also the good lesson and ray of hope in the story's core message that helping someone is the right thing to do, and even if you help only one person, that small victory is better than doing nothing.
A good story with some well-written lines, but not a light and easy read.
A good story with some well-written lines, but not a light and easy read.