BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Lauren Tarshis

Title: I Survived The Nazi Invasion, 1944

Author: Lauren Tarshis

Publisher: Scholastic

Ages: 7-11

Synopsis:

In a Polish ghetto, Max Rosen and his sister, Zena, struggle to live after their father is taken away by the Nazis. With barely enough food to survive, the siblings make a daring escape from Nazi soldiers into the nearby forest.

Max and Zena are brought to a safe camp by Jewish resistance fighters. But soon, bombs are falling all around them. Can Max and Zena survive the fallout of the Nazi invasion?

Why I think you should read it:

I'm currently doing research for book three of my early reader historical fiction series so of course my latest to-read titles are going to be along those same lines.

I like the "I Survived" series. These gripping stories are well written and include an imaginary cast of characters who seem so real that I'm speeding through pages just to see if they do indeed survive!

Max is a protective big brother who can't understand all the senseless hate coming from people he once thought were his friends. He begins to lose hope things will ever get better while trying his best to protect his younger sister from the realities of a country torn apart by war.

With both parents gone, Zena has only Max to look after her. Life in a Nazi ghetto can easily destroy hope in a person but brave Zena still manages to see hope in every day things like a robin flying by.

Readers interested in learning more about natural and historical events will enjoy the I Survived series!

Like-o-meter Rating scale **: 5 out of 5...grab it!

**

5 out of 5...grab it!

4 out of 5...think about it.

3 out of 5...take it or leave it.

2 out of 5...maybe not for you.

1 out of 5...forget about it!

Blurb: Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.

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BOOK NOOK REVIEWS: Irma Joubert

Title: The Girl From The Train

Authors: Irma Joubert

Publisher: Harper Collins Christian Publishing

Ages: Adult

Synopsis:

Six-year-old Gretl Schmidt is on a train bound for Auschwitz. Jakób Kowalski is planting a bomb on the tracks. Gretl escapes the train only to find herself lost in a country that hates her Jewish ancestry. Hurt and alone, Jakob discovers her and guilt prompts him to help her. For the next three years the two form a bond over the secrets they hide from his family.

Eventually Gretl is sent to South Africa, where German war orphans are promised bright futures with adoptive Protestant families—so long as Gretl’s Jewish roots, Catholic education, and connections to communist Poland are never discovered.
Saying goodbye to the only friend she has, Gretl is fearful they will never see each other again. But the events they have both survived have laid a foundation of love that even being separated by politics, religion, language, and years can’t undo.

Why I think you should read it:

From the very first moment when I’m falling from the train with Gretl and trying to defend myself against the cuts and bruises of rolling down the hillside, I was on a literary journey like no other. Gretl’s fears were my own as I wondered how she would survive hiding from the German search dogs or even find shelter in a country who despised her Jewish heritage?

Ms. Joubert is a magical storyteller who weaves gripping suspense with heart wrenching emotion into a story based on true events about a little orphan fighting to survive the effects of the Nazi war effort. Little Gretl can’t even relax her guard when she finds herself adopted by Protestant parents because one slip of her tongue could reveal her past and seal her doom. I was on the edge of my seat until the very last page. An absolute MUST read!

Like-o-meter Rating scale **: 5 out of 5…grab it!

**

5 out of 5...grab it!

4 out of 5...think about it.

3 out of 5...take it or leave it.

2 out of 5...maybe not for you.

1 out of 5...forget about it!

Blurb: Addie comes from a long line of readers or "story catchers" as her family likes to call themselves. Every time Addie tries to catch a story on her own the wiggly words play tricks on her. She tries different ways to make those words sit still but it will take a little faith for Addie to become the next STORY CATCHER.