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Booklist starred (May 15, 2021 (Vol. 117, No. 18))
Grades 6-8. Best friends Leo, Elsa, and Max are celebrating Leo’s ninth birthday in 1936 Vienna. Leo’s papa takes their picture, and as their lives spin apart during the next five years, all three depend on their copy of that picture as a touchstone. Elsa, who is Jewish, loses her home, is forced into a ghetto, and is eventually transported to Auschwitz. Leo is Jewish, too, and after his papa is arrested, Leo and his mother try to escape Austria. Max, who was a bullied outcast before he met Elsa and Leo, is the son of a high-ranking Nazi, and he embraces the brainwashing camaraderie of the Hitler Youth movement. The heartbreaking narrative follows the characters across time and space as they age and struggle down their separate paths. And though they still remain connected to one another, a reunion now may bring only grief. Based on the real-life experiences of author Kessler’s relatives, the narrative is brutally honest and totally believable. Readers share the inner thoughts of each character as they adapt to their unimaginable circumstances. Despite the characters’ initial grade-school ages, this emotional novel is best suited for older middle-grade readers.
My Comments
A perfect ELA supplement for our 8th-grade Social Studies curriculum. Although the three friends are in elementary school initially, they grow both in age and emotionally as the war wreaks havoc on their lives and friendships. This is a powerful story, but as the reviewer notes, it is best suited for older middle school students. Highly recommended.
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