The night war” Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Rated 5 stars ARC. Dial Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House). To be published April 9, 2024. 281 p. (Includes “Author’s note.”)

Miriam and her parents lived in Germany until forced to flee to Paris after Kristallnacht when she was eight years old. After living in cramped quarters for four years, food supplies were dwindling, and her father was forced to go into hiding. Soon afterwards she was separated from her mother when the French police rounded up everyone and sent them to the Velodrome d’Hiver for deportation. During the confusion Miriam’s neighbor urged her to save her two-year-old daughter Nora and flee to Switzerland. Unsure of what to do, Miriam took Nora and tried to mingle with the onlookers. After being spotted by a German soldier, they were rescued by a young nun.

In time, Miriam was sent to a convent school and separated from Nora. To survive she needed to forget her Jewishness, but her failure to protect Nora and escape to Switzerland haunted her waking moments. After Sister Dominique took her to visit the nearby castle of Chenonceau, things changed when she became involved in the Resistance and met the ghost of Catherine de Medici.

With the addition of a ghost, young readers learn about France’s history as well as its role in World War II.

Recommended for ages 11-14.

“Uprising” Jennifer A. Nielsen

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Scholastic Press (Scholastic). 356 p. (Includes period photographs, and “Author’s note.”) To be published March 5, 2024.

Lidia Janina Durr Zakrzewski was born in Poland and, when Germany invaded Poland in 1939 to start World War II, she was 15 years old. She had always been a strong-willed child, her father’s favorite, and the bane of her mother’s existence. When he left home to fight for Poland, she was devastated. Within a short time the Nazis took away their house, her beloved piano, and the money her father had left them to survive. Lidia, her older brother, and her mother struggled to put food on the table and to keep a roof over their heads.

After Poland fell, the mistreatment of Jews became something Lidia saw on a regular basis. Forced to move to a squalid neighborhood, the bedroom window of their apartment overlooked the Warsaw Ghetto. There, she noticed Jews starving and being sent to concentration camps. Lidia did her best to sneak food into the Ghetto, knowing that being caught would mean instant death.

Lidia’s anger against the occupation of her country stoked a fire in her to join the Polish resistance. Her brother was a member but, despite his objections, she joined. She survived harrowing near-death experiences, multiple injuries, battles, and more in her determination to free Poland. “Uprising” is her story.

Lidia might be an unknown name to many but, after reading Nielsen’s carefully researched book and viewing the period photographs, she will not stay unknown. Lidia’s story deserves to be told, as her bravery saved the lives of hundreds of innocent people.

Highly recommended for ages 15 and older.

“Artifice” Sharon Cameron

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Scholastic Press (Scholastic). 381 p. (Includes “Author’s note.”) To be published November 7, 2023.

The Nazi invasion ended the life Isa’s parents and artist friends enjoyed at their art gallery in Amsterdam. After her mother died her father lost his ability to think rationally, so she had to make sure they had food and a place to live. She needed money to pay taxes on the gallery, so headed to an auction house with her father’s imitation Rembrandt. Unfortunately Michel, a Nazi soldier, knew the painting she sold to Hitler’s agent was fake. He threatened to turn her in if she didn’t help him escape to Switzerland.

Truus worked for the Resistance and needed money to smuggle Jewish babies out of the city. Isa gave her the money she’d gotten for the Rembrandt, and decided Nazis should pay for their escape. She needed to figure out how to turn her father’s paintings of the masters into credible forgeries, and knew painter Hans van Meegeren would be her unsuspecting teacher because Michel told her he sold Hermann Goering’s agent a Vermeer. She knew it was forged because she had the real one hidden in her gallery. Isa didn’t know the Nazis were looking for a woman with red hair who worked for the Resistance and caused many Nazi deaths. She has red hair.

“Artifice” weaves Isa’s story between scenes from the lives of real-life characters like Hans van Meegeren, as well as Johan van Hulst and Henriette Pimentel who saved over 600 Jewish babies from being killed at Auschwitz-Birkenau. Readers also learn about Hannie Schaft, the red-haired woman who gave the Nazis angst, as well as many other brave Dutchmen and women. Details about them are in the Author’s Note.

Highly recommended for Adults.

“Courage to dream: Tales of hope in the Holocaust” Neal Shusterman; ill. by Andrés Vera Martínez

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Graphix (Scholastic). 245 p. (Includes “Author and Illustrator notes”, “Bibliography”, and “A note about the Hebrew letters in this book.”) To be published October 31, 2023.

Legends from European storytelling (such as Baba Yaga and the Golum) are intertwined with narratives from the Holocaust to educate readers on what happened during this terrible time in history, as well as with thoughts of what could have happened if magic existed to lend hope to those burdened by hate. Andrés Vera Martínez’s rich illustrations lend historical authenticity to Shusterman’s words, bringing each tale to life.

Facts, figures, and photographs from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, as well as from Israel’s Yad Vashem, are interspersed to remind readers that parts of the stories contain magical elements but are based on real events that happened to real people. Questions such as “What would the Holocaust have been like if happened today and not during World War II?” or “How many more Jewish people would have been killed if ordinary people didn’t step up and protect them from harm?” will keep readers thinking long after they’ve turned the final page.

Think of today’s Holocaust deniers, and don’t stay silent in the face of hate. Remember what the citizens of Denmark did to save their Jewish citizens from death camps. Be courageous.

Highly recommended for ages 16 and older.

“I am not alone” Francisco X. Stork

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. Scholastic Press (Scholastic). 306 p. (Includes “Author’s note” and “Mental health and Crisis resources.” Published July 18, 2023.

Alberto is 18 and has been living illegally in the United States for three years with his sister and her young son. He works at odd jobs, sending half of his earnings to his mother and sister in Mexico, while trying to earn his high school equivalency diploma. Alberto was upset when he started to hear a voice calling him names or telling him to do bad things. Hoping to keep the voice at a distance he called it Captain America, but the voice grew louder. When a woman was murdered at a job he was working, Alberto couldn’t remember what happened. The police wanted to arrest him, but Alberto went on the run – hoping to prove his innocence.

Grace had her life planned out. In a few months she would graduate, attend college with her boyfriend, and become a psychiatrist. When her parents divorced, she seemed to lose focus. School and her boyfriend paled in importance as she struggled to figure out her place in the world. When she met Alberto, he was cleaning the windows in her apartment and seemed nice. They shared time together making pottery which he’d learned how to do in Mexico, so Grace was surprised to hear he was accused of murder.

His illegal status, the voices he heard, and the murder accusation were red flags signaling her to stay far away, but Grace was certain she needed to help him. However, time is running out because Captain America has decided Alberto doesn’t belong in this world and Alberto is listening to him.

Stork realistically portrays Alberto’s mental state of mind, while Grace’s character depicts a bystander who sees this struggle and decides to either turn away or help. Stork emphasizes not losing sight of the person behind a mental illness.

I believe this should be a 2023 Pura Belpre Young Adult Author winning title. Here’s hoping the January 2024 announcements from the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards will prove me correct. I will be in attendance that day to root for “I am not alone” to win.

Highly recommended for ages 17 and older.

“A castle in Brooklyn” Shirley Russak Wachtel

Rated 3 stars *** ebook. Little A. 2023.

During World War II, Zalman and Jacob hid together managing to survive a mass murder in Poland. Their dependence on one another cemented their friendship, making them as close as brothers. After the war they immigrated to the United States, with Jacob settling in Brooklyn and Zalman on a Minnesota farm.

While he hid from soldiers Jacob dreamed of owning a home in Brooklyn. He knew exactly how it would look, and that it would be the future home of his wife and children. When he married Esther, his joy had to be shared with Zalman, who used architectural skills he’d learned from his father to help build the castle of Jacob’s dreams. There the three lived, sharing in the happiness that comes from true friendship, until a tsunami of events challenged all they held dear.

Happiness, loss, sorrow, betrayal, and heartbreak are some of what readers will feel, replaced with confusion from the voices of several characters introduced towards the end who appear out of the blue. Though it was eventually revealed they had something to do with our main characters it was jarring to have their voices mixed in with the stories of those we’d grown to know so well.

Recommended for Adults.

“That summer in Berlin” Lecia Cornwall

Rated 5 stars ***** ebook. Berkley (Penguin Random House). 2022.

It was 1935 and Viviane Alden missed her father terribly. During a World War I battle he inhaled poisonous gas and was never the same. They always had a close bond but, after he died, her life was uprooted. Her mother had hated being poor and remarried for money. She was now the rich stepmother of four stepsisters, but Viviane was the only one not interested in marriage. She enjoyed being her own person, and photographing anything that caught her interest. After she broke off her engagement, she and her stepsister were sent to visit a family friend in Germany, in the hopes she would find a husband.

At that time Germany was immersed in preparations for the 1936 Olympics. Viviane had been recruited to act as a tourist and photograph anything to help Britain’s war effort. As she wandered Germany, photographing its secrets to pass on to an undercover reporter, she doesn’t know her cover has been blown wide open. It’s only a matter of time before she will disappear like many others before her unless she can find a way out.

Cornwall’s descriptions of the populace’s fixated devotion to Hitler were chillingly realistic and reminded me of current politics. I was riveted and couldn’t stop turning pages to find out what would happen next to Viviane. You won’t be disappointed.

Highly recommended for adults.

“The wind knows my name” Isabel Allende

Rated 5 stars ***** ARC. ebook. Ballantine Books (Random House). To be published June 6, 2023.

In 2019 a police officer in El Salvador shot Marisol, who fled with her seven-year-old, blind daughter Anita knowing he would kill her if she stayed. After a difficult trip to the United States, she and Anita were forcibly separated at the border, and she was deported. Selena, a Latina social worker, took a personal interest in Anita. Though she had been trying for years to reunite separated children it had proven difficult because the U.S. didn’t keep good records of where children were sent. She was determined to find Anita’s mother.

In 1938 six-year-old Samuel was a violin prodigy in Vienna, but everything changed on Kristallnacht, The Night of Broken Glass. That night his father was beaten and sent to a concentration camp, and his mother put him on a kindertransport to England thinking it would be a short separation. A few years later Samuel found out his parents, grandmother and aunt had all been murdered in the concentration camps. As the years passed music was the only thing that kept him going. The day he met Anita, everything changed.

Anita, Samuel, Selena, and others tell their interwoven stories which recount how separation from their parents affects children, but also splices in the poverty and murders migrants are forced to flee on their desperate journeys to the United States. “The wind knows my name” educates, saddens, but also gives hope.

Highly recommended for Adults.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

“They bled orange” Michael Reit

Rated 4 stars **** ARC. ebook. Michael Reit. Orphans of war #2. To be published April 5, 2023.

Christiaan and his girlfriend had to leave Amsterdam or risk capture. They made their way to England and, within a short time, he accepted Queen Wilhelmina’s request to return to the Netherlands to unite members of the Resistance. Christiaan knew this would be an extremely dangerous undertaking but believed it could be done.

When Floris escaped, Nora had to flee for her life. She wanted to be reunited with Christiaan in England, but had to find a way out of the Netherlands to France where she would have to cross the Pyrenees Mountains on foot, and get visas from both Spain and Portugal. Once in Portugal she could make her way to England. Nora is determined to see Christiaan again and will climb any barrier set before her to do so.

Forced to fight against the Russians on the Eastern Front to avoid a prison sentence, Floris finds life as a soldier to be extremely difficult. Germany had suffered many casualties, and the Russians had overrun their lines many times. Morale was low, but the Nazis still found time to execute thousands of Jewish prisoners in cold blood.

In this second installment, readers are introduced to a bloodier side of the war where torture, death and murder are described in detail. However, the execution of Jewish prisoners on the Eastern Front stood out in stark detail. There was something about this that bothered me. I will talk about it at the end of this review as a spoiler alert. So, if you don’t want to see it, stop reading here. Otherwise, scroll down after you read the book and let me know if you also question this turn of events.

Recommended for Adults.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

**************SPOILER ALERT************SPOILER ALERT*************SPOILER ALERT*******

**************SPOILER ALERT************SPOILER ALERT*************SPOILER ALERT*******

Floris has always been a cold-hearted lover of the Reich and hater of all things Jewish. The author hinted he began having a change of heart when his life was saved by a Jewish man. However, I found it hard to believe a true Nazi lover like him had mercy for the Jewish prisoners executed in cold blood. Perhaps the author could enlighten me about why Floris suddenly developed a conscience.

“Orphans of war” Michael Reit

Rated 5 stars ***** ebook. Michael Reit. Orphans of war #1. (Includes “Author’s note.”) 2022.

From 1941 to 1943, readers learn about life in Amsterdam during World War II. Many Dutch chose to become members of the Resistance, helping to hide their fellow Jewish citizens from forced Nazi deportations or smuggle them out of the country. Those hiding Jewish individuals and families faced arrest and torture if caught, while couriers risked their lives to bring them food coupon booklets. Unfortunately, they often faced betrayal by neighbors, family, and friends who openly and secretly collaborated with the Nazis.

In alternating chapters Floris, Nora and Christiaan tell their stories of this uncertain time in their country. Floris, a Dutch police officer and collaborator, loved leading raids to deport Jewish people of all ages. Nora, his wife, worked behind his back to secretly smuggle Jewish children and babies out of the city. His brother Christiaan also worked for the Resistance helping to find safe houses for Jewish people who had no place to go, and bringing food coupon booklets to those hiding them in their homes. “Orphans of war” is a story of bravery, love, hatred, betrayal, and strength during a time when hope seemed far away for many people.

I hadn’t planned on reading this book, as I had been ready to read an ARC of “They bled orange” when I quickly found out it was book 2 of this series. I read this very quickly, and its cliffhanger ending made me look forward to reading more about Christiaan and Nora, while hoping Floris and other collaborators “get their due.”

Recommended for Adults.