Gripping and gut-wrenching; a worthwhile read.
Jewish twin sisters Friedel and Gina Rosenthal experienced the terrors of the Nazi regime as children and young adults in Germany and Poland.
In 1930, the Rosenthals were a bustling, happy family. Friedel and Gina were two of six children, their father a successful small businessman who managed three corner shops throughout Dusseldorf. Antisemitism was on the rise, however, and Hitler eventually came to power. The Rosenthals were systematically stripped of their businesses, property, possessions, and humanity. The 13-year-old twins, like other Jewish students, were forced to leave school. The story follows the girls as they experienced the agony of being torn from their family members, forced into degrading conditions in the Czestochowa ghetto, and ultimately hauled off to concentration camps. Dronfield explains the historical facts simply and directly, presenting painful truths and not minimizing the horrors of Nazi Germany. His well-drawn portrayal of Friedel and Gina is compelling; he shows them to be creative, brave, tenacious, and somehow, despite it all, hopeful. Readers will be engrossed by each turn of their tale, each new atrocity they somehow survive, and will cling desperately to the hope that the sisters get a chance at the beautiful lives they should have had all along. This is a historical page-turner with two remarkable, inspiring women at its center that deserves a place on library and classroom shelves.
Gripping and gut-wrenching; a worthwhile read. (author’s note, timeline, glossary, source notes, bibliography, further reading) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9780063355743
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats.
Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?
Choosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. The individual portraits range from one paragraph to several pages in length, and they are interspersed with group tributes to, for instance, the Nazi-resisting “Swingkinder,” the striking New York City newsboys, and the marchers of the Birmingham Children’s Crusade. Mitchell even offers would-be villains a role model in Elagabalus, “boy emperor of Rome,” though she notes that he, at least, came to an awful end: “Then, then! They dumped his remains in the Tiber River, to be nommed by fish for all eternity.” The entries are arranged in no evident order, and though the backmatter includes multiple booklists, a personality quiz, a glossary, and even a quick Braille primer (with Braille jokes to decode), there is no index. Still, for readers whose fires need lighting, there’s motivational kindling on nearly every page.
A breezy, bustling bucketful of courageous acts and eye-popping feats. (finished illustrations not seen) (Collective biography. 10-13)Pub Date: May 10, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-14-751813-2
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Puffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2015
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality.
An examination of the history of Chinese American experiences.
Blackburn opens with a note to readers about growing up feeling invisible as a multicultural, biracial Chinese American. She notes the tremendous diversity of Chinese American history and writes that this book is a starting point for learning more. The evenly paced narrative starts with the earliest recorded arrival of the Chinese in America in 1834. A teenage girl, whose real name is unknown, arrived in New York Harbor with the Carnes brothers, merchants who imported Chinese goods and put her on display “like an animal in a circus.” The author then examines shifting laws, U.S. and global political and economic climates, and changing societal attitudes. The book introduces the highlighted people—including Yee Ah Tye, Wong Kim Ark, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, and Vincent Chen—in relation to lawsuits or other transformative events; they also stand as examples for explaining concepts such as racial hierarchy and the model minority myth. Maps, photos, and documents are interspersed throughout. Chapters close with questions that encourage readers to think critically about systems of oppression, actively engage with the material, and draw connections to their own lives. Although the book covers a wide span of history, from the Gold Rush to the rise in anti-Asian hate during the Covid-19 pandemic, it thoroughly explains the various events. Blackburn doesn’t shy away from describing terrible setbacks, but she balances them with examples of solidarity and progress.
Deftly written and informative; a call for vigilance and equality. (resources, bibliography, image credits) (Nonfiction. 10-14)Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780593567630
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
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