Terrifying, haunting and powerful.
Dutch survivors of the Holocaust remember their years as hidden children.
During Hitler’s reign of terror, paths to survival for Jews were few and involved secrecy, danger, vigilance, and the kindness and bravery of strangers. Fourteen men and women recall their experiences with amazing clarity, detail and honesty. There are several commonalities in the accounts. Most began their ordeal at very young ages and had to take on heavy responsibilities and new identities, enduring frequent moves, incidents of near discovery, and unending fear and uncertainty. Some found compassion and love among their rescuers, and others were treated callously by sponsors who accepted them only for the stipend that the resistance organizations paid. After the war, most of them found that nearly all their family members had been killed, relationships with surviving parents were awkward, their homes had been given to other people, and postwar authorities were slow to help them resettle. The accounts are told in a matter-of-fact tone, with no attempt at sentimentality or self-pity. Photos of the survivors before the war and of some of their temporary homes and families accompany the text, and photos as they are now are shown at the end. Each memoir is poignant and heartrending on its own, and the compilation gives the reader a stunning sense of the horror of the Holocaust.
Terrifying, haunting and powerful. (foreword, glossary) (Collective memoir. 12 & up)Pub Date: March 25, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-545-54362-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Levine/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
There's limited value in this book, but teen girls who want to be part of the crowd will snatch up this cookie-cutter guide...
This slim guide, clocking in at barely 150 pages, will be helpful for prom neophytes who don't get their questions answered by the prom issues of Seventeen and Teen Vogue.
Split into four sections, this book covers planning, the day and night itself, and post-prom. The planning section is the most thorough, with useful information on making a budget for prom and how to rent a limo, among other topics. The beauty tips in the prom-day section are very basic and limited; there's no advice on blush for girls with darker skin, and all but one of the suggested hairstyles is for shoulder-length or longer hair. It's commendable that the prom-night section highlights do-it-yourself after-prom events, and the post-prom section recommends donating or selling the prom dress. The note pages, fantasy boards and scrapbook pages feel rather quaint in this day of Pinterest and Tumblr, though they do add extra padding to this slight work.
There's limited value in this book, but teen girls who want to be part of the crowd will snatch up this cookie-cutter guide nevertheless. (Nonfiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: March 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-936976-28-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Zest Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
Easily digestible, a little glib, but reassuring: “God is there, / standing there in the driveway, / arms open, / ready to...
Christian inspiration for dudes and dudettes. Hey, it’s not complicated: God has invited you to a party!
Distilling messages from his similarly titled book for adults (2011), Bell offers general attitudes for living a Christian life, rather than a specific set of rules, in a combination of prose, Q-and-A’s and occasional free verse. He repeatedly rejects the validity of any “system of sin management” imposed by “spiritual bullies” or organized religions that limit free questioning or envision God as anything but loving. He also acknowledges the lure of risky behavior (with an anecdote featuring his butt cheeks and a BB gun) and the natural confusion that arises from seeing evil in the world—but promises that the party has already started right here and that God’s love (which encompasses everyone, including atheists and non-Christians) is an open invitation to join the festivities. Using the parable of the Prodigal Son, he argues that it’s all a matter of what kind of personal stories we tell ourselves and also that “[h]ell is being at the party but refusing to join it.”
Easily digestible, a little glib, but reassuring: “God is there, / standing there in the driveway, / arms open, / ready to invite you in.” (Q&A with author; recommended reading) (Nonfiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-222187-2
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
