An inspirational read.
A true story of faith, love, and heroism.
Stefania “Fusia” Podgórska longed for nothing more than to leave the rural Polish farm she was born on for the city of Przemyśl where her older sisters lived. At the age of 12, she did just that, finding a job with the Diamants, a family of Jewish shopkeepers who welcomed her into their lives. For three years they lived peacefully until the Germans dropped bombs on Przemyśl. The family struggled on as the war and anti-Semitism ramped up, but eventually, the Diamants were forced into a ghetto. Then 17, Catholic Fusia was determined to help them survive, even at the risk of her own safety, while also caring for her 6-year-old sister, Helena, after their family was taken by the Nazis for forced labor. Knowing the risks involved, Fusia made a bold decision to harbor Jews. As the number of people she sheltered increased, so did her panic about being caught, but she was determined to do what was right. Cameron (The Knowing, 2017, etc.) used Stefania’s unpublished memoir as well as interviews with family members as source material. She deftly details Fusia’s brave actions and includes moving family photographs in the author’s note. Narrated in the first person, the story highlights essential events in Fusia’s life while maintaining a consistent pace. Readers will be pulled in by the compelling opening and stay for the emotional journey.
An inspirational read. (author’s note) (Historical fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-35593-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2020
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Intriguing, bittersweet, and strongly paced.
Ren buried her past, Sunho’s memory was stolen from him: Together they seek to solve the mysteries of who they are in this series opener set in an East Asian fantasy world.
Ren’s happy childhood ends when a demon attacks her adoptive family of itinerant performers, and she reveals her hidden powers while trying to protect them. Ren strikes out on her own, hoping to keep everyone safe from the pursuit she’s long been dreading. A powerful general from Sareniya hires mercenaries to hunt her down, and among the hunters is former child soldier Sunho, who recalls nothing of his past except that he has—or had—a brother and possibly harbors a demon. Sunho lives in the grim, lightless Under World, a city of factories, worker housing, and gang-ridden slums; from its underside, miners extract mithril, a poisonous and valuable ore. Above lies the elegant, radiant Floating World, home of nobility. The teens meet when Ren saves Sunho’s life, a debt he repays as they flee the general and his minions. Struggling to make sense of his newly awakened memories, Sunho needs Ren’s help to contain his demonic energy, while she needs his strength to keep her safe. Tepid love story and confusing geography notwithstanding, the fast-paced plot is original and engaging. Incorporating concepts from diverse sources—Tolkien’s mithril, Japanese Buddhism’s Floating World, and the Korean folktale “The Woodcutter and the Celestial Maiden”—Oh makes them her own.
Intriguing, bittersweet, and strongly paced. (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9781250853080
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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