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Elly: My True Story of the Holocaust
When Elly was just 15 years old, she, her mother and brother were deported by cattle car to the Auschwitz II / Birkenau concentration camp. On the day they arrived at Auschwitz, a soldier directed Elly to the right; her mother and brother were sent to the left. She never saw her family alive again. Elly later learned that her father also had been killed in a forced-labor camp.
103 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 218 reviews
May 20, 2023
Elly Berkovits Gross was born in 1929 in Simleu Silvaniei, a small town in Northern Transylvania, a mountainous part of northwest Romania taken over by Hungary in 1940. Gross begins her Holocaust memoir for older children with a few impressionistic scenes from childhood. Surprisingly, she recounts no stories related to her Jewish heritage—its customs, traditions, or place in her daily life. It is unclear but possible that her family was secular and assimilated into the community. She lived just a little ways down the street from a Catholic church, played with the neighbourhood children, and attended the same village school they did.
A few of Gross’s stories from early childhood concern the geography and climate of the region. There were memorable hailstorms and in springtime snow melt from the mountains could send streams, even floods, through the streets. There are a couple of anecdotes about her father, who insisted on accompanying her to school one slippery day and ended up falling, and, who, on another occasion, brought her the only doll she’d ever receive. Sadly, a jealous friend smashed its pretty porcelain face. She recalls attending a family wedding, where she was given a gold ring and a mother-of-pearl-handled knife. The knife would later be used to carve out a breathing hole in the wooden cattle car that transported her mother, her younger brother Adalbert, herself, and hundreds of other Jewish women and children from the Cehei ghetto, an old brick factory just outside her town, to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Poland.
When Romania was forced to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary, writes Gross, significant discriminatory measures against Jews were instituted. Jewish belongings and property were seized and given to loyal Hungarians. Once peaceful relationships between Jews and their neighbours became toxic. A former young friend became a street agitator, throwing stones and hurling insults at elderly Jews. He even spat at her. Travel and school restrictions as well as curfews were put in place. Gross acknowledges her blond hair and blue eyes granted her freedoms other Jews did not have. As a young teen, she was able to travel by train once a week to another town to get food from her aunt without being stopped and questioned.
In June 1942 when she was 13, Elly’s father was drafted into a forced labour camp. She would never see him again. In 1944, when the German occupation of Hungary began, Jews were compelled to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing. Soon after, Elly, now 15, her mother and her five-year-old brother were removed from their home and into the Klein brickworks ghetto and ultimately transported to Auschwitz.
When their train arrived at the concentration camp, two men in striped tatters rushed aboard Elly’s car. They told the girl to say she was 18 and advised her mother to hand off her young son to someone else. Neither mother nor daughter had any real sense of the place they’d come to. The scene was chaotic: barking dogs, shouting soldiers, and children crying—all while a rag-clad group of musicians performed classical music in the background. Elly was directed to the right, one of the one-to-two percent of her transport granted “temporary survival”; her mother and brother were sent to the left. Strangely or perhaps not, even after many months of distress, fear, starvation, and crowding in the barracks (with their three-tiered bunks, 14 women crammed on each level), the girl still did not grasp what this place was intended for. She frequently thought of returning home to tell her parents about the appalling treatment she’d suffered. As for the four chimneys, constantly belching out smoke and ash: she thought they were associated with a tire factory, not parts of crematoria. A thinly veiled remark by another inmate about the sudden disappearance of the ghostly, skeletal Jews from Terezin in Czechoslovakia—“They’ve gone to a warmer climate”—was too opaque for Elly.
Gross focuses on the chain of lucky events that allowed her to survive. An overseer had her moved from one barrack to another nearby so that she could be with her two cousins. This same woman saw Elly faint during one of the interminable morning roll calls and had her rushed indoors to scrub the barrack’s floors, saving her from being one of the 100-150 women designated by the SS for that day’s extermination. Miraculously, Gross also evaded selection by Dr. Josef Mengele, who, observing her stomach which was distended from her recent gorging on potato peels from the dump, asked her if she was pregnant. She was directed towards the group intended for labour at the Volkswagen factory in Fallersleben, Germany, which had been repurposed to make rockets. Conditions there were considerably better.
The last third of Gross’s memoir skims quickly over her life after the war ended. Details are light. At age 16, she returned to Northern Transylvania to find her home taken over by strangers. A year later, she married a man eight years her senior, had a son and then a daughter. Ultimately the family immigrated to the United States. Gross and her husband worked two and three unskilled jobs at a time to make ends meet. They also attended classes to learn English. Always determined to better herself, Elly attended college classes, finally earning her diploma at age 69.
Gross’s memoir is bookended by short, poignant notes from her daughter and son. It also includes a few family and historical photographs and some of Elly’s poems, which are heartfelt though not accomplished. Gross’s writing is serviceable enough and the material is appropriate for a young audience, sparing older children harrowing details. I think it’s most unfortunate that she did not work with a professional writer. Though roughly chronological, the organization of the material could be better; there is also a great deal of repetition, important background information is sometimes lacking, and some opinions are unsubstantiated. For those reasons, this is not the first Holocaust memoir I’d recommend to older children and young teens.
A few of Gross’s stories from early childhood concern the geography and climate of the region. There were memorable hailstorms and in springtime snow melt from the mountains could send streams, even floods, through the streets. There are a couple of anecdotes about her father, who insisted on accompanying her to school one slippery day and ended up falling, and, who, on another occasion, brought her the only doll she’d ever receive. Sadly, a jealous friend smashed its pretty porcelain face. She recalls attending a family wedding, where she was given a gold ring and a mother-of-pearl-handled knife. The knife would later be used to carve out a breathing hole in the wooden cattle car that transported her mother, her younger brother Adalbert, herself, and hundreds of other Jewish women and children from the Cehei ghetto, an old brick factory just outside her town, to Auschwitz II-Birkenau in Poland.
When Romania was forced to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary, writes Gross, significant discriminatory measures against Jews were instituted. Jewish belongings and property were seized and given to loyal Hungarians. Once peaceful relationships between Jews and their neighbours became toxic. A former young friend became a street agitator, throwing stones and hurling insults at elderly Jews. He even spat at her. Travel and school restrictions as well as curfews were put in place. Gross acknowledges her blond hair and blue eyes granted her freedoms other Jews did not have. As a young teen, she was able to travel by train once a week to another town to get food from her aunt without being stopped and questioned.
In June 1942 when she was 13, Elly’s father was drafted into a forced labour camp. She would never see him again. In 1944, when the German occupation of Hungary began, Jews were compelled to wear the yellow Star of David on their clothing. Soon after, Elly, now 15, her mother and her five-year-old brother were removed from their home and into the Klein brickworks ghetto and ultimately transported to Auschwitz.
When their train arrived at the concentration camp, two men in striped tatters rushed aboard Elly’s car. They told the girl to say she was 18 and advised her mother to hand off her young son to someone else. Neither mother nor daughter had any real sense of the place they’d come to. The scene was chaotic: barking dogs, shouting soldiers, and children crying—all while a rag-clad group of musicians performed classical music in the background. Elly was directed to the right, one of the one-to-two percent of her transport granted “temporary survival”; her mother and brother were sent to the left. Strangely or perhaps not, even after many months of distress, fear, starvation, and crowding in the barracks (with their three-tiered bunks, 14 women crammed on each level), the girl still did not grasp what this place was intended for. She frequently thought of returning home to tell her parents about the appalling treatment she’d suffered. As for the four chimneys, constantly belching out smoke and ash: she thought they were associated with a tire factory, not parts of crematoria. A thinly veiled remark by another inmate about the sudden disappearance of the ghostly, skeletal Jews from Terezin in Czechoslovakia—“They’ve gone to a warmer climate”—was too opaque for Elly.
Gross focuses on the chain of lucky events that allowed her to survive. An overseer had her moved from one barrack to another nearby so that she could be with her two cousins. This same woman saw Elly faint during one of the interminable morning roll calls and had her rushed indoors to scrub the barrack’s floors, saving her from being one of the 100-150 women designated by the SS for that day’s extermination. Miraculously, Gross also evaded selection by Dr. Josef Mengele, who, observing her stomach which was distended from her recent gorging on potato peels from the dump, asked her if she was pregnant. She was directed towards the group intended for labour at the Volkswagen factory in Fallersleben, Germany, which had been repurposed to make rockets. Conditions there were considerably better.
The last third of Gross’s memoir skims quickly over her life after the war ended. Details are light. At age 16, she returned to Northern Transylvania to find her home taken over by strangers. A year later, she married a man eight years her senior, had a son and then a daughter. Ultimately the family immigrated to the United States. Gross and her husband worked two and three unskilled jobs at a time to make ends meet. They also attended classes to learn English. Always determined to better herself, Elly attended college classes, finally earning her diploma at age 69.
Gross’s memoir is bookended by short, poignant notes from her daughter and son. It also includes a few family and historical photographs and some of Elly’s poems, which are heartfelt though not accomplished. Gross’s writing is serviceable enough and the material is appropriate for a young audience, sparing older children harrowing details. I think it’s most unfortunate that she did not work with a professional writer. Though roughly chronological, the organization of the material could be better; there is also a great deal of repetition, important background information is sometimes lacking, and some opinions are unsubstantiated. For those reasons, this is not the first Holocaust memoir I’d recommend to older children and young teens.
August 1, 2014
It's tempting to give this book a sympathy vote, because its author endured a horrific experience and survived to become a productive citizen and generous supporter of others experiencing inhumane treatment. However, brief as it was, the narrative was repetitive and disjointed. I suppose one could excuse repetitive, as Scholastic has published this for students; but where were Scholastic's editors when Elly's random thoughts were becoming a novel? The book reads like someone gathered up a number of rough drafts and bound them together with no particular plan, sure they would sell because the account is authentic, primary source. I would regret that I bought this disappointing book but for the fact that Elly Gross donates all proceeds from her books to charity.
April 14, 2024
➳ 3 ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚
informative, put simply for younger readers, a good wwii story, i’d recommend ✨
୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆
informative, put simply for younger readers, a good wwii story, i’d recommend ✨
୧ ‧₊˚ 🍓 ⋅ ☆
April 20, 2024
The book I’m reading is called “Elly; My true story of the Holocaust” by Elly Berkovits-Gross. She was telling the story about her early childhood before the camps and after the camps. She was the fortunate and got few miracles that have saved her life, and yet she is the youngest girl to have survived the Holocaust at just 15 years old. I must say, her story is another example for the young and adult readers to learn and witness to history darkest moments and of honouring the resilience of those people who survived as a result. I did enjoy the book, it was an easy read where she describes many scary stories in detail. It is also included a few family and historical photos and a few poems which are very heartfelt messages from the heart. She was born in Romania, a small town that is called Simleu Silvaniei, in north Transylvania, a part of northwest Romania which now takes over Hungary today.
April 18, 2024
The first book I have ever read about the Holocaust, I read it a few years ago, and I knew information about this horrible event before hand. But reading a firsthand account of it made me shudder. It is truly horrible what those innocent people went through. Thank you Elly for sharing your story❤️
June 1, 2018
This book was quite good. i thought it was a bit sad in some bits, learning what the mean nazis did to the Jews though.
December 19, 2009
This book wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be. Alot of the same information was repeated over and over again.
April 14, 2017
This book was a bit short and took me only about one hour to read, I actually have no idea why I started reading it in the first place, it just randomly popped up on my kindle ( I think it was a hold I placed like a long time ago?) it was about a Jewish holocaust, and was personally really boring for me since I've read way too many books about the Jewish holocaust, this book is kind of like Anne Frank, to say truthfully. It was pretty much about a girl, named Elly, and her her life in brief before the war, being in the war and in the concentration camp ( I cannot imagine living in such conditions), surviving on dirty potato peels, being sent to work a some kind of factory where she got ill from paint fumes, being rescued, and then returning to normal life. That's pretty much the summary. I wasn't exactly touched by it because well, the writing was so, eh, more fit for an 4th grader or 5th grader... So, pretty much, if you want to indulge yourself in some World War Two concentration camp horror, read this book.
April 12, 2017
I think it is a good book. I like to learn about history and things that took place cause it makes it seem like I could be in there shoes and see what they went through. Elly lost her mother and her brother and she really doesn't have no one because when they got sent away they got split up and usually it would be the end for most.I would be lost if I lost any of my brothers or my sister I would die but to see how others made it through it, it must have been really hard. I don't really like what took place back then but its fascinating to read about and how one person made a difference for many other peoples lifes.
December 18, 2017
I loved this book! It was definitely one of my favorite books. If you are looking for a short but very good book definitely read this one.
January 13, 2020
Good read
This is a good book about a survivor of the holocaust. I like it when these books tell you what happened after they were liberated
This is a good book about a survivor of the holocaust. I like it when these books tell you what happened after they were liberated
March 1, 2023
This is a really good book. It really shows what happens in the holocaust and the horrors the Nazis did. It’s also a very beautiful story
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2025
It was fine…the reason I rated it 3 stars is because I didn’t have much interest in this book. It doesn’t fly with me as much as other books do. I went into this book thinking and learning about the Holocaust and being interested in it. I was so much into it that I thought I would read about it before going to the ROM the visit the Holocaust exhibition, but I wouldn’t read this book again it was just so plain and bland.
November 20, 2009
Genre/Category: Nonfiction
This was an eye-opening, heart-wrenching story of a woman who was her family's only survivor of the holocaust. Written in very short chapters, like snippets of memories that come back to her, Elly Berkovits tells about what is was like to live and work in a concentration camp. She also tells what it was like to try to begin her life again after being released and discovering that her parents and her only brother are dead. She lives alone until she meets a man who also survived a concentration camp. She tells about how they get married and move to America where they hope to provide a good life for their children. The last portion of the book is a series of poems written by Elly's daughter (also named Elly) about her mother's experiences.
I loved how this book was written in short chapters because it gave the feeling of what it must be like to reflect on living in a concentration camp, only remembering bits and pieces at a time. She repeats several stories in her narratives, which adds to the effect by showing how redundant life was and how everything began to blur together for her.
I loved this book and would recommend it to any adolescent or adult who wants to learn more about the holocaust, or just gain a greater appreciation for the value of human life. I would even recommend it to younger readers in elementary school because it tells the story of the holocaust in a very simple and personal way that children could understand and relate to.
This was an eye-opening, heart-wrenching story of a woman who was her family's only survivor of the holocaust. Written in very short chapters, like snippets of memories that come back to her, Elly Berkovits tells about what is was like to live and work in a concentration camp. She also tells what it was like to try to begin her life again after being released and discovering that her parents and her only brother are dead. She lives alone until she meets a man who also survived a concentration camp. She tells about how they get married and move to America where they hope to provide a good life for their children. The last portion of the book is a series of poems written by Elly's daughter (also named Elly) about her mother's experiences.
I loved how this book was written in short chapters because it gave the feeling of what it must be like to reflect on living in a concentration camp, only remembering bits and pieces at a time. She repeats several stories in her narratives, which adds to the effect by showing how redundant life was and how everything began to blur together for her.
I loved this book and would recommend it to any adolescent or adult who wants to learn more about the holocaust, or just gain a greater appreciation for the value of human life. I would even recommend it to younger readers in elementary school because it tells the story of the holocaust in a very simple and personal way that children could understand and relate to.
April 10, 2019
Very poorly written. Short, missing most details of the horrifying experience Elly lived through. Perhaps because she was so young, she couldn't think through everything that was happening to her and instead just faced life day by day to survive. It is almost like she has wiped away 90% of the nightmare and fails to look at it or analyze it. Because the book is so short with little information she does bring out a few intriguing questions such as what would have happened once all of the Jews were exterminated? Or how could such an organized and advanced culture of the Germans allow for such murderous acts of hatred. Having traveled throughout Romania-- she could have gone into much more detail about the life there, her family's situation, the downfall of the Jews, the introduction of Fascism to Romania, and then into her own personal story being put into a ghetto, sent to Auschwitz, used as slave labor in an auto factory in Germany, etc.. It is nice that there are photos included-- but the book is disjointed and lacking a story that is compelling. There are so many survivor stories that you can't put down-- but even though her story is missing all of the details that would make it engaging-- I respect her for sharing her story which is more than many Holocaust survivors can find the courage to do. This book is an hour read. But I suggest you find many others on the same topic to truly understand the hatred, cruelty, and genocide of the Nazi regime.
August 9, 2009
This is a very basic story of a Holocaust survivor. Maybe had I read this at a younger age I would have gotten into it a little more but as sad as it is, it's very repetitive and just basic.
I'm not sure I'd actually hand this to someone or recommend it but I feel lucky to read every single Holocaust story I come across.
I'm not sure I'd actually hand this to someone or recommend it but I feel lucky to read every single Holocaust story I come across.
February 18, 2015
The story jumped around quite a bit, but then again it was written at a 5th-grade level interest. I like reading WWII and Holocaust memoirs and this one kept me turning the pages. It was recommended by a student, otherwise I probably would have not even known it existed. Sad story. Happy ending. Quick read.
August 5, 2015
An engaging student book that tells the story of Elly Berkovits Gross. Not the most 'well-written' Holocaust memoir but a story that, due to it's short (sometimes disjointed and repetitive) chapters, proves easily accessible for students. Anything that gets them reading about the Holocaust - from a survivors own words - is a good thing.
January 25, 2010
This was a wonderful book, but it would have benefited from some editing. One of the main problems is that a lot of information is repeated over and over again. For such a short book, I think Mrs. Gross could have included so much more if editors had cut out repeated info.
June 8, 2021
I was planning on reading four perfect Pebbles, however when I saw the book Elly the design of the book and the color used caught my attention.
I would teach this book to my class because it allows students to see history from a child's perspective and how clinging onto hope can help them overcome any difficult situation.
Public Schools should include this book in the Holocaust course because it allows one to visualize the horrific conditions in the camps, as well as being able to when that sun soldiers still had human characteristics to keep some of the Jews alive. Lastly, it is also a great way to learn what life was like for a survivor who went home to no family, was abandoned by her relatives, and then eventually created their own happy future by making the right decisions even though they were difficult.
Warnings:
Holocaust- strip searched, dehumanization, thousands of sick children, women, and men sent to gas Chambers or burned alive.
Children are orphaned.
Violence- Punching girls in the face, beating prisoners with a club.
Bullying- a friend takes their friend's favorite brand new doll and smashes the nose.
Discrimination- Jews need to put on stars to segregate themselves among the populace and ethnic slandering.
I would teach this book to my class because it allows students to see history from a child's perspective and how clinging onto hope can help them overcome any difficult situation.
Public Schools should include this book in the Holocaust course because it allows one to visualize the horrific conditions in the camps, as well as being able to when that sun soldiers still had human characteristics to keep some of the Jews alive. Lastly, it is also a great way to learn what life was like for a survivor who went home to no family, was abandoned by her relatives, and then eventually created their own happy future by making the right decisions even though they were difficult.
Warnings:
Holocaust- strip searched, dehumanization, thousands of sick children, women, and men sent to gas Chambers or burned alive.
Children are orphaned.
Violence- Punching girls in the face, beating prisoners with a club.
Bullying- a friend takes their friend's favorite brand new doll and smashes the nose.
Discrimination- Jews need to put on stars to segregate themselves among the populace and ethnic slandering.
April 13, 2019
I don't think I've ever read a Holocaust story that didn't leave me feeling sad and shocked. This one is no different. The story has a life of its own irrespective of the author.
This true story, written by a survivor, is a telling of the tragedy, but not a literary work. It is comparable to The Diary of Anne Frank in that it is the result of putting thoughts to paper. It does not have a structured plot, characters, dialogue, etc. In fact, if you read the text closely you will notice two shortcomings. The author has a habit of repeating the same details over and over, and the details don't go very deep. I found myself wanting much more from this book. It is a surface account of what happened at Auschwitz. My guess is that too much time has passed to remember those fine details.
This is a good introductory Holocaust book for upper elementary kids. It's short and uses easy language. They absolutely will be affected by what they read.
This true story, written by a survivor, is a telling of the tragedy, but not a literary work. It is comparable to The Diary of Anne Frank in that it is the result of putting thoughts to paper. It does not have a structured plot, characters, dialogue, etc. In fact, if you read the text closely you will notice two shortcomings. The author has a habit of repeating the same details over and over, and the details don't go very deep. I found myself wanting much more from this book. It is a surface account of what happened at Auschwitz. My guess is that too much time has passed to remember those fine details.
This is a good introductory Holocaust book for upper elementary kids. It's short and uses easy language. They absolutely will be affected by what they read.
March 25, 2025
This is a short, junior non-fiction novel to give young readers an introduction of what it was like as a youth who experienced the holocaust. Elly was directed to the right side by Dr. Mengele, after arriving in Auschwitz, being forever separated from her mother and younger brother. Elly acknowledges many people who helped her survive, while being a witness to so many around her who did not.
Having just read Hiding Mengele by Betina Anton, it was interesting when experiences and events lined up with Elly's accounts. It helped to further cement the horrors to memory, hearing things from her perspective. This book would be a good intro for children, but the writing was disjointed and halted. As far as quality literature goes, it's evident Elly's first language is not English. But there is no doubt she had remarkable courage and grit to withstand all she went through during her young life.
Having just read Hiding Mengele by Betina Anton, it was interesting when experiences and events lined up with Elly's accounts. It helped to further cement the horrors to memory, hearing things from her perspective. This book would be a good intro for children, but the writing was disjointed and halted. As far as quality literature goes, it's evident Elly's first language is not English. But there is no doubt she had remarkable courage and grit to withstand all she went through during her young life.
November 5, 2018
This book talks about the scary time in history, the Holocaust. If readers are interested in this time of history, this book is recommended to be read. The book has some parts that were scary, because of what the Nazis ordered people to do, and what they fed people. Some parts of the book were very terrifying considering that what happened in the book actually happened. The main character was able to receive freedom which was really rare for everyone. With the miracle that Elly got, she was able to live a happy successful life after wards. There were many parts that I, as a reader felt bad towards Elly for eating dirt, with water that was considered "soup." This book was very interesting to read. If readers like to learn about what happened in the past, the scariest times, then the book is recommended for people to read to understand what happened in this period of time in history.
November 7, 2021
I know this is a book written for a younger age group, so maybe my criticisms are inappropriate, but it seemed like a book that had so much potential but was mediocre in its writing. The author also isn’t a native English speaker, so that could be a factor too. I felt like it was repetitive, the beginning of most chapters was the same info as the end of the last chapter. I would love to read a more detailed and in depth account from the author. No doubt she saw and experienced lots of horrors and such being a survivor of WWII. I would let my students read this, there is nothing too graphic in it. I also felt like it was written dryly, not much emotional tug in the prose. I wanted it to be 5 stars but I felt the potential was wasted. I am in no way trying to discredit her experiences, I am just talking about the book and how it was written.
August 31, 2018
I had the unexpected honor of meeting Mrs. Gross when I visited the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in June, 2018 and she was a very kind woman who made a crack at my name being a reference to “Gone With the Wind”. It’s moments like this that make you forget horrific pasts that are captured short and concisely in this thin novel. Because of its brevity, I would recommend to middle grade and younger readers who have an interest in the Holocaust or for anyone interested in the era. However, if you are looking for a rich testimony similar to the Hollywood-ized stories, you won’t get it. Instead, take a moment to absorb Elly’s story and be moved by the short poems at the end. It’s worth a read that is all an all too brief reminder to practice empathy.
February 4, 2020
Stories like this are so important, and I feel bad not giving it a better rating, but it just could have been better. It seems like it must be for younger readers (which I didn’t realize when I checked it out from my library, it was in the teen section), but even if it’s for kids I think some of it should have been gone into more. For a book about the Holocaust and what happened to this woman in it it felt like it was barely talked about, and the way the events are written out here is hard to follow, it jumps back and forth constantly and things are repeated over and over, rather than a story or a telling of her experiences it comes across as random thoughts and snippets.
January 18, 2022
It's difficult to discuss this story. It is so heartbreaking that there are such evil people in the world who could do this to another human being. I think these stories are important to read. We need to remember and never forget. I don't want to say anything bad about the story, but I gave it 4 stars because the author repeated herself over and over. It was a little too repetitive. I understand that she is just sharing her memories and I truly enjoyed hearing them; eventhough, they broke my heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2017
I give it just two stars because of the writing basically. It is simple and repetitive and appears to be a written for a pre teen level. I wanted to give it more because it is a sad and worthy story and I love to read about survivor stories from this time, but I couldn't. The one redeeming factor is that all of the proceeds go to charity so it's not a waste to buy it. I actually met her at the Museum of Holocaust in DC and purchased the book there.
May 11, 2017
This book is non-fiction. I recommend this book to anybody. It's great to get knowledge on how Jews were treated in concentration camps. There was a lot of emotion in the book though, I found myself feeling sad and then angry within two or three pages. I would read it over again. There are even a few pictures on how it was like and what the people looked like which are kind of graphic. Over all it was a pretty good book.
April 12, 2018
My class is studying the Holocaust right now and I picked this book up out of curiosity. The chapters are perfect length to spark discussion and written in a way to encourage deep thinking without leaving students to struggle with advanced vocabulary. Her prose paints a terrifying picture without being to graphic to read to a classroom of kids. I recommend it without reservation to any teacher looking for a read aloud to spark discussion with her class.
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