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Within These Walls
Whatever is coming, we'll face it together, as a family. As long as we're together, we'll be okay. For Miri and her family, life in Warsaw is full of simple joys. The smell of freshly baked challah, the promise of summer holidays, and Fridays when everyone comes together to celebrate the Sabbath. But when the Germans march into Warsaw with their campaign of hatred against the Jews, Miri and her family must move to the ghetto. One by one her family are taken from her, and Miri finds herself alone.
Based on true events, WITHIN THESE WALLS gives a realistic account of what is was like to be a Jewish child in Warsaw during the Holocaust.
Based on true events, WITHIN THESE WALLS gives a realistic account of what is was like to be a Jewish child in Warsaw during the Holocaust.
251 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2016
20 people are currently reading
311 people want to read
About the author
Robyn Bavati
6 books37 followersRobyn Bavati lives in Melbourne, Australia. She is married and has three grown-up children and a cat called Fudgie. She loves visiting schools.
Robyn's favourite children's book is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. She doesn't have a single favourite book for adults. Her answer will change depending on when you happen to ask her.
Robyn's favourite children's book is The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. She doesn't have a single favourite book for adults. Her answer will change depending on when you happen to ask her.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
January 9, 2020
Book Review:
Within These Walls
By Robyn Bavati
First solid 5 star books of 2020!!!
Middle grade book always enchants me. Because there are so many things you have to be sensitive. So writing a wwii fiction for middle grade is hard because you cannot cover up the violence on a warzone and have to describe the tale of the oppressed and the oppressor very tactfully. I am so glad I took this book where Robyn Bavati wonderfully wrote a story of a Jew family during wwii.
My love for historical fiction is beyond infinity and wwii fiction are my most favourites. Because I also come from a country where we are being oppressed for many years but fortunately earned our freedom though through a brutal war. Within these walls is a short book telling story of Miri and her family who lived in Warsaw, Poland. The prologue gives us a small glimpse of Miri’s happy family before war but also hinted us of the dark days that are yet to come. You get to know a great portion about the Jew festivals and ceremony through Miri’s eyes but with the course of war you will feel heavy how Jew people are deprived of performing their religious norms.
The world of Miri changed since the first bomb dropped in Warsaw and she saw how her world changed in a blink. This book is written mainly for 10 to 13 years old but perfectly draws the picture of beating, oppression, starvation and death. There is nothing kind about a war but kindness can be found even in a war spoilt country. This is a captivating and inspirational book and draw the readers in from the first line. Your heart will weep with every turn of the page because Bavati did not made the component of the main story up rather than took from the real life wwii susrvivor’s experiences or facts.
The writing is appropriate for the children, engaging and caught the brutality of war. So many small dialogue makes a great impact on minds or stir thought for brain. Before the war starts, Miri’s Zeideh (grandfather) said he remembered of the earlier regime of German Soldier though it was one generation ago but how much can people change in one generation. When the war started this dialogue itch the readers and make sad of such innocence. Miri asked her father why people believed such absurd lie that Jews have killed the Jesus and that is why they are hated so much. Her father said that when people tell a lie often enough and want to believe it, at one point they think it is true.
‘Jews and Dogs are forbidden to enter.’ – what an absurd signboard to put at park’s gate. Or the nonhuman rules for Jews which Miri’s elder sister tried to keep track on but they increased day by day. The infortunes of not getting a respectable funeral, more a grave. Miri’s sister drew black and white photo of dead people, of starved people and not any beautiful things because she wanted the world to know the truth. The sad game children in ghetto play as ‘What would be worse?’
What would be worse that eating watery soup and mouldy bread?
-eating dead lice.
What would be worse than having no heating?
-Sleeping naked on snow.
You ask me why this book is great because it actually depicts the truth of a war. The cruelty , the sorrow of losing family members, the urge to eat bread beside your dead family member because hunger knows no emotion and has no respect. If you are in dilemma what book to give your favourite young people, then this is your go. Raise the hate again the war and help them to see nothing beautiful than peace and harmony.
Within These Walls
By Robyn Bavati
First solid 5 star books of 2020!!!
Middle grade book always enchants me. Because there are so many things you have to be sensitive. So writing a wwii fiction for middle grade is hard because you cannot cover up the violence on a warzone and have to describe the tale of the oppressed and the oppressor very tactfully. I am so glad I took this book where Robyn Bavati wonderfully wrote a story of a Jew family during wwii.
My love for historical fiction is beyond infinity and wwii fiction are my most favourites. Because I also come from a country where we are being oppressed for many years but fortunately earned our freedom though through a brutal war. Within these walls is a short book telling story of Miri and her family who lived in Warsaw, Poland. The prologue gives us a small glimpse of Miri’s happy family before war but also hinted us of the dark days that are yet to come. You get to know a great portion about the Jew festivals and ceremony through Miri’s eyes but with the course of war you will feel heavy how Jew people are deprived of performing their religious norms.
The world of Miri changed since the first bomb dropped in Warsaw and she saw how her world changed in a blink. This book is written mainly for 10 to 13 years old but perfectly draws the picture of beating, oppression, starvation and death. There is nothing kind about a war but kindness can be found even in a war spoilt country. This is a captivating and inspirational book and draw the readers in from the first line. Your heart will weep with every turn of the page because Bavati did not made the component of the main story up rather than took from the real life wwii susrvivor’s experiences or facts.
The writing is appropriate for the children, engaging and caught the brutality of war. So many small dialogue makes a great impact on minds or stir thought for brain. Before the war starts, Miri’s Zeideh (grandfather) said he remembered of the earlier regime of German Soldier though it was one generation ago but how much can people change in one generation. When the war started this dialogue itch the readers and make sad of such innocence. Miri asked her father why people believed such absurd lie that Jews have killed the Jesus and that is why they are hated so much. Her father said that when people tell a lie often enough and want to believe it, at one point they think it is true.
‘Jews and Dogs are forbidden to enter.’ – what an absurd signboard to put at park’s gate. Or the nonhuman rules for Jews which Miri’s elder sister tried to keep track on but they increased day by day. The infortunes of not getting a respectable funeral, more a grave. Miri’s sister drew black and white photo of dead people, of starved people and not any beautiful things because she wanted the world to know the truth. The sad game children in ghetto play as ‘What would be worse?’
What would be worse that eating watery soup and mouldy bread?
-eating dead lice.
What would be worse than having no heating?
-Sleeping naked on snow.
You ask me why this book is great because it actually depicts the truth of a war. The cruelty , the sorrow of losing family members, the urge to eat bread beside your dead family member because hunger knows no emotion and has no respect. If you are in dilemma what book to give your favourite young people, then this is your go. Raise the hate again the war and help them to see nothing beautiful than peace and harmony.
August 8, 2017
Trigger warnings: Holocaust. Death of a parent. Death of a sibling. War.
I had high hopes for this to be the next Once. And perhaps my hopes were too high? But this was...meh.
The author says in her note at the back that a lot of this story is based on actual things that happened to actual Jewish children living in Warsaw during the war.
This is not a long book. It's only 250 pages.
And there are SO. MANY. HORRIBLE. THINGS. that happen to the main character during the course of this story. Almost all of them are, as I said, based on real events. And yet there are so many events back to back that it almost removes the emotional impact.
So I wanted one of two things from this book:
1. For it to be 50-100 pages longer to properly flesh out the story. Or
2. For it to be a collection of short, real life stories aimed at middle graders.
Instead, it was a story about a young girl growing up Jewish in Poland during the Second World War who experiences a lot of truly terrible things but is ultimately a forgettable character. So...meh.
I had high hopes for this to be the next Once. And perhaps my hopes were too high? But this was...meh.
The author says in her note at the back that a lot of this story is based on actual things that happened to actual Jewish children living in Warsaw during the war.
This is not a long book. It's only 250 pages.
And there are SO. MANY. HORRIBLE. THINGS. that happen to the main character during the course of this story. Almost all of them are, as I said, based on real events. And yet there are so many events back to back that it almost removes the emotional impact.
So I wanted one of two things from this book:
1. For it to be 50-100 pages longer to properly flesh out the story. Or
2. For it to be a collection of short, real life stories aimed at middle graders.
Instead, it was a story about a young girl growing up Jewish in Poland during the Second World War who experiences a lot of truly terrible things but is ultimately a forgettable character. So...meh.
April 12, 2017
This review was written by my ten year old daughter who read this book at school:
"It was really good! It explains all about Miri's freedom and life before the nazis took her and her family.
It got a bit creepy when they got delivered to the ghetto but it is really heartwarming.
I definitely give this book 10 out of 10!"
"It was really good! It explains all about Miri's freedom and life before the nazis took her and her family.
It got a bit creepy when they got delivered to the ghetto but it is really heartwarming.
I definitely give this book 10 out of 10!"
April 10, 2016
This story is told through the eyes of Miri, a young Jewish girl living in Warsaw, Poland. The book begins with a prologue giving us a brief glimpse – and warning – of the dark days of war Miri is about to experience, but then we are drawn back into the warm, happy atmosphere of her life in pre-war Poland. These early scenes of market stalls and holidays, depicted in loving detail, are shattered by the arrival of the first bombs and the reader experiences the tensions and uncertainties of those times. The Germans occupy Poland and Jews are herded into one small area known as the Ghetto. Anti-Jewish laws are proclaimed and gradually life becomes a nightmare filled with fear, starvation, beatings, and death. The book is an emotionally challenging read but it is written in an appropriate style for children of 10-12 who are ready to learn about this horrific time in history. Robyn Bavati exposes the reality of what happened without dwelling ghoulishly on the terrible incidents. This sensitive, thoroughly-researched and well-written book is an important and powerful addition to literature about the Holocaust.
October 3, 2017
Within these walls is an inspirational and captivating book that will draw you in within each word. The storyline is brilliant and will change your views and mindset. Within these walls made me grateful for everything I have and will definitely read again !!
December 6, 2017
Australian author Robyn Bavati writes: “When first approached about writing this book, I wasn’t sure I was up to the task… I felt an enormous responsibility to get it right… While I invented the character of Miri, I did not invent anything she did, saw, felt, or witnessed.”
Bavati’s approach is key to the appeal of Within These Walls. This painful and compelling story is told by Miri, a Polish-Jewish adolescent and young teen during World War II. We first see her surrounded by her family and preparing for a Sabbath dinner in their home in Warsaw. Poland is at peace, though not for long. Miri visits her cousins in the countryside and then returns to air raids, bombings, and the invasion of German soldiers. She is caught up in Nazi-driven, virulent anti-Semitism, as Polish Jews are cast out of society, denied their civil rights, and finally herded into a single cramped neighborhood in Warsaw—the ghetto—surrounded by walls and barbed wire, and horrific conditions. Many of those who were not killed or who died of disease and starvation were sent to concentration camps. Few Jews survived.
Bavati is true to the events detailed in interviews with Holocaust survivors and through extensive research. Using her sensitivity and considerable literary skill, Bavati weaves fiction from these painful facts in a way that is accessible to readers ten and up. She has indeed been able to “get it right.”
January 16, 2018
This was a very good book and a nice ending and a really good message.
June 27, 2021
I enjoyed this book a lot, but it was just sad to read and realise that the holocaust did happen and this could very much have been likely to occur. The sad reality of WWII is so confronting, and even worse things did happened to younger and older children, very similar to what occurred in Miri's life. I love this book, because it is so heart-breaking to realise how horrible the Nazis treated the Jews and even those who were kinder to help them.
August 28, 2022
I thought that it was a really good way of communicating what a jewish child's life would be like in a ghetto, and losing all their family. I thought it had a slow start but once it got going I was really into it and I wanted to keep on reading it. If you're into books about the holocaust and World War 2, I would recommend this.
May 20, 2017
This has been shortlisted for the Australian Children's Book Council Younger Reader book of the Year.
Hmmm, a quick look the reviews for this book and it's quite obvious I'll be going against the grain here.
I've long had an interest in the Holocaust and the experiences of Jews during World War 2. I've read a lot of fiction and non fiction on the subject both as an adult and a child. Growing up, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was one of my favourite books. (really should re-read that). I'm always interested to see the approach an author takes to this subject, especially when they do so from the point of view of a child.
Unfortuantely for me, Within These Walls missed the mark. For a subject that is full of emotion, I found this lacked any emotion. I never really felt the characters fear, frustration, anger, despair. I actually found it quite boring and wondered if a child of the age it's aimed at would engage with it.
As I said, looking at other reviews here I am definitely in the minority, but it really just didn't speak to me.
Hmmm, a quick look the reviews for this book and it's quite obvious I'll be going against the grain here.
I've long had an interest in the Holocaust and the experiences of Jews during World War 2. I've read a lot of fiction and non fiction on the subject both as an adult and a child. Growing up, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit was one of my favourite books. (really should re-read that). I'm always interested to see the approach an author takes to this subject, especially when they do so from the point of view of a child.
Unfortuantely for me, Within These Walls missed the mark. For a subject that is full of emotion, I found this lacked any emotion. I never really felt the characters fear, frustration, anger, despair. I actually found it quite boring and wondered if a child of the age it's aimed at would engage with it.
As I said, looking at other reviews here I am definitely in the minority, but it really just didn't speak to me.
November 3, 2018
Authentic and well researched.
May 30, 2017
I read a lot of holocaust novels and for me this one has a few problems. Bavati mentions in her endnotes that she had a check list (my term, not hers I think) of "real" situations and events and experiences that she had researched in preparing to write this story. Unfortunately her determination to do the research (and subject) justice, has limited the story's success. I never felt I knew this family, or main character as I have done with say, Morris Gleitzman's Soon series. Instead, it feels as if every item on Bavarti's checklist has been crammed in to this story. So rather than drawing out the main character and her family, knowing and feeling them as real people, there is more an avalanche of information that sweeps the reader along in a deepening spiral of dread, despair and death. It was interesting to read about the resistance, I didn't know that part of the Warsaw story and would like to know more. Did it seem contrived that Bavati's character would have relatives involved in it? Yes. Obviously "light moments" and "good times" were rare for the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto. But that's not so much the problem. Rather this story is in danger of feeling more text booky than real life, more academic than fiction. The bleakness isn't warmed up with any stirring of the soul. Would I give it to "younger" (primary school aged) readers? No I don't think so. I think the bleakness of the book is probably too heavy. Will be interested to see if anyone else agrees.
May 25, 2020
It is so wonderful that there is an ever-growing number of children’s books dealing with the Holocaust. Such an incredibly important topic that we never want to forget, because we never want to repeat its horrors. In ‘Within These Walls’, Robyn Bavati has skilfully and sensitively covered this dreadful period of history in a way that makes it suitable for younger readers - I would suggest from Upper Primary onwards. And like all good children’s novels, it is written in such a way as to give sufficient satisfaction to readers whether they be young or old. This adult found it heartwarming, horrifying, uplifting and devastating in turns, and knowing the story is grounded in real life events further intensified these feelings. Definitely a book well worth reading, and one that will stay with you for a long time.
July 24, 2016
I read this because we are planning on having it for our older primary school aged readers. Definitely a very well researched book about the horrors of the Warsaw Ghetto. The descriptions of Jewish family life prior to the invasion of Poland by the Nazis are simply written yet so affecting as you know that their lives are about to change utterly. The main character, Miri, is very believable and the reader definitely feels her agony as each new atrocity occurs. As it is for a junior audience, the author has not described some of the criminal acts in detail but there is no doubt that your own imagination can fill in the gaps.
July 11, 2021
This is an absolute must read for everybody, ever. I read it in two sittings in one afternoon/evening, the first book I've read in one sitting since September 2020. The hope and bravery displayed as well as the extremely considerate and clever way in which Bavati weaves the stories of so many holocaust victims and survivors as to create a story which vividly and tragically describes and depicts the experiences of the Warsaw Ghetto is stunning. The heart wrenching reality of losing yourself, and your siblings is all too real in this book which I will never forget and instantly recommended to my VCE History teacher! I've never sobbed so much in a book, I cried for an hour lol.
October 19, 2020
From Riva Silbert (8 1/2 years old);
I really connected with this book. It was sad but it was happy. I loved this book and really, really recommend it to anybody looking at these comments.
The characters in this book were very happy to me, but then also very strict and I loved the way the writer has set out this book. I learned a lot from this book and it really made me appreciate the little things that I take for granted.
I really connected with this book. It was sad but it was happy. I loved this book and really, really recommend it to anybody looking at these comments.
The characters in this book were very happy to me, but then also very strict and I loved the way the writer has set out this book. I learned a lot from this book and it really made me appreciate the little things that I take for granted.
March 4, 2022
An amazing story, beautiful written, very engaging, teaches about the past in a realistic and relatable way. Read it in one afternoon and couldn't put it down. The story was sad and moving, yet not without optimism. Set in Poland during the Holocaust, the book gives and insight into what it would have been like for a young girl at that time. The whole story was planned very well and it didn't get boring for one minute. I just didn't want it to end!
December 3, 2020
The Holocaust experience from the eyes of a young girl from a Jewish family living in Poland. Historical fiction drawn purely from actual events that happened, the story is very confronting but delivered in a way accessible for younger readers to gain perspective and understanding.
May 11, 2017
2017 Younger Reader Short List. Read for presentation.
March 26, 2020
2.5 Stars
CW: People choose to take cyanide tablets rather than got to concentration camps.
CW: People choose to take cyanide tablets rather than got to concentration camps.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 1, 2021
Trigger & Content Warnings
Antisemitism
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
War themes & the Holocaust
Antisemitism
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
War themes & the Holocaust
May 29, 2017
Set in Warsaw in the lead up and through the duration of Polish occupation, Within These Walls is told through the eyes of 11 year old Miri and her Jewish family. Pre-war family life is idyllically capture and but when the Germans march into Warsaw with their campaign of hatred against the Jews, Miri and her family must move to the ghetto. As hardship increases and the ghettos shrinks, Miri's family diminishes as, one by one, they are taken from her, and she is left alone.
Bavati has undergone considerable research to present this harrowing story of one fictional child's desperate will to survive by combining multiple stories and evidence into one scenario. The style of writing tends towards a rather clinical recount of events and at times I felt disconnected from the events and Miri. I do think this was a deliberate attempt to present a neutral stance - horrific events presented without emotional judgement - to force readers to come to their own conclusions. It raises many ethical issues about the power of propaganda and the treatment of Polish Jews by Poles as well as Germans.
Shortlisted for the 2017 CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers i feel this book targets middle school and many primary aged students will find the content and detail disturbing. It would sit well as a companion text to other holocaust stories.
Bavati has undergone considerable research to present this harrowing story of one fictional child's desperate will to survive by combining multiple stories and evidence into one scenario. The style of writing tends towards a rather clinical recount of events and at times I felt disconnected from the events and Miri. I do think this was a deliberate attempt to present a neutral stance - horrific events presented without emotional judgement - to force readers to come to their own conclusions. It raises many ethical issues about the power of propaganda and the treatment of Polish Jews by Poles as well as Germans.
Shortlisted for the 2017 CBCA Book of the Year: Younger Readers i feel this book targets middle school and many primary aged students will find the content and detail disturbing. It would sit well as a companion text to other holocaust stories.
November 21, 2017
I can't believe this storyline. It's amazing, it's so intriguing and fast paced and uh. This is one of the First World War books I have ever read. Never read boy in the striped pajamas, Anne Frank, etc. looking back at all my previous ratings, I wish I could give this one a 6. I have never finished a book in a few hours. I borrowed the book in the morning but didn't have time to read it until after school. I couldn't put it down even for YouTube. Now on the actual book, it feels so raw and the characters were so easy to agree with and you felt their pain. I had already been given a huge spoiler by a teacher from my school. I have come to love "realistic" books. I have read The Bone Sparrow within this last month. If you like a book with action, heavy plot twists and a well explained storyline, you should read this book. I still feel bad for this girl and her family and how although this may be fiction, without a doubt there are many stories which go on just like this. I didn't realise how remarkably this War was and how people viewed other people in that time. Congrats and I would feel very honoured if I produced this book. Recommending it to all my friends and my librarian tomorrow!!!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2019
I picked this book up at the library, on a whim.
I have always been drawn to books that have the WWII content matter. I can't tell you why, other than I tend to find them in the biggest stacks of books.
This book is well written and easy to read, which is fantastic considering its target audience is middle-school aged children. And although it talks about dead bodies and starvation and people being executed, I think it is a pretty tame interpretation of the time.
I also feel that up until the last few chapters, there is a disconnect between the characters and what is happening around them. Maybe they had to be objective and ignore the horrors to be able to live, but it just felt stiff and emotionless.
I did enjoy the plot, how it went from life as normal, to living in fear of Germans, to the invasion, to the Ghettos, to the Ghettos being boarded up and then the Russian invasion and saving.
The way it travels through each aspect is fantastic.
I knew it was a younger reader book before I borrowed it, but I still found it a little monotonous to read and a little beige for me. Hence the low star rating. However, I think it is a great way to show younger readers what The Holocaust was like for children their age. In a safe and not so confronting way.
I have always been drawn to books that have the WWII content matter. I can't tell you why, other than I tend to find them in the biggest stacks of books.
This book is well written and easy to read, which is fantastic considering its target audience is middle-school aged children. And although it talks about dead bodies and starvation and people being executed, I think it is a pretty tame interpretation of the time.
I also feel that up until the last few chapters, there is a disconnect between the characters and what is happening around them. Maybe they had to be objective and ignore the horrors to be able to live, but it just felt stiff and emotionless.
I did enjoy the plot, how it went from life as normal, to living in fear of Germans, to the invasion, to the Ghettos, to the Ghettos being boarded up and then the Russian invasion and saving.
The way it travels through each aspect is fantastic.
I knew it was a younger reader book before I borrowed it, but I still found it a little monotonous to read and a little beige for me. Hence the low star rating. However, I think it is a great way to show younger readers what The Holocaust was like for children their age. In a safe and not so confronting way.
September 10, 2023
"Once, I'd had a family. I'd had a home . . . "
A heart breaking look at a young Jewish girl's experience in the Warsaw ghetto. The contrast between the beginning of the book with her idyllic childhood before the war and the horrific conditions in the ghetto later in the book is stark. But what stands out and is very important for middle grade readers to understand is that the leadup to the Jewish incarceration in the ghetto was incremental. This was handled very well by the author as the main character's sister kept a list of all the new laws regarding Jews as they were implemented.
"Jews are not permitted to sit on public benches.
Jews are not permitted to enter parks."
With these incremental changes, it was shown that when change creeps up slowly, it is easier for good people to do nothing.
Of particular interest are the author's notes where she explains that while the characters in her book are fictional, every incident in the book actually happened. During her research, she spoke to and read about the experiences of many Jewish people and included many of these as experiences of the fictional family in her novel.
A heart breaking look at a young Jewish girl's experience in the Warsaw ghetto. The contrast between the beginning of the book with her idyllic childhood before the war and the horrific conditions in the ghetto later in the book is stark. But what stands out and is very important for middle grade readers to understand is that the leadup to the Jewish incarceration in the ghetto was incremental. This was handled very well by the author as the main character's sister kept a list of all the new laws regarding Jews as they were implemented.
"Jews are not permitted to sit on public benches.
Jews are not permitted to enter parks."
With these incremental changes, it was shown that when change creeps up slowly, it is easier for good people to do nothing.
Of particular interest are the author's notes where she explains that while the characters in her book are fictional, every incident in the book actually happened. During her research, she spoke to and read about the experiences of many Jewish people and included many of these as experiences of the fictional family in her novel.
November 28, 2019
As a twelve year old who reads loads, I was stunned when I read this book. I don't usually cry a lot when reading, but reading this was a exception. At many parts, I wasn't able to control the tears, and they just kept coming.
I finished the book last night, reading about 200 pages, and stayed up really late even though I had school the next day. I couldn't stop.
The deaths that happen are absolutely heartbreaking, but there not gory and slightly under described, which made it sadder in a way. When Miri gave Hinda away, I couldn't stop crying.
This book has opened my eyes so much. I can clearly imagine being in the shoes in the character, and I couldn't bare the thought that this is what children like had had to go through. I shed many, many, tears in the process of reading this amazing books.
This book...is something that I will not soon forget.
I finished the book last night, reading about 200 pages, and stayed up really late even though I had school the next day. I couldn't stop.
The deaths that happen are absolutely heartbreaking, but there not gory and slightly under described, which made it sadder in a way. When Miri gave Hinda away, I couldn't stop crying.
This book has opened my eyes so much. I can clearly imagine being in the shoes in the character, and I couldn't bare the thought that this is what children like had had to go through. I shed many, many, tears in the process of reading this amazing books.
This book...is something that I will not soon forget.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 28, 2020
A perfect middle school read to introduce and educate on the Holocaust. The story is told by Miri, a Jewish girl living in Warsaw, Poland with her family.
The writing is simple and matter-of-fact, not pulling any punches on the gradual loss of rights for the Jews, the hardships and discrimination they face.
Miri and her family endure so much with stoicism and bravery, but the writer does not shy away from the grim reality of this time for the Jewish people, and Miri experiences hunger, fear, and death of her family members.
Her survival skills and will to live are inspiring under terrible and frightening conditions.
The young reader cannot fail to be moved and learn from her story. A well-researched book suitable for mature Year 6 and above.
The writing is simple and matter-of-fact, not pulling any punches on the gradual loss of rights for the Jews, the hardships and discrimination they face.
Miri and her family endure so much with stoicism and bravery, but the writer does not shy away from the grim reality of this time for the Jewish people, and Miri experiences hunger, fear, and death of her family members.
Her survival skills and will to live are inspiring under terrible and frightening conditions.
The young reader cannot fail to be moved and learn from her story. A well-researched book suitable for mature Year 6 and above.
September 11, 2017
After reading the reviews for this book here on Goodreads I was feeling somewhat despondent. I think reviewers need to remember this is a kids book, it is fiction based on fact and it isn't a glorified, or even raw account of fact. I feel this book presents some truths about the Holocaust especially for younger readers, those who may not know, or understand. It deals with death, hatred and the misery of life under the Nazi's in Poland honestly, but not overwhelmingly. I'm happy I read this, it was a sad, but 'nice' story of the horrors of war.
November 14, 2024
This book had such. An incredible impact on my life it's Hard to describe. I've read it 3 times all over 5 years ago but could account the story for anyone perfectly, i think about it often. Understanding the way genocide and oppresion look on the human level and gaining the most vital insight on why history is arguably the most important school subject are both things this masterpiece of a story had about in me. I would actually be a very different person if not for this book and the butterfly effect on me. Must read for anyone idk you're age.
April 6, 2017
Wondered why there seemed so many familiar aspects to this story till I got to the acknowledgments at the end. The author has only included things which are from firsthand accounts. Reminded me of The Pianist I used with my Year 11 students.
Miri and her family are forced into the Warsaw ghetto once the Germans take over the city. The family believes it will be OK if they stay together but the cruelty they face on so many levels breaks them apart. Miri promises her mother she will do whatever it takes to survive.
Miri and her family are forced into the Warsaw ghetto once the Germans take over the city. The family believes it will be OK if they stay together but the cruelty they face on so many levels breaks them apart. Miri promises her mother she will do whatever it takes to survive.
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