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Drawn from Memory

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Sixteen-year-old Rachel Abramson will do anything to protect her friends and family. It’s a tall order for a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Denmark, but Rachel is no ordinary girl. She has the ability to erase people’s memories, making German soldiers forget her face or easing her friends’ grief over lost loved ones.

When the Danish resistance attempts to smuggle Jews to safety in neutral Sweden, her sister is forced to stay behind. Rachel delays her own escape to look after her on her own, but they are caught and deported to the Terezin ghetto in Czechoslovakia.

There, Rachel is confronted with more fear and grief than she could ever erase, and she must find a different way to protect the people she loves if they are going to make it home alive.

247 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 7, 2022

2 people are currently reading
59 people want to read

About the author

Laura Hatosy

1 book8 followers
Laura Hatosy is from New Jersey, which means she is genetically predisposed to big hair and has a predilection for pork roll sandwiches.

She received her BA in history and education at Rutgers and married her high school sweetheart. She discovered the story of the Danish evacuation of the Jews when she taught the Holocaust to eighth graders. The story was so compelling to her, she wrote her history master’s thesis at Harvard on the subject and, later, this novel. Laura has two children, Isabella and Jake.

She lives in Massachusetts and is currently eating a pork roll sandwich.

Visit her on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurahatosy...

Visit her on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/LauraHatosy

Visit her on Twitter
https://twitter.com/LauraHatosy


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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
Profile Image for Erin.
136 reviews25 followers
September 27, 2022
WOW! This book was so engrossing that I read it in just two sittings. It was so well paced and I could not put it down! I have read many books about the Holocaust, but never about Terezin concentration camp or the unique status of Danish Jews. The novel was meticulously well researched, and profoundly impactful, particularly as it is based on true events (with a bit of science-fiction/fantasy woven in). There is still so much to learn about that dark period in history. The author did a beautiful job with finely drawn, loveable characters. She also infused the story with so much warmth and moments of humor even as she depicted disturbing atrocities of life in and out of the concentration camp. Highly recommend!
42 reviews2 followers
July 21, 2022
This novel checks all the boxes... it's very well-written, laden with multidimensional and relatable characters, and tells a powerful story through a compelling plot. I've sat through a lot of history classes in my lifetime and I've read several novels and NF books about the Holocaust. Yet, Hatosy's novel is the first time I've ever read about the experiences of Danish Jews. It's a fast, easy, interesting read!
Profile Image for Monica Acker.
Author 2 books27 followers
June 22, 2022
This book falls into my “watch as much tv as you want today, kiddos” category, meaning I could not put it down. The way the author weaves in a supernatural element into historical fiction feels effortless but also so important in the delivery of a very poignant message.
Profile Image for Rebecca.
130 reviews
July 31, 2023
(Full disclosure: the author is a friend of mine.) I greatly enjoyed this YA novel. The story of Denmark’s Jews during WWII is a fascinating one and not widely known. (For another lovely take on it, I highly recommend looking up the song Denmark, 1943 by Fred Small… but have tissues handy!) This story’s inside look at life in the Terezin camp is eye-opening, and as the author has a degree in history and wrote a thesis on this topic, I trust in its accuracy. The suspense is real, the characters believable, and it hits the notes you want a YA novel to hit, even managing a teen crush/romance despite such a horrific setting. I had thought I might have issues with the one supernatural element — in general I want my historical fiction to be fully realistic — but it actually fit into the plot just fine and felt like it was worked in naturally enough that it didn’t take me out of the story, and in fact it helps raise excellent questions about our obligations to remember humanity’s worst moments. The exhortation to “Never Forget” takes on new meaning in light of Rachel’s ability.

Very much recommend this for fans of YA lit and/or WWII historical fiction.
Profile Image for Christi M.
62 reviews6 followers
February 17, 2025
Sixteen-year-old Rachel Abramson is a Jewish teenager in Nazi occupied Denmark. She is the dangerous combination of extremely stubborn, dedicated to protecting others, impulsive, and filled with the naive and reckless sense of invulnerability shared by teenagers throughout human history. She is emboldened by her secret gift of being able to remove memories, which she regularly uses to help erase loved ones grief and fear and also to stay out of trouble, particularly when she has had a run in with soldiers. She must later draw them so they do not drain her too much.

The Danish resistance learns that the Nazis have gathered the information about Jewish families and moves to smuggle as many as possible to Neutral Neighbor Sweden for safety. They had devised a brilliant way to bypass the dogs used to search boats with a system of rabbits blood and cocaine to make sure the dogs cannot smell the Jewish refugees hidden below decks. Unfortunately when the Abramson family is meant to make their escape, Rachel's medically fragile sister has an emergency and she and Rachel need to stay behind until she is able to safely travel. Unfortunately Rachel's overconfidence in her abilities and reckless curiosity get them caught and deported to Czechoslovakian ghetto camp, Terezín. Rachel is forced to face more horror and trauma than she can possibly bear on her own, with or without her ability and so she must learn more ways to protect those she loves and examine her every perspective about her gift.

World War II historical fiction is very hit or miss for me. A distressing amount of it seems to be determined to show "both sides" of the Holocaust and generate undue sympathy for the Nazis and Nazi allies, which is both a stance I loathe with everything in me and something I believe has been instrumental in allowing those groups to maintain increasing social power in current times. I am delighted to assert that this book is not that kind of take on WWII.

A friend on social media recommended this book based only on the knowledge that I had read 'Number the Stars' by Lois Lowry and been touched by it. She was right that this would also resonate with me just as much. 'Number the Stars' was my first exposure as a child to the idea of the Danish resistance to Nazis, and people risking everything to protect their neighbors--and for the vast most part succeeding. It was incredibly formative in values I find myself reflecting on more and more in recent times. 'Drawn From Memory' resonates even more strongly.

I did not know about Terezín before this book. It is a shameful gap in my understanding of World War II and the Holocaust. Terezin, called Thereseinstadt by the Germans, was a hybrid ghetto and concentration camp that was often used as propaganda to soothe international concerns and accusations against what the Nazis were doing with the people they reported to camps. While the conditions were utterly fiendish and evil, it was cleaned up and shown to various humanitarian aid organizations including the German and International Red Cross, who ultimately reported nothing untoward. This is in no small part due to the fact that the visitors were only able to interact with "prominent" prisoners including Danish Jews whose better treatment was paid for by the Danish King Christian. The camp had a robust cultural life including theater and concerts and arts as well as a large functional library absent in most other concentration camps and an extremely unusual Jewish self-administration governing system that furthered the ideas of propaganda handily.

Exploring the inside of such a place, even through the fictional account of a fairy privileged Danish Jew was haunting and horrifying. The author's research shows in the gruesome braid of historic reality and slightly supernatural fiction. I thought I would be wary of that element in a historical fiction setting, especially one so intense and important to remember correctly as the Holocaust, but I found myself enjoying the way the author played with it as a tool of grief and self preservation and ultimately it was a small, almost insignificant piece of everything.

This book does boldly march through a lot of the most common triggers, and I might urge caution for readers in a delicate state of mind but I would encourage most people to read this book and those like it to lean into the discomfort and horror and pay attention to the aspects of it that are starting to rhyme with current events.
14 reviews
June 12, 2022
This was a compelling and well-researched Holocaust YA novel. The main character, Rachel, lives in Nazi-occupied Denmark during WWII. After a blotched escape attempt, she and her sister are captured and transported to the Terezin concentration camp along with her best friend Gideon. There, Rachel forges new friendships amid terrible conditions.

One of the most interesting elements of the book is Rachel's ability to erase people's memories - a skill that's extremely useful in surviving first in Nazi-occupied Denmark, and then in Terezin. It's also a skill she uses to ease the grief of people she cares about...she literally takes away their bad memories. However, she soon realizes that her attempts to ease people's pain also means she's taking away their memories of what happens in Terezin. In order to survive, Rachel will need to figure out how to use her ability to keep the people she loves safe without erasing the testimony of what happened in the concentration camp.

Side note: I found the history around well-organized mass escape of Jews from Denmark to Sweden absolutely fascinating. I know a lot about WWII and had never heard about that! I also didn't realize that the King of Denmark was able to exert influence over the treatment of Jewish Danes in Terezin. The whole story was a fascinating look at a relatively unknown part of the Holocaust, with a unique speculative twist.

I read an advance copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.
Profile Image for Karin.
49 reviews
November 18, 2024
Set largely in Terezin, a WW2 concentration camp, this novel describes how one young Jewish woman tries to survive that captivity. Though she has an unusual ability that may help her, it can't protect her from the daily grind of prison life. She has people she loves around her, but they become both a comfort and vulnerability when those relationships can be used against her. And she is drawn to one fellow inmate in particular, a childhood friend who looks out for her.
I wasn't eager to return to the grimness of a concentration camp novel. Yet Laura's book adds a new dimension to my understanding of what happened. It would serve as a good introduction to that horrible chapter in world history to young readers as hope never completely fades in this story.
That hope takes the shape of Rachel's secret ability. She doesn't know much about it and learns more as time passes. Her "gift" lines up perfectly with the theme we all know so well from holocaust survivors: never forget.
Rachel makes a sympathetic character especially for younger readers who may be reading about those camps for the first time. Will she survive? Will her loved ones? An engaging, quick-paced read that enlarged my understanding about the war.
4 reviews2 followers
June 14, 2022
I loved the characters in this book. Rachel is so well written and authentic - it's easy to get drawn into her life and her choices and really understand how she thinks. The historic background of this book is fascinating - I've read a lot of WW2/holocaust fiction/nonfiction and never heard of the story of the Danish Jews. The story takes you into the horror of the concentration camps but the focus is really on the hope and humanity that can still be found in such an awful place. The supernatural talent adds a twist that resonates with the theme of the importance of never forgetting that this event took place.
Profile Image for Laura Hatosy.
Author 1 book8 followers
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September 22, 2022
Drawn from Memory is out now!

This is the amazing story of how Denmark saved 99% of their Jewish population during the Holocaust. This standalone novel is about Rachel, a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Denmark who can erase memories. She has to decide how to use her gift and ease the grief of her friends or to preserve their testimony and never allow them to forget.

Get your copy here:
https://www.laurahatosy.com/get-your-...

Check out all my social media and web links on my Linktree here:
https://linktr.ee/LauraHatosyWilson
Profile Image for AJ Smith.
4 reviews1 follower
October 23, 2024
‘Drawn from Memory’ is a gripping and engrossing tale of a difficult subject masterfully done by Laura Hatosy. She places us smack dab in the middle of Rachel’s plight and we are right there with her throughout her ordeal in the Terezin ghetto in Czechoslovakia. I don’t want to spoil anything but it was refreshing that her magical power was done with realistic restraint that added to the texture and depth of the story. A wonderful novel of sacrifice, hope and the power of friendship and love.
84 reviews1 follower
February 6, 2025
I bought a signed copy from the author, who lives near me. I loved it! In general, I don’t read World War II novels, but this was amazing - there’s a little of fantasy along the sadness. Rachel Abramson, 16, lived in Denmark. When most of her family were allowed to get out in neutral Sweden, Rachel and her older sister, who is a diabetic, were left behind. They were caught and taken to Terezin, a ghetto in Czechoslovakia.

Profile Image for Larissa Anderson.
372 reviews3 followers
July 26, 2022
Until reading “Drawn from Memory”, I had no idea how Denmark’s Jewish population fared during the holocaust. This book takes the concept of “never forget” to a supernatural level that will appeal to young adult readers as well as historical fiction enthusiasts. An impressive literary debut - very well written and thoroughly researched.
👏
Profile Image for Adaela McLaughlin.
88 reviews
November 27, 2022
This book is well written and allows the reader to become immersed in an experience of the Holocaust. The protagonist, Rachel, undergoes thoughtful transformation. Somehow, I can't help but think her experience in a work camp would have made her distrustful and bitter. This did not seem to happen, but I would have liked to have seen a struggle with this in the final outcome.
Profile Image for Jackie McCarthy.
65 reviews
December 4, 2022
This story describing the plight of Danish Jews during the Holocaust, told through a girl with supernatural powers to erase/revive memory, will stay with me for a long time. It’s an incredibly creative and readable story that gets me thinking about how memories, even traumatic and painful ones, inform our experiences and our outlook.
Profile Image for Margot Bennett.
5 reviews
June 7, 2022
Loved the approach Laura took in weaving a story about this time period. To be able to take away memories that are painful was a unique way to tell a story about this era and I loved the way she had me engaged from the very beginning. The drawing portion was also riveting to follow along with.
37 reviews
July 7, 2022
Main character Rachel has the ability to erase people’s memories, giving this historically-based novel about Danish Jews (and others) sent to the Terezin concentration camp a thought-provoking twist. A truly unique holocaust novel that I highly recommend.
1 review
October 10, 2024
This is an amazing novel that ably bridges an important and well-researched historic narrative with wonderfully rich characters and a touch of magic realism not often found in stories about this topic. A great and rich read!
Profile Image for Bonnie.
22 reviews2 followers
October 10, 2024
This book grabbed me from the beginning. Read it to twice - I'm suggesting this book for our Social Justice Bookclub. Great story, great history, really good twist. Thank you. This fan is waiting for the next book from Ms. Hatosy.
1 review
October 20, 2024
Really loved Drawn from Memory. Rachel's story had me hooked from the moment I started reading. There are so many books written about this period of time but this one adds a unique twist. Would highly recommend this well written book to anyone.
12 reviews
June 13, 2022
Hatosy tells an astonishing, yet true, Holocaust story with a fantastic element that softens the blow without diminishing the reality. Very well done.
1 review
October 11, 2024
Loved this book! Literally couldn't put it down. It is a captivating story, and written in such a relatable way. A book that everyone should read!!
1 review
October 11, 2024
This was a very moving story that gave me great insight into the role of Denmark during WWII. A real page turner for young adults and anyone interested in this period in history.
54 reviews5 followers
December 2, 2022
Wowee... This book was something else!
The Good:
It is not very often that I get so sucked into a book that I actually feel I was there. With this book, I really felt as though I were (Heaven forbid) in Terezin with Rachel. Rachel was an interesting protagonist with many layers. While her struggles throughout the book are unique given her power, they gave the book a deeper meaning. Her power, while being fictional was not so much so that it made the book seem unrealistic.
I feel as though the Theresienstadt Ghetto is a part of the Holocaust that is not as well known. It is important for books like this to spread awareness of the different parts of the Holocaust that may not be as well known and can appeal to individuals who do not enjoy reading nonfiction.
The Not-As-Good:
Throughout the past couple of years, I have read multiple fictional books about the Holocaust, and many times these books do not depict Jewish life completely correctly. I was very confused about where Rachel and her sister stood with their Judaism. There were many conflicting ideas throughout the book which made it difficult to gauge this. For example, at the beginning of the book, Rachel's sister Annalise does not know what a haggadah is, but later in the book, Rachel is contemplating things such as kaddish and a ketubah, and she remembers her family celebrating Chanukkah. If Annalise did not know what a Haggadah was, then their family probably would not have celebrated Channukah and Rachel would not know what kaddish and a ketubah are.
One more thing to note; the rabbi said that since there would be no ketubah the marriages between Danes and others would not be considered legitimate when the laws surrounding marriage are much more complex than that.
I received a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
11 reviews1 follower
August 5, 2022
(From my Amazon)

I was given a copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I will be wording this in a way that does NOT give away any spoilers!!

When I read this book, there wasn't a synopsis yet written so I went into this blind. It was absolutely not what I was expecting but in the best way! I immediately became so hooked into the story that it was easy to forget that this is a fictionalized story about true events. Even though the main concept of this book is fantastical, it in no way diminished the reality or the severity of that time or its people. I really enjoyed the concept that the author created, which in a weird way made the reality of what actually happened more powerful to me.

Merged review:

I was given a copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I will be wording this in a way that does NOT give away any spoilers!!

When I read this book, there wasn't a synopsis yet written so I went into this blind. It was absolutely not what I was expecting but in the best way! I immediately became so hooked into the story that it was easy to forget that this is a fictionalized story about true events. Even though the main concept of this book is fantastical, it in no way diminished the reality or the severity of that time or its people. I really enjoyed the concept that the author created, which in a weird way made the reality of what actually happened more powerful to me.

(Review previously published on Amazon)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Katie.
33 reviews
January 28, 2023
I finished this book on International Holocaust Remembrance day, and am walking away knowing a new slice of Holocaust history I doubt I would have know if not for this book. Hopeful and sad, uplifting and horrifying, the story of the Danish Jews as shared here is truly remarkable. I loved the little hit of magic, and found Rachel to be such a wonderful protagonist.

Though this is a YA book, I am decidedly not a YA reader. Don’t let that dissuade you from reading this; I loved this book!
Profile Image for Lucy Gould.
Author 3 books60 followers
January 16, 2023
I really enjoyed this book! I’ve read a lot of Holocaust centered books but this one felt new to me. I loved the main character but not really many of the supporting characters. I loved Ernst but not the mc’s sister or eventual love interest. In fact I found them both to be annoying and toxic for the mc. But it’s a quick read.
Profile Image for Claudette Sabbag.
Author 1 book4 followers
February 18, 2025
Drawn from Memory is historical fiction at its finest. It teaches about unrecounted events from the Holocaust and entertains with unique characters and plotlines. This young adult book is suitable for all readers aged 12 to 92.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews

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