Nothing will ever top Jennifer's A Night Divided but this one was still a good read.

4 Stars

Content: death, violence, murder ( )

Living in occupied Poland, Chaya a Jewish teenager, wants to make a difference and joins the Resistance. Using forged papers, her fair features, and knowledge of languages to travel in and out of the Jewish ghettos, she smuggles food, weapons, documents in and people out.
Knowing that the resistance does not really have a chance against the Nazis, they are determined to save as many lives as possible and show the world that the Jewish people can stand strong in the midst of unimaginable horrors.
Jennifer A. Nielsen wrote an amazing historical fiction with great insight to what may have happened in occupied Poland and the struggles that Resistance may have encountered. With a strong female character grappling with the knowledge of what was happening to her people and wanting to save them by any means possible, she also struggled with her faith during this dark time.
I highly recommend this book not only to Juvenile readers, but adults as well for a unique perspective on the Holocaust. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

There are a lot of great WWII books out there, and I have to say this one suffers by comparison. I find the narrator too modern, too aware of the big picture of death in the camps (which seems inaccurate to me), too world-weary and self-righteous. It just assumes a knowledge of history and context that strikes me wrong for the time period. I also don't understand why an underground cell would move _into_ the ghetto -- that's hampering their own movements in a strange way. Can you tell I didn't get very far into the narrative? It just didn't work for me.

Advanced Readers Copy provided by Edelweiss. ( )

YA book following the life of Chaya Lindner, who following the disappearance of her younger siblings and inability to convince her parents to leave their the Tarnow ghetto, Chaya joins the Jewish Resistance. Using her blonde hair and fair complexion, she smuggles food, medical supplies and eventually guns into and babies out of various ghettos in Poland during the Nazi occupation. The highlights of the book are the inner turmoil faced by Jews and non-Jews during traumatic times and events, especially the failed Warsaw rebellion. Nielsen's afterword is also not to be missed. The reason for 3 stars is that I did not really care for Chaya, despite her bravery, or the other main characters, who kept appearing and disappearing. ( )