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popthebutterfly 's review for:
The Librarian of Auschwitz
by Antonio Iturbe
Disclaimer: None! I bought my own copy!
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: October 10th, 2017
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (inhumane conditions, violence, Jewish slurs, and the realization that this could happen again)
Pages: 424
Author Website
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.
Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.
Going into this I didn’t know if the book would really portray the horrors of WW2 accurately. And I was pleasantly surprised when it did! Not happy or anything, but surprised that this book was so dark in places and that it didn’t hold back when talking about the murder of children and babies. I felt that the book did well in developing Dita and all of the other characters, but it’s real strength lies in world building and emersion into the book. The plot was intriguing and the book kept you on your toes until the very end. And even though you know the outcome, you can’t help but pray for something more to happen.
I did find that the book was a bit jarring in how it kept switching POVs between the different characters and sometimes it made it hard to get back into the book when that happened. I also felt that there were a lot of characters, which made it hard for me to remember each and every one of them.
Verdict: Overall, this is a hauntingly beautiful tale about hope in a desolate situation.
Rating: 5/5
Publication Date: October 10th, 2017
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: 16+ (inhumane conditions, violence, Jewish slurs, and the realization that this could happen again)
Pages: 424
Author Website
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust.
Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along with her mother and father, from the Terezín ghetto in Prague, Dita is adjusting to the constant terror that is life in the camp. When Jewish leader Freddy Hirsch asks Dita to take charge of the eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. And so Dita becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.
Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.
Going into this I didn’t know if the book would really portray the horrors of WW2 accurately. And I was pleasantly surprised when it did! Not happy or anything, but surprised that this book was so dark in places and that it didn’t hold back when talking about the murder of children and babies. I felt that the book did well in developing Dita and all of the other characters, but it’s real strength lies in world building and emersion into the book. The plot was intriguing and the book kept you on your toes until the very end. And even though you know the outcome, you can’t help but pray for something more to happen.
I did find that the book was a bit jarring in how it kept switching POVs between the different characters and sometimes it made it hard to get back into the book when that happened. I also felt that there were a lot of characters, which made it hard for me to remember each and every one of them.
Verdict: Overall, this is a hauntingly beautiful tale about hope in a desolate situation.