We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman

My interest in World War II youth resistance groups started when I read, "The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club" by Phillip Hoose. I can add this to another terrific children's book on a little-known topic. Or at least, little-known to me. Hans and Sophie Scholl were members of the Hitler Youth organization before they became disillusioned with the anti-Semitism and rigid group's ways. They organized a resistance group at the University of Munich and decided to protest totalitarianism through nonviolent means. They handed out leaflets encouraging the masses to rise up and condemn Nazism. When they were caught the two received admiration from the Nazi guards with how they handled themselves. The guards broke protocol to let them speak with family and each other before their executions. This inspirational story will have you doing more historical research on your own.

The nonfiction elements are well-documented and the story is a quick read of over one hundred pages. It is inspirational and combats the stereotype of a Hitler Youth movement where all German youths willingly joined and brainlessly spouted Nazi slogans. The brave students could not remain silent as the war progressed and they consciously resisted National Socialism for cultural and differing ideological reasons. A good historical book makes the reader want to find out more information on the topic and Russell Freedman did just that for me. The language is simple and nothing graphic; however, the gruesome execution of the youths is disturbing and might require discussion with younger readers.

Daniel Horn wrote an interesting article that overviews German youth resistance during WWII (I reference it below if you are interested in the article on JSTOR). Horn lumps German youth resistance into three groups from various economic and social backgrounds but fighting for basically the same thing: freedom of choice, dissatisfaction with a regimented Nazi youth system, and self-fulfillment. The working class and bourgeoisie youth resistance members formed different groups from the asocial gangs such as the Edelweiss and Kittelsbach Pirates with violent aims to overthrow the Nazi government, to the politically opposed groups such as the Munich and Hamburg White Rose students that used print to express their displeasure with National Socialism, and the liberal-oriented individuals of Swing youths who wanted self-expression and individualism rather than the regimentation and repression of culture such as dancing and Jazz music.

Youth Resistance in the Third Reich: A Social Portrait Author(s): Daniel Horn Source: Journal of Social History, Vol. 7, No. 1 (Autumn, 1973), pp. 26-50 Published by: Oxford University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3786496

The Complete Maus (Maus, #1-2) by Art Spiegelman

What a fantastic book for our book club discussion where members ranged in age from 13-50 plus. Media propaganda and popular culture have a plethora of anti-semitic caricatures and stereotypes used throughout history to sway public opinion. Art Spiegelman was taking a course in college studying this type of propaganda and political art in comics when he came up with the idea of writing a comic book on his father's survival of the Holocaust. He studied artists such as comic writer, R. Crumb, who drew anti-semitic cartoons against African Americans and Jews during the 1960s. He also studied German political cartoonists like Phillipp Rupprecht, a.k.a.Fips, who worked creating Nazi propaganda during WWII where Jews were portrayed as vicious rats and made scapegoats for various reasons such as the economic problems following WWI. Spiegelman explains this in an article promoting his book, MetaMaus, that it was out of this university class that the idea for writing this graphic novel took seed (Spiegelman).

Spiegelman takes this idea of vermin and turns his father's story into one where Jews are represented as helpless mice; an uncomfortable yet ironic mirror of negative political caricatures. The mice have no expressions on their mouths only when they scream or cry and the pictures are simple, not overly detailed. One person suggested during book club that the lack of a mouth was a symbol of silence while another brought up that Hitler gassed Jews using the same pesticide used to exterminate vermin. The attempt to extinguish a race was conducted in a frighteningly systematic way.

Spiegelman's mice are fearful, loving, and burrow underground to hide from the Nazis.  He tells the story of his father's remarkable resourcefulness and survival skills during a terrible time and the abstraction of anthropomorphizing the characters as mice helps put distance between the horrors of the story making it accessible to a wider and younger audience. The simple illustrations don't distract from the narrative. If the pictures were too detailed, the story flow or fluency might become too interrupted.

I was uncomfortable with the anthropomorphic representations: Jews are mice, Poles pigs, French frogs, German's cats, and Americans dogs. However, the negative caricatures are perhaps the author's way to point to the political and manipulative power of those in government who use images to demean ethnic groups. Or is this representing his father's racist views. He hated Poles and Blacks. Perhaps this is addressed in, "MetaMaus," his book about writing "Maus."

When in the present, the author portrays himself as wearing a mask of a mouse. Is he trying to unmask stereotypes or is it about being a second generation survivor of the Holocaust - a child whose father passed on his guilt of surviving when others didn't? Or is Speigelman symbolizing how difficult it is to write about something that he didn't experience? This is the memory of an event that his father narrates and he wasn't there and doesn't know the details. The author is constructing a past and identity that seems futile; hence, the Samuel Beckett quote and writer's block that is revealed in the therapist session. The comic took 13 years to write leading him to therapy sessions. Or maybe he is trying to unmask his own identity and come to terms with his own trauma.

The story is framed by the author interviewing his father whose behavior was irrational, contradictory, and loving at times; yet, understandable as someone who had to survive by his wits and broad base of knowledge during the Holocaust. His son had an inferiority complex never feeling good enough, but the father seemed to be projecting his Holocaust survival skills onto his son in their relationship. It becomes evident as the father's tale unfolds that he survived Auschwitz because he knew a little bit of many jobs and was able to fake it until he gained new skills; he shows this as he becomes a cobbler, tinsmith, and salesman, to name a few. He also bribed when necessary, saving his bread and trading to get some protection. If he didn't have the answer, he found someone that did. Spiegelman captures the complexity of his father's love, flaws, and damage caused by the Holocaust through the metafictional story of their relationship as he interviews him for the book he is writing.

The story also shows the author struggling with guilt. He feels guilty that his book was so successful it won the Pulitzer Prize and that he actually profited from the Holocaust. Spiegelman discusses his guilt with a therapist, and his ambivalence toward it:  "No matter what I accomplish, it doesn't seem like much compared to surviving Auschwitz." The therapist suggests that his father took his guilt out on him for surviving the camps. The therapist also says that the victims can't tell their story. Spiegelman quotes Samuel Beckett, "Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness" revealing how words are necessary to tell this tragic story but inadequate.

Quoting Beckett shows how Spiegelman stumbles to find words to name the unnameable. The novel has an insert about his mother's suicide when he was young. He expresses a desire to know her story but his father has burned all her diaries. Much of the story revolves around the unresolved trauma of his father losing his firstborn, Richlieu, and the death of the mother. Her story is untold and silent just like the mouths of the mice. Spiegelman must deal with that trauma in his own way.  In a powerful ending, when Spiegelman's father's health is failing he calls the author his dead first son's name, Richlieu, revealing just how deep the loss has been for him. A terrific book and not to be missed.

5 Smileys

Paper Wishes by Lois Sepahban

The personal anguish of being uprooted and sent to a prison-like internment camp are captured in the character of a young Japanese girl in Lois Sepahban's debut novel. Manami is forced from her home in Bainbridge Island, Washington with other Japanese during World War II. She has no idea what is going on when they leave and sneaks her dog with her under her coat. When soldiers force her to abandon the dog and she arrives at the internment camp, she is traumatized by the event and becomes mute losing her dog, her voice, and her home.

The author targets young readers and simplifies the story focusing on Manami and her internal turmoil. The subplots regarding the forbidden romance between two teachers, the riot at the camp, and residents and not developed or elaborated much. Manami doesn't know why she is at the camp and seems oblivious to the war which didn't ring true. The author shows that Manami's parents don't tell her anything, but wouldn't she hear about it at school? As a 10-year-old she would at least know about the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese. She arrives at the camp as an incredibly clueless person. The short choppy sentences reflect a younger person and also one that is from a bilingual home, although this is never stated in the story. I found the story somewhat slow with little character development, but I think students will like the thrust of a girl's grief over losing her pet and home.

3 Smileys

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson

Stalin was a paranoid and cruel dictator that killed millions of Russians crippling his economy, government, Arts, and military long before World War II even broke out. While the Germans laid siege to Leningrad during the war, it was Stalin that initiated the "first siege" during his Great Terror and Five-Year Plan. Like most despots, he murdered anyone that disagreed with him, repressed free will, free press, violated human rights, and ruled with terror. Popularity and capitalist notions could get you killed or sent to Gulag labor camps. Stalin trusted no one (except Hitler who betrayed him). He felt it was his right to enact terror - he was an institutionalized psychopathic leader. Through music, Russian composer  Dmitri Shostakovich, was able to give the people a voice to express their feelings and emotions in a state where it was not allowed.

Stalin was trying to break down social structure to the point that people were denied their souls and aligned with the party. Through alienation, loneliness, and terror he tried to create a classless society and in the effort tore down the moral fabric. Shostakovich's symphonies allowed listeners a respite and not only pride in their Arts but an understanding that was unique to their own experience. And Shostakovich managed to hold on to his humanity even though Stalin attacked him twice and had him publicly denounced. Shostakovich remained a kind man who cared for the students he taught at the Conservatory and his family for his whole life. He was a complex mixture of defiance and compliance with the Party. He easily could have ended up murdered like so many of his other friends, but he survived even when the odds looked bad.

The first part of the book shows the experimentation that Lenin allowed before his death and Shostakovich's extraordinary gift in music at the piano and later writing of symphonies. When Lenin died and Stalin's Five-Year Plan and Great Terror steamrolled through the Arts, Shostakovich's wildly popular 4th Symphony was marked as being too individualistic. A smear campaign by the Party and the death of his other successful friends, led to him fearing for his life. He wrote symphonies that reflected more of the Party's liking, but he also had discordant sections that spoke to the people and reflected the repression of will by the government. Stalin was always leery of Shostakovich and his popularity. It is somewhat of a mystery that he let him live.

The second part of the book focuses on the horrors of the siege of Leningrad that lasted for three years. The desperate and terrifying situation is reflected in Shostakovich's 7th Symphony that he wrote as German bombs pounded the city mercilessly. Shostakovich ended up escaping to Moscow after a year-and-a-half and times got even worse for the Leningrad people. As the winter temperatures plunged to minus forty degrees people died of exposure and hunger by the thousands. While some resorted to cannibalism, others created communities that cared for one another. The library stayed open for people to read and the orchestra got together to play Shostakovich's 7th Symphony when he completed it in Moscow. The concert was a turning point for the people in Leningrad for it told the Germans that they could not break the Russian spirit and it was their identity. While Stalin used the 7th Symphony as propaganda to inspire national pride, the Russians saw it as Art as a way of self-expression.

Any good history book shows the struggles the author has with its sources and whether or not they are truthful or exaggerated or false. M.T. Anderson does this with exhaustive notes and logic to create a solid glimpse of Russian history. Last year I read the book, "The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia," by Candace Fleming that explains the downfall of the 300-year-rule by Russian tsars. The books combined show how the severe economic distress, ineffective political, and judiciary system made it ripe for the Russian revolution and rise of despotic rulers such as Lenin and Stalin.


5 Smileys

The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club by Phillip M. Hoose

When Germany invaded Denmark in World War II, there was no resistance or fighting from the Danes. Knud Pedersen was fourteen and disgusted that his country did nothing in wake of the takeover. He and his brother met with other boys at their school and formed a resistance unit modeled after the Norwegian resistance and British Royal Air Force (RAF). They began fighting the Germans by switching up German signs confusing arriving soldiers with misdirections. With their bikes as their weapons, they added cutting the German communication wires next and vandalizing vehicles. Police offered a reward for the capture those responsible, but Knud and his brother moved to a different city starting a new club.

This club was named, "The Churchill Club," and the brothers along with eight boys targeted homes, offices, and stores of Nazi sympathizers vandalizing them. They left a calling card in blue paint whenever they struck. The club included about ten passive members that supported them with supplies and money, but who stayed out of the action. Their actions became bolder committing arson and stealing weapons from German solders before getting caught and sent to prison.

The story reads like a narrative from Knud's point of view. Text boxes containing facts, maps, primary photos, and Knud's sketches add to the depth and richness of the story. I read this on the Kindle and I would have probably preferred the book. The separation of text features is limited in space on the Kindle as it only shows one page at a time. I got the idea and saw the separation by a bold black line but I had to enlarge the photos to see some details and the maps were unreadable unless enlarged. You might want to consider what format you want to use when reading this book. A fascinating look at children making a difference in the world.

5 Smileys

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown

Joe Rantz is an unlikely hero in this nonfiction tale about nine boys that went to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. The son of a tinkerer who had many jobs, Joe was kicked out of his family home during the Depression because they were not able to feed him and his stepmom didn't want him around. He had to fend for himself as a ten-year-old and later as a teenager as hard times hit. This upbringing made the college-age Joe that went out for the rowing team, much different than a kid of growing up privileged. Rowing requires mental and physical toughness that tests athletes in extreme ways. Joe had the right makeup, but he also needed to learn to trust his fellow teammates. The author shows how Joe matures along with the other nine rowers in a way that make them stronger as one unit versus individually. This inspirational book was hard for me to put down.

Daniel James Brown learned about Joe's rowing career directly from him and other family members and it sure-as-heck shows in the plot. Brown's intimate details on Joe's feelings make it read like a narration, brimming with drama and suspense. The story is rounded out with historical details on the Depression and the war as German Nazi's rose to power. The details of foliage, trees, and animals from the Northwest create a strong setting and it is easy to get lost in the story as it unfolds.

The details of rowing do not bog down the plot as it is balanced by the emotional, human story of Joe Rantz's strange upbringing. Brown juggles the story elements well and uses tension in competition, The Depression, and Nazi Germany to ratchet the drama up several notches. The cheating that was done to try to win the race does paint the Germans as one-dimensional villains, but Brown also shows Germany's attempt to be equal with other world powers. The Ministry of Propaganda was a ruthless way to push a glorified image of Germany that hid its dark intolerant and superior side.

This tale reminded me of "Unbroken," because it is a story of triumph and survival in difficult times. Brown's research is impressive as he tackles the intricacies of rowing along with giving a historical overview of the tough times facing people in the 1930s. He dramatizes the slumps the rowers go through during different seasons and builds to an exciting climax. My husband and I just moved to Seattle and are going to trek to the University of Washington's Conibear Shellhouse to see the "Husky Clipper" rowboat that was used in the 1936 games. I can't wait. Don't miss this one.

5 Smileys

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

What a complex adult book. Part historical, part mystery, part myth, part science ... None of the plot went as I expected. The multiple points of view from main, secondary, and tertiary characters are different too. The teenage protagonist is a Nazi sympathizer and the other protagonist is blind. The "old ladies resistance club" is galvanized by a spunky 76-year-old housekeeper and the woman that runs the orphanage is caring and kind. No stereotypes here. Even the closest stock character, Von Rumpel, is trying to find a cure for himself, albeit a myth. Then the author plays with conventions creating a story that is not linear but zigzags forward and backward through time. And did I mention his prose? It is dense and lyrical. How he gets the whole shebang to work and come together is really a work of art that is worth reading. He takes quite a few risks and overall pulls it off in a book rich in prose, themes, and characters.

Frenchman Claude LeBlanc works at the Museum of Natural history when Paris is invaded by the Germans. He flees with his daughter, Marie-Laure, to Saint-Malo where his uncle lives. Claude has been given one of four famous diamonds for safekeeping. Three of the diamonds are fakes and one real. The diamond is cursed and all that come in contact with it suffer great tragedy, but live forever. Marie-Laure became blind as a six-year-old and is learning to navigate the world without sight. Her father teaches her to read Braille and she adores Jules Verne's, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea."

Meanwhile German teen, Werner Pfennig, lives in an orphanage with his sister after his dad died in a coal mine collapse and his mother died in childbirth. He is getting older and knows that his only career option will be to work in the mines. He is brilliant at math, engineering, and mechanics. When the neighbors discover he can fix any radio they bring him, he has steady work until a German shows up that recruits him for Hitler's Youth program. Werner sees a way out of poverty and the mines and takes the offer to be trained at school as a mechanic and soldier, but is uneasy the whole time with incidents that happen. He sees the commander, Bastian, as a fanatic capable of chronic violence and "...every part of him wants to scream: is this not wrong? But here it is right."

When Marie-Laure's dad goes missing on a trip back to the museum, she gets to know her uncle better and the housekeeper. The three get drawn into the French Resistance that was working against the Germans. When Werner's radio skills draw the two together in Saint-Malo, Werner makes choices that are contrary to those he has been making throughout the war. Before he thinks he is controlling his future and doesn't realize his lack of actions is a choice. The twist with model house at the end shows he found strength to do the right thing.

The reader has to work more keeping track of the narrative because it jumps in time. The story is basically about a one week siege in Saint-Malo, France. If the author had written it in a linear form, then most of the story would have been in flashbacks that would have taken the suspense and tension out of most of the plot development. I am not a fan of flashbacks and heavy backstory so I appreciate this experimental approach to narrative. It is risky and might irritate some, but my random brain kind of liked it once I got used to it. It reminded me of the hours I would spend putting puzzles together and I appreciated how cleverly the author put various time frames together to create suspense.

The prose and figurative language Doerr uses remind me a bit of some Romantic writers. He describes nature through his characters with such awe and beauty that I can smell the ocean and feel the wind in a grotto filled with mollusks and crustaceans. His sentences have a lyrical cadence that is like music. The writing can be dense too. When Werner describes radio technology, it is technical enough to remind me of Jules Verne's books. The 187 short one to three-page chapters balance these excessive descriptions so it isn't exhausting. The metaphors on light are so many and varied I could write an entire paper on them. The title reflects the light or darkness that is in nature, humans, man-made machines, blindness, buildings, to name a few. The author shows how the theme of good and evil or light and darkness in humans is complicated and far from black and white.

Werner's actions are good and harmful. Jutta and Frederick are his conscience and he fails both of them with the poor decisions he makes. But he is a character whose actions are not to take action so he isn't offensive or cruel. He just stands by and follows others; whereas, Jutta and Frederick stand up against people doing things that they believe are morally wrong. Werner wants so bad to break out of his poverty and not end up in the mines that he compromises his morals. When his story becomes wrapped up with Marie-Laure's he has found a measure of redemption from past inactions; from breaking Jutta's radio in rebellion to the law, to not standing up for Frederick, for not doing something when the terrified boy on the platform fainted, to murdering people as a soldier.

Werner is a complex character. The reader understands his desperation to get out of the orphanage and not die in the coal mines. When he figures out the location of transmitting radios, readers are rooting for him, but the result of his success is the murder of enemies. When Werner is at Hitler's Youth School the contrast between Nazi propaganda and nature becomes even more evident. The Nazi's tried to use the science of eugenics to control evolution. The thought of humans directing evolution in a controlled manner is in direct contrast to the disorder and messiness of nature. And its racist element is horribly off-kilter with the theme of tolerance.

Marie-Laure is more pure in character. She's brave and finds herself all alone in the war. She needs the strength to face a killer and the world on her own. Von Rumpel is more of a stock villain but even he has another reason to find the stone that has nothing to do with money but to do with his disease. He's a foil to Werner and adds great tension at the end as he hunts down Marie-Laure. Werner's actions are in response to the guilt he feels for not rescuing Frederick when he was being persecuted and abused by others. Marie-Laure needs to know that she can stand on her own even though she is blind. Even though she is blind she represents light in the goodness she shows others. She is an interesting character because the author has to describe her experiences through other senses. Most writers use narratives that rely on visual senses and Marie-Laure relies on touch, taste, and smell to visualize the world.

One of the themes is how war affects idealists. Frederick is sensitive and is not always skilled socially, but he is kind and smart and a dreamer. "He sees things what other people don't." But he comes off as odd and nerdy. Even when things escalate with school bullies, he doesn't leave as Werner suggests. As the cruelty gets worse, Frederick seems to withdraw into his world of birds. When Werner tells him to just leave, Frederick says he has no choice because being at the school helps his dad and mom politically. At the end, when Jutta is looking at Werner's notebook full of questions and pictures of birds for Frederick she thinks, "What the war did to dreamers." Both boys lost their dreams to the war.

The ending is kind of different. It has Marie-Laure as an old woman with her grandchildren. It shows how the war doesn't exist for the next generation like it did for her because they have not had to live through one. The author seems to be making the point that the memory of the war can easily be forgotten and the same mistakes made. But there are still wars today. There is still destruction and groups committing genocide world-wide. By showing Marie-Laure remembering her experiences, the author suggests that through books others can learn and avoid mistakes that lead to intolerance and war.

5 Smileys

The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Call me dumpling, if this isn't a Newbery contender for 2016. The historical details, character development, tight plot, and rich layered themes make this firecracker sizzle. Ten-year-old Ada has a clubfoot and is kept locked in her family's one bedroom apartment while her six-year-old brother, Jaimie, roams free in London, England. Mam hits her two children and punishes Ada by locking her in the cabinet under the sink. World War II is about to happen, and parents are sending children to the countryside for safety.

Mam plans to send Jaimie, but not Ada, "Nice people don't want to look at that foot." Ada sneaks off with Jaimie to join other evacuees on a train to Kent. Expecting 70 children but receiving 200, the children line up in a building near the station and are chosen by families, but no one picks Ada and Jaimie. The "iron-faced" woman organizing the placement takes the two to a house where the owner, Susan Smith, says she doesn't want any children to care for. The reason for Susan's reluctance is slowly revealed and though she claims she is not nice, her actions show the opposite. She suffers with bouts of depression and the three form a family bond that helps them all move forward in life and deal with suffering.

The ironic title of this book refers not only to the physical war, but the internal and daily battles faced by the characters. War is about death and destruction, not saving; however, there are times when "some things are worth fighting for." WWII meant fighting against loss of freedoms, lands, and extreme prejudices. Most people didn't want to go to war and avoided it until it became necessary. For Ada, "There are all kinds of wars." She talks about her war with Jaimie whom she has raised instead of their negligent mother. She talks about her war with her mother who hits her in order to shame and control her. She sees Susan war with people who act prejudiced toward her disability. She sees Jamie war with his fears. She sees Susan war with her grief. The war theme builds like a wet snowball rolling down a snowy hill getting bigger and bigger until it rests at the bottom doubled in size. The author keeps building on various themes and advances the plot pointing to those themes. This is just one element in  Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's impressive writing that makes this book unforgettable.

*spoiler* I want to use this book for book club next fall so the following is more detailed than usual so I'll remember my first impressions.

Daily life is filled with peace and joy and battles and wars. Ada's life is no different except her conditions are more extreme. She battles the prejudice of her mother and others over her clubfoot. She battles hunger on a daily basis. She battles her feelings. She battles being touched by another human. She battles looking forward to the future with hope. She battles being illiterate. Ada is tired of being ignorant of the world and the words in it. She's been locked up in a room and never let outside. On the train, she asks Jaimie what the green stuff is out the window. Even the word, "grass," is not in her vocabulary. Like someone trying to learn a foreign language, words exhaust her and it is no surprise that she resists Susan's efforts to educate her. It is not until she makes friends with Maggie that she is motivated to read and write.

Ada is a survivor, courageous, and persistent. Horses respond to her and when she decides to make her pony jump a wall, she just about kills herself in the effort. She battles back no matter how many times life throws her off a horse. Her physical hunger is nothing compared to her emotional hunger for love, hope, and freedom. When she finds it with Susan, it scares her to heck because she knows their set-up is temporary until the war is over. Ada shuts Susan out to protect herself, but Susan is just as strong-willed as her and she jumps her walls. Jaimie is left-handed and being abused by the teacher. Susan figures it out and rescues him showing she is willing to fight for the two children. The relationship changes from caring to loving - the three are evolving into a family with all its ups and downs. At the end, when Susan doesn't battle for them, it is no surprise that she changes her mind and tracks down Mam and the kids. At the end when Susan tells Ada and Jaimie that they saved her life, the story has come full circle.

Both children have fears. Jaimie has tantrums and wets the bed while Susan is afraid of being hit and sent away. When Jaimie finds a mean cat that is full of fleas and matted hair, he names it Bovril after a nasty drink that Susan makes the children take each night for their health. The cat, Bovril, is loved and cared for by Jaimie. He stops wetting the bed as soon as they keep the cat and after he washes the mangy creature he brings it down wrapped in Susan's "best towel." The parallel with the children is striking for Susan took in two bedraggled children that no one else wanted and gave them the best of herself and home. When Jaimie tells Susan that "nice people" hate Ada's clubfoot, she says they are in luck because she is not a nice person. Ada tries to convince herself of this, but knows it isn't true. "She was not a nice person, but she cleaned up the floor. She was not a nice person, but she bandaged my foot in a white piece of cloth, and gave us two of her own clean shirts to wear." Ada reminds herself all the time that Susan is not a nice person so that she won't become attached to her. She knows that the situation is temporary and she copes by detaching herself.

Another overarching theme besides battles and wars, is the difference between lying and liars. Susan distinguishes "lying" as a way of self-preservation or protecting oneself while "liars" do it to make themselves important. Ada lies about her last name when she meets Susan. Later, when Ada tells the truth, it is easy to see why Susan doesn't believe her about riding Maggie's horse. The two learn to be honest and trust each other as they learn to understand each other. The author shows but does not tell these differences and much of it must be inferred by the reader. As the story progresses, Ada chooses to not lie about the spy, nor does she lie with her mother. She slowly turns from lies to the truth and it allows her to move forward emotionally and become a stronger person. Mam is a liar that bullies Ada to make herself feel important. Mam says that fixing Ada's foot is a lie, even though Ada knows it is possible. By not fixing Ada's foot, Mam feels superior. Susan lies about Divinity school to attack the school teacher's prejudice and abuse of Jaimie. Her lie was protective. Stephen lies to the Colonel because he knows that the Colonel needs full-time care. His lie was to help the Colonel not feel useless in the war. Lies are a big part of the author's character development and Ada learns through lies how she can change her life into one of truth and hope for a better life. 

Ada breaks Susan's sewing machine and is terrified she'll be sent back to London. Ada's terror is not normal and shows how traumatized she has been by her mother's abuse. She also pushes aside her emotions and doesn't address them. She calls it going inside her head. Her psychological and physical abuse make her difficult to handle and Susan doesn't always get it right. Both Ada and Susan are persistent, strong-willed, and stubborn. Susan can't tell Ada to read and write but tricks her into it. Later when Ada realizes that Maggie was mad at her for not writing, she is motivated to learn. Susan tricks Ada into doing other things she refuses to do making for some funny moments. Susan's dry humor helps balance the characters heavy issues. The two females learn from each other. When Ada decides to make a present in her room, Susan says she has to spend equal the time with her that she spends alone. She's grown to like her company and Ada unknowingly is helping Susan deal with her grief. Ada goads Susan into volunteering for the war. Susan tries to get Ada to accept herself and not be ashamed of her foot, "your foot's a long way from your brain." When Ada later uses it against the prejudiced officer, Susan's influence is apparent as Ada finds the courage to stand-up for herself and see her self-worth.

Susan's read alouds show how the kids are relating the characters in the stories to their lives. Ada feels that she is like "Alice in Wonderland" who has fallen down the rabbit hole into a strange new world. Jaimie feels like he is on an adventure like the "Swiss Family Robinson." Literature engages and empowers young readers into understanding themselves and the world around them. Ada is learning empathy and through narrative fiction she can get inside a fictional character's mind to understand his or her feelings, motivations, and emotions. This safe place in the fictional world lets her risks and learn through characters triumphs and mistakes, then relate it to herself with empathy, and not have any real-world consequences. This is the power of reading.

I do so like books that answer questions right away and then take it one step further in an unexpected way. Brandon Sanderson does this and so does Bradley. For instance, when Ada keeps refusing to go to tea with the Colonel, I thought she was embarrassed by her clubfoot and I know that she feels awkward socially. Later she confesses to Stephen that she is afraid of not doing the right thing. Perhaps a better example is when Susan debates the teacher on her superstition of left-handedness. It could have been left with just the dialogue, but she explains the root of the superstition in the Bible. The author digs deeper into the psyche of characters bringing out their complexities that engages me more as a reader.

Bradley has already established herself as an author that pays attention to historical details. Read "Jefferson's sons" and you will see what I mean. Here, she goes into details regarding the war and maintaining stables and horses. The women sewing blackout curtains and building a rickety, smelly bomb shelter are just two of many examples. Others include the newsreels, that disseminated information to the public before the movies, to the propaganda posters littering the city. The Germans circled the island and sunk ships trying to import or export goods laying siege to England and affecting the food supply. Another fact that parents evacuated their children from London and then took them back endangering their lives when the London Blitz occurred was one I didn't know about. The historical details oftentimes tie in with larger themes, especially the posters such as "Freedom is in peril. Defend it with all your might." Not only is England's freedom in peril, but Ada and Jaimie's freedom living with Susan is in peril when their Mam takes them back.

The psychological progression of Ada wanting Susan to not give her things shows Ada clinging to the emotional detachment as a coping mechanism from being abused. Ada rejects Susan's help over and over. Later while reading "Swiss Family Robinson" she thinks "I was tired of those idiots living on an island with everything they wanted." She doesn't want to be given things. Again, her attitude is about self-preservation. Ada has a meltdown when Susan makes her a velvet dress and calls her beautiful. She reveals "It was too much, all this emotion."She can't see herself as anything but ugly. She doesn't want to love Susan and hope for a better life. Worse, she doesn't want to love herself.

When the war comes to their town and Susan and Ada help the Dunkirk soldiers, Ada learns that she is useful. She also recognizes that she is winning battles against her fears and becoming stronger. "There was a Before Dunkirk version of me and an After Dunkirk version. The After Dunkirk version was stronger, less afraid." Later, when she sees a spy and reports it, she is strong enough to overcome the prejudiced officer that tries to dismiss her. When she stands up to her mother and admits the horrible truth about how she does not care about her or Jaimie, she shows her self-acceptance not only of herself but her mother. When she is lauded a hero for capturing a spy, she sees herself, "As if I'd been born with two strong feet." This is a long way from the ashamed girl that first showed up on Susan's doorstep.

Susan's depression comes from the death of her partner, Becky. The family has disowned Susan, especially her clergyman father, and no one talks about it. Historically, it would have not been discussed openly and if the author had made it a subplot it would have put the book in the young adult section. Children's interest in sexuality begins more in middle school than elementary and had the author emphasized it, the novel would have missed its audience. As is, some readers will miss the implied relationship, while others will notice it hovering in the background and affecting Susan. This choice by the author lets the focus remain on the characters, and it would have detracted from the main themes. Decide for yourself. You really don't want to miss this one.

5 Smileys

Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust by Loïc Dauvillier, Marc Lizano (Illustrations), Greg Salsedo (Ink), Alexis Siegel (Translator)

The Holocaust Museum addresses the age-appropriateness of introducing the Holocaust to children. It specifies that students grades 6 and up can understand the complexities and context of the Holocaust, while younger students struggle with the scale and scope of the genocide. Elementary students can be taught tolerance and the harmfulness of prejudice, but the texts need to be more introductory in nature rather than comprehensive. Hidden provides an excellent launching point of introducing the Holocaust through the eyes of a grandma sharing her story of persecution during World War II with her granddaughter. Readers will empathize with the grandmother's fear and pain, while seeing how Jewish students were singled out and mistreated at school. The dark side of human nature is balanced with adults risking their lives in the Resistance to save the young Jewish girl and hide her from the authorities on a countryside farm.

The story is framed by the granddaughter, Elsa, getting up in the middle of the night and finding her grandmother, Dounia, crying. She crawls into her lap and asks why she is sad, so the grandmother tells her story for the first time in her life. At the end it is revealed that the son didn't even know about his mother being hidden from the Nazis. Dounia shows how deep her grief was over the trauma, but by talking to her granddaughter the story shows the possibility of her healing from her painful past.

The father tells the girl that the star she must wear is a sheriff's badge and she goes to school only to be pushed to the back of the classroom, ignored by the teacher when she knows the answer to a question, and put down by the teacher. The author does a brilliant job unfolding her innocent belief that it was a badge and how her parents in an effort to protect her didn't prepare her for the anger she had to face at school. She later learns of her friend, Isaac's public shaming in class. She and another girl with a badge/star are shunned and isolated on the playground. The color illustrations capture their downcast faces contrasting with the other smiling students playing hopscotch and tag.

When the police ransack her place, she finds a reprieve in the countryside on a farm. Working on the farm helps her forget all the frightening moments that led her to it and the reader learns about those citizens that were not Jewish, but risked their lives to help Jews escape the atrocities that were being done to eliminate them. The speech bubbles change in color to indicate when the Grandmother is talking to her granddaughter. This helps guide the narration and makes the dialogue clear.

The Charlie Brown-type illustrations are childlike and support the introductory text. Tension mounts as Dounia sees stars like graffiti on the glass of the shops owned by Jews and police hurting adults and spitting on them. The images show more than the text and reflects Dounia's bewilderment at why her city has changed into such a harsh place. When she later has to change her name to protect her identity and the people hiding her, her expression is afraid or unhappy. Eventually she learns to smile again but not before having to face physical changes in others and death.

5 Smileys

The Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett

Sonya Hartnett's books are like music: a rhythmic cadence, delicious word choices, unusual images, complex themes, and great character development. I feel like I'm in the eye of the storm. My hurricane pace slows for a moment and I think about the beauty of language and what makes a great storyteller. The narration has little action as most takes place in the country-side at Uncle Peregrine's estate, Heron Hall, where twelve-year-old Cecily; her brother, Jeremy; and her mother, Heloise, have sought refuge on the eve of the 1940 London Blitz. While en route they pick up an evacuee, May, who along with hundreds of other children have traveled to the country for safety. Many are without any adult supervision and need to be taken in by families.

At Heron Hall, May and Cecily explore the ruins of Snow Castle where they find two boys in "pantomime" costumes. Perhaps they are runaway evacuees housed with some theater folks. They are distrustful, snobbish, and afraid. Cecily is a snob right back. May cuts through all the blustering and sees the two boys actions are based on them being afraid. This coming-of-age story is historical and has a fantastical element. The author captures the complex relationships of families, friends, and acquaintances.

When we bought a puppy, my five-year-old daughter expected the little furball to sleep with her, patter in her shadow nonstop, and worship her like a goddess. She'd grab the pooch and carry her everywhere. If Cecily had her druthers, she'd collar May and force her to follow her around. When the family scoops May up at the train station Cecily likens it to finding a "kitten in a basket." She picks May like a she's a toy in the store. When she realizes that May is "independent" and does what she wants, things get ugly.

Cecily is a selfish, spoiled, lummox who remains an unsympathetic character until the end of the story. Only a confident writer would risk creating an unlikable character. Cecily says mean things to May bossing her around and acting superior because she has money. She isn't completely lacking in qualities; there are glimpses of kindness and humor. She does feel remorse at times, but only if the other person gets angry. Jeremy and Heloise are usually putting Cecily down although with Jeremy it is more your run-of-mill sibling relationship where they fight but are also loyal to each other. Heloise can be cruel to her children; yet, both she and her husband are indulgent as well. Cecily's superior attitude toward May is her way of feeling important and powerful. May acts as her foil and is the smart hero, so it works. 

The Snow Castle adventure alternates with Uncle Peregrine telling an after-dinner tale of Richard III, who he calls, The Duke. The tale is based on the history of the end of the House of York before the Tudors came to power. Richard III supposedly killed his two nephews and usurped the throne. Peregrine is described like Shakespeare's King Richard III with a limp, long hair (medieval fashion), and a widower. Except Shakespeare's King is not as introspective as Peregrine. The family learns from the Duke's story how the unscrupulous pursuit of power can impact the future.

The overarching theme of power shows how it corrodes friendships, causes wars, is oppressive, and does not bring joy to the usurper even if it does bring money and position. More importantly, the entire plot shows the powerlessness of children. They are under the authority of adults who can be cruel or kind. Adults can use power to shame and control people. In this case, Heloise controls her children and threatens them when they disobey. Also, the moral complexity of children being shipped out of London for their safety and the desire to be independent from the power of adults is reflected the most in Jeremy's character. The nature of power is examined in its abusiveness from children to adults and kings.

Jeremy and his mom have power struggles. He wants to be a man and feel he's helping with the war effort and his parents see him as a kid they want to keep safe. His mom doesn't talk to him about it but just exercises her parental authority enjoying her power over him that comes with being an adult versus a child. Jeremy takes the powerlessness of being a fourteen-year-old under the care of his parents and acts on it to find power in how he wants to shape his future. Jeremy's arc shows that he doesn't have to kill to be a man in the war. He can save people in other ways. Power for him comes in saving others with the results of peace and joy in his spirit. It also awakens him to the knowledge that his father is not perfect. He realizes both of his parents have shortcomings and even though he loves them, he will make different choices in his life.

Jeremy represents young people and the desire to test themselves. I remember doing crazy things as a kid. We'd jump off bridges into the lake. We felt daring and brave. Some kids tested themselves on bikes or skateboards or speeding in cars. Jeremy wants to use war to test himself in battle. This seeking of danger is one that can be a push for independence by teens and is part of the coming-of-age story.

The two alternating stories morph together in a fantastical way. Is Peregrine related to Richard III? The locket given at the end suggests that he might be. Peregrine's gift of the locket to May and his comments where he tells her she is the most important person ever to stay at Heron Hall, suggest she is the link between histories in the past and the current life. Out of all the characters, she is the one who sees things that others cannot. I kept thinking of her as the ghost-of-histories past.

Great lines brim the pages of this book from Cecily wanting to bite off her nail to Jeremy describing the blitz. "Her thumbnail, incompletely chewed, was singing a siren's song." I'm a nail biter so I laughed at this one. It didn't matter how many times my parents told me to stop biting my nails, I'd go after them whenever I had to sit still. Jeremy's dramatic description of the blitz: "He'd opened his eyes to the oddest of sights: the sky above him was red. It was slashed across with the white beams of searchlights, and burnt black at the edges by night: but the clouds were red as if the sky had been drenched by buckets of blood. He didn't see aeroplanes, but he felt the vibrations shake though his body, four hefty booms to the chest as the bombs drove themselves into the ground."Another great line is Peregrine's: "Flimsy things like words become lost in time." I don't reckon this authors will be lost anytime soon.

5 Smileys

The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin

Steve Sheinkin is one of my favorite historical writers. His narrative nonfiction writing has the drama and characters found in any fiction novel, with spot-on pacing, and meticulous research. Don't miss this one.  Set during World War II, the Navy has changed policies so that blacks can enlist, but this does not mean equality. Instead, Sheinkin reveals the institutionalized racism in American society, military, and government showing how a small group of fifty men, out of fear, were one of the players in changing attitudes toward African Americans.

In July 1944, an explosion so huge it was mistaken for an earthquake happened at Port Chicago, as sailors were loading munitions on ships. Over 200 black men and 100 white men died at the pier. Only African Americans were assigned to load munitions and after the explosion hundreds tried to voice their fears regarding the dangerous job. No one listened. Unsafe conditions continued and Sheinkin shows how the African Americans were exploited by the Navy. As the men were being marched to load ammunition on another ship after the explosion that killed over 300 men, hundreds refused to go. But when they Navy threatened to charge them with mutiny and shoot them, only fifty were brave enough to continue to take a stand.

A court trial ensued showing the deep prejudices that were prevalent at the time. The courtroom drama and the lawyers building their cases captures the legal processes. Not all of the text is heavy. Sheinkin balances some light moments. The ending has a funny story of how a black sailor made best friends with a white sailor by fighting him. The fight ended up with them both respecting each other and the white sailor saying he learned that "a man is a man" regardless of skin color. Other interesting asides were Eleanor Roosevelt following the case and putting pressure on the Navy officer who could change things and Thurgood Marshall working on behalf of the men in the early stages of his famous career.

History shows that at times when an injustice occurs on the magnitude of the conviction of the Port Chicago sailors, people find the courage to stand up and protest the mockery of it. While these young sailors, many teenagers, didn't realize the significance they would have on history at the time in changing the plight of African Americans, they did not regret their actions as old men as the Epilogue explains. It also shows when the justice system fails to protect basic rights. While this book isn't as complex as "Bomb," it is just as compelling and will reach a younger audience. The primary photographs, graphics, oral histories, documentaries, and Navy documents make it an impressive work. Men stood up for what was wrong at great personal risk. This story is worth noting.

5 Smileys

Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

Civil disobedience is a conscious effort to disobey laws that one disagrees with in society. The protagonist, Espen, lives in Norway when the Germans occupy his country and force the Norwegian King and government officials to flee. The Norwegians formed a Resistance group meant to undermine and protest the Nazi's, while other Norwegians decided to join the German Reich. Espen, along with many others in his town of Lilleby, choose civil disobedience in the form of nonviolent actions such as feeding prisoners of war, smuggling newspapers, acting as couriers, wearing paper clips or red hats to signify unity, or refusing to sit next to a German on public transportation. This form of resistance was a way to feel in control of what was clearly an uncontrollable situation, to instill national pride and counteract Nazi propaganda. Espen never hesitates to join the resistance although he does romanticize it at first. He pretends he is a hero or some important spy. As he gets more and more dangerous missions, he learns real fear and as a child, he still makes many mistakes endangering the life of himself and his family.

Margi Preus captures the culture and customs of Norway from the myths, food, and cross-country skiing to the language. The children's story of a troll splinter in the eye as a way to explain why some Norwegians chose to side with the Germans even though it was wrong reminded me of "The Snow Queen" fairy tale and the boy that sided with the evil Snow Queen because he got an evil glass splinter in his eye. When Preus describes cross-country skiing and scraping off wax, it brought back many memories of cross-country skiing in Minnesota. The day would warm up and the skis' wax would have to be scraped off and changed in order to get it to glide. Except Espen is not on a recreational ski trek, he is being hunted by the Gestapo and fleeing for his life; thus, adding tension during an exciting climax.

The plot has Espen playing soccer and bonding more closely with his teammates when the Gestapo decide to take over the team. In protest, the players quit. Espen's soccer captain is quite involved in the Resistance which is how Espen becomes involved in it. There are not too many twists and turns. In fact, it is easy to predict what the villain will do. What I liked best was the details on daily living and the friendships forged between characters. Preus creates some imagery with darkness and light from the blinding snow on a sunny day to the blinding blizzard in the dark of night. Both times involve major moral decisions by characters. The imagery is also tied into the theme when Espen's father says that people become "snow-blind to ...basic human decency, but behind the temporary blindness, ...they knew ...the right thing to do." Espen has learned from his parents that to turn away from human kindness is never right even if it means risking one's life.

The story is written in third person from Espen, Ingrid, and Askel's point of view. Some parts are slow, particularly Ingrid and her journal writing. I see how it was supposed to advance the story in an exciting climax, but it was slow getting there. Humor is balanced with dark elements. When Tante Marie tells Espen to get something in her drawer she wants to give him, he jokes: does she want to give him her false teeth or the compass? Askel, the Norwegian boy that joins the Germans, is a one-dimensional villain and flat; he is your typical Gestapo bully that uses the Nazi ideals as a platform to rationalize his need to use violence on other people. He puts down others to build himself up. His mother is his foil, but I would have preferred a look into why Askel was so full of hate. The suggestion is because his father died fighting in the war, but it isn't explored in depth. He's also too casual about his first kill. The other Norwegian boy that joined the Germans, Kjell, has more depth as he struggles with honoring his past friendship with Espen and adopting the violent methods of the Gestapo. The author tries to balance German soldiers that turned a blind eye, to those that were violent. The end has an interesting author's note, photos, timeline, and activities for code breaking and making invisible ink. A nice enjoyable story that will be hard for me to remember in the future.

3 Smileys

A Diamond in the Desert by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

Twelve-year-old Tetsu's life in California is uprooted when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and he is forced to relocate to Gila River camp in Arizona. His father is sent to North Dakota because the government suspects him of being a spy. Tetsu's father is incarcerated with no due process for years while Tetsu, his mom, and young sister, Kimi, go to the internment camp. Tetsu was a ball player and he meets others players at the camp. When a baseball team is formed, he finds some happiness until a disaster befalls his sister. I love the story of a Japanese man that built a baseball field in an internment camp during World War II and while it is not the focal point it is worked into the storyline. It's such a wonderful example of the human spirit rising above injustices and bad circumstances to bring hope to others. While the details and plot are well done, the characters are not particularly memorable; however, this is a story worth telling and noting.

The plot is solid and looks into the unique friendships formed under harsh conditions. Tetsu is at first bullied by a boy who later makes peace with him when he saves him from drowning. Another boy, Horse, is a large boy that never talks. He has been traumatized by an event and Tetsu is determined to find out why he won't speak. Horse is loyal and kind, connecting with Tetsu's younger sister who seems to intuitively understand his pain. The historical details are interesting and the camp loosely run. The guards are Japanese and sympathetic toward the inmates, turning a blind eye as kids repeatedly sneak out of the fenced-in camp. Violent dust storms seep into one room homes and desert animals become pets to lonely children. Some detainees built ponds by their homes and put fish in them. The bathrooms are communal and life is difficult with long slow days. Building a baseball stadium gave purpose to many of the people's lives and relieved their boredom by providing entertainment.

The characters fell short for me with the exception of Kimi. I liked her spunk and wisdom presented in the simplicity of a child. I really wanted more of the culture represented in the book. It doesn't capture the Japanese customs much and complexity of the culture. The Japanese forced into the camps were first and second generation Japanese, so I would have expected more customs and language prevalent at the camp. When Tetsu built the pond, I was expecting some elaboration on the importance of the garden in architecture and religion. The baseball was somewhat glossed over and could have revealed the emotional relief and joy brought to the internment camp. The chapters are extremely short and while this makes it accessible to the reluctant reader, it makes for less depth and texture.

Like I mentioned before, most of the Japanese put in internment camps were American citizens and second-generation. In 1980, the Japanese American Citizens League put pressure on the government to redress the wrongs done to them during this period. The result was Reagan signing the "Civil Liberties Act" in 1988 that apologized on the behalf of the U.S. government for the wrongful internment and awarded $20,000 dollars to camp survivors. While the past cannot be undone at least this is a move in the right direction toward healing a wrong.

3 Smileys

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Finding excellent introductory books on the Holocaust for young readers is not as easy as it sounds even with the plethora of choices. More often than not they are too brutal for 5th or 6th graders or they don't give enough background to understand the setting and attitudes of people. Other times they are too one-sided presenting the Germans as one-dimensional villains omitting those that resisted the Nazi racist ideology. This story is a balanced account of Jewish attitudes that came from their experiences in the first World War, German's being merciful and merciless, and the author's firsthand experiences of surviving the ghetto's and concentration camps, giving it an authenticity more powerful than some of the more emotionally manipulative Holocaust stories. A straightforward account, it tells the horrors the author went through, but it is not graphic in its descriptions making the violence more palatable for the younger reader. The epilogue is a testament to the author's perseverance and courage in overcoming his trauma and living a long fulfilling life. While the start is slow it provides necessary background information. The action picks up in the middle and ends with a bang.

When Leon Leyson dad's new factory job landed his family in Krakow, Poland, they didn't realize how it would save their lives as World War II broke out in Europe. His dad's job put his family in contact with Oskar Schindler, the German Nazi that was sympathetic to the Jews and saved 1200 of them from death by claiming their unique skills as necessary for him to run his factory. Leon was the youngest person on "Schindler's list" at the age of 15 and his actions throughout the war saved his life and his family's. Leon took great risks at critical moments appealing to Nazi men in authoritative positions that had the power to kill him or show mercy. He was lucky in many ways, but he was also extraordinarily brave. Amazingly, most of Leon's family survived the ghetto and concentration camps. While the Nazi's tried to dehumanize the Jews, Leon oftentimes found someone, whether civilian or soldier, that represented the good in humanity and his story is tempered with good deeds in the midst of angst.

While reading this book I was reminded of the similarities between Leon's experience and slavery in the United States. The Nazi's stripped the Jews of their dignity just like slave owners stripped blacks of their dignity. As the laws eliminated Jewish civil rights over time, Leon marveled at his classmates prejudice. Not all of their family friends had forsaken them. Leon's dad would sell his suits through a friend on the black market that helped put scraps of food on their table. Leon's tale is sprinkled with glimmers of hope and humanity along with the inhumane acts inflicted on the Jews. His description of the rampant starvation and fear as the Nazi's took control of Krakow brings to life daily living. His family didn't think of the future but worked to survive day-to-day as Leon scrounged for potato peels in garbage cans or anything edible. Hunger consumed his thoughts and actions. He also shows how there was no guarantee of a person's safety even with a work permit from Schindler. Yet, in spite of the struggles, he also describes new friendships and new love in the ghettos. How his mother fought having her dignity being stripped by chucking furniture out the second story window so the Nazi's would not be able to reuse it. Leon and his family's resilience against fear and hate shows that attempts to dehumanize the Jews and make them feel worthless did not always work. Leon, his mom, and others risked their lives to retain their dignity as their oppressors tried to take it away.

While the general public persecuted the Jews some were silent witnesses, such as Dr. Neu. In a powerful ending, Leon describes how he was tutored by a German man after the war three times a week for two years in school subjects in order to catch up on his education. He distinguishes true Nazi's from "Germans who retained some humanity." Dr. Nue was the latter and Leon appreciated that he didn't "whitewash" the past. He asked Leon questions about his experiences and listened. Leon describes true Nazi's as ones that say, "We didn't know" taking no responsibility and pointing the finger elsewhere. Dr. Neu's wife said that once and Dr. Neu scolded her. The civilians knew of the atrocities, but were afraid or unable to do anything about it. When Leon comes to America and sees blacks being persecuted by Jim Crow laws or segregation he cannot believe that he is seeing inequality and prejudice again. Unfortunately, the theme of persecution, war, and prejudice exist today just as much as in the past. Leon Leyson's timeless message is the hope for a better world that is ruled by humanity not hate.

5 Smileys

Mister Orange by Truus Matti

Growing up I couldn't understand my dad's insistence that the walls of our house be white. Now I realize that as an architect he was influenced by the minimalist Bauhaus style. His company followed the Bauhaus movement that believed all arts should work together with design. My dad loves the Bauhaus bent toward clean lines, simplicity, and few decorations. He also had a few abstract paintings hanging on walls that usually had a design element I could not understand or see. I grew up seeing artists work similar to Piet Mondrian's on our walls. Strong horizontal and vertical lines with primary colors. Piet Mondrian's work was a part of the "De Stijl" movement that influenced the Bauhaus and I really enjoyed "Mister Orange" that has the protagonist, Linus, meeting the artist, Piet Mondrian. When Linus decides he's going to paint his walls white like Piet's, I was transported back to my white-walled childhood with my mom complaining to my dad,"You never let me hang wallpaper!" Linus's brother Simon's response to white walls reminded me of my mom. "'Paint them white?' ...'What's the point? This isn't a hospital.'" When Linus tells him the room will look bigger and brighter, Simon tells him it is a dumb idea.

Linus meets the artist, Piet Mondrian, after taking over the delivery route that Simon used to do. His parents own a grocery store in New York during the 1940s. Linus is the third child out of six and times have changed since his oldest brother, Albie, volunteered to fight in World War II. On the delivery route Linus meets Piet Mondrian but he cannot pronounce his name so he calls him, "Mister Orange," because he delivers a crate of oranges once a week to him. Linus learns that the artist fled Europe because the Nazi's would not give him the freedom to paint what he wanted to and banned his art. Art under Hitler was a propaganda machine not a form of artistic expression and abstract art did not further the Third Reich in any political way. Linus first thinks of war in a glorified way believing Albie has superpowers like the comic book characters he so loves to reads. He slowly learns from letters that Albie writes home that war is "wretched" and by talking about it with Mr. Orange Linus discovers that freedom of expression and imagination whether in art or any other form is worth fighting for.

The subplot of Linus losing his friend to a bully shows how fickle friendships can be. Linus is mad at him but then gets over it and later they are friends again. They don't really think too much about it or hash over it when they reunite and I found their actions authentic and spot on for their age. Some kids handle conflict like this and don't have the vocabulary to deal with it in what an adult might find as an immature manner, but I did wish Linus had asked why his best friend became friends with the bully.  The only explanation is Linus speculating that the bully is older in age and perhaps that had an appeal to his best friend. This seemed a bit weak even though I liked the portrayal of the boys friendship overall.

The other subplot of the superhero was unique revealing an interesting way that Linus dealt with his fears. Albie and Linus love comics and Albie even creates one called Mr. Superspeed. Linus talks to this imaginary superhero and expects him to protect Albie. It is through his imaginary conversations with Mr. Superspeed that Linus learns to face his fears about his brother being killed in the war and change in his understanding of how dangerous war is for not only Albie but other soldiers. When he talks to Mr. Orange about Albie and their comic creation, he is able to put together that Albie is fighting for the freedom to choose how to live one's life.

Linus questions Mr. Orange and the value of art when there is a war going on. Mr. Orange explains how imagination is the mother of invention. If people are not allowed to imagine then cities would not have been built. Nor subways invented. Then he talks about how art scares the Nazis. How they silence people whose art has different opinions than their propaganda. He also states, "Whenever people have their freedom taken away, they always fight back." Later in a powerful climax, Linus articulates his conversation with Mr. Orange by comforting his dad in an explanation of Albie using his imagination for a better future and doing the right thing for freedom.

I remember having a conversation with my dad about great architects in Barcelona after a jaunt around the city looking at Antonio Gaudi's fabulous buildings. My dad talked about how difficult he thought it was to take risks in designing a building. If it fails, it is an expensive eyesore for all to see. It is someone else's money. Many times the client has their own ideas that are at odds with the architect's. He felt that as the company's owner he couldn't take great risks. While this is not a message in this book, the topic of imagination between Linus and Piet, reminded of this conversation regarding great artists and architects. Writing a great book could be added to that discussion. It is fascinating when art blossoms throughout history. When the right people come together at the right time and their imaginations invent something completely new. Piet Mondrian is one of those people and  "Mister Orange" is book that will make you think.

4 Smileys

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Loveable prankster, swift-footed thief, and reformed delinquent were childhood skills honed by Louie Zamperini who eventually channeled his energy into pursuing a dream of running in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He was set to be one of the first runners to crack the four-minute mile, but World War II cancelled the 1940 Olympics and Louie became an Army Air Corps bombadier. Stationed in Oahu, he survived a combat mission that left 600 bullet holes in his plane. While on a rescue mission in 1943, his plane crashed killing all but three crew members and he spent 47 days surviving in a raft. His ability to find ways to catch fish and work on keeping his mind sharp showed his strong desire to live. His athletic skills also helped as he seemed to have more energy than the other two starving men in the raft.

When Louie and the pilot, Phil (the third man died), are fished out of their raft it is by a Japanese enemy ship who sends them as prisoners of war (POWs) to the notorious Omori and Naoetsu camps. There Louie is tortured by Mutsuhiro Watanabe who took sadistic pleasure in endlessly tormenting prisoners and who said in an interview that Louie was number one on his list. Louie's thieving and fighting skills he learned as a youth helped him survive the starvation and violence of the camps. When the war ended, Louie got married but suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome and becoming obsessed with vengeance against Watanabe. Louie found peace with the help of his wife to live a full life filled with joy and courage. This inspirational story about one man's fight to overcome extreme suffering is one heckuva page-turner.

While in the raft adrift, Laura Hillenbrand cleverly shows the men discussing Louie killing an albatross like in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's ballad, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," although the reader has to be familiar with the poem to understand the imagery. The poem is about a sailor who killed an albatross in bad faith and was cursed to wear it around his neck as a result of his actions. The mariner's crew died from his actions and his guilt takes a toll on him psychologically. He roams the earth telling others about what he has done as penance and becomes wiser from the ordeal. Some have compared it to a salvation story. When Louie kills the albatross on the raft for food it foreshadows his horrible experiences as a POW in Japan. It also shows his guilt of surviving the plane crash while the rest of the crew died. As a POW, Louie will be psychologically stripped of his humanity as well as physically abused. Eventually, he learns to find salvation or peace in religion and telling his story as a speaker after the war.

The author mixes nonfiction facts while creating characters' personalities. Louie is larger than life. His flaws are not the focus and even felt rushed at the end when the author talks about his drinking and marital problems. The focus is on Louie's strengths and fortitude so it makes sense that the author would gloss over this part to some extent. The overarching message is to inspire and show that anyone can overcome struggles and suffering in life no matter what the person is facing. Some might not like the interspersing of facts and want more emotion, but I found the facts fascinating and the data showing how much the odds were against Louie. He had one unbelievable incident after another. Statistically speaking, he should have died many times over but didn't. Whether that is due to God or luck it is up to the reader to decide.

The facts also helped me remove myself from the violence. The psychological toll of being abused at the POW camp was brutal and I sometimes resent books where I feel that my emotions are being manipulated. I have friends who love to read books and cry. They want that. I don't. Depending on your tastes, you might find the facts dry. I also admire Hillenbrand's verb choices. She's a terrific writer and good at description and details. She is also one who understands suffering. She has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Vertigo that is so severe that she once spent two years unable to leave her house because she was so sick. It is easy to see why she was drawn to Louie's story. Louie is 96 and still alive. He was still running at age 81. Truly an inspiration.

5 Smileys