When Jeroen finds an old scrapbook at his grandmother's, she tells him of her friendship with Esther, a Jewish girl during World War II in Amsterdam. There is plenty of suspense here to keep readers hooked: the danger Esther is in, conflicts within Helen's (Jeroen's grandmother's) family over how to respond to the Nazis, and Helen's brother's involvement with the Resistance.
The Search is Esther's side of the story. She tells her own grandson how she survived, and he helps her track down what happened to her parents in Auschwitz. Sadly, Esther's time in hiding from the Nazis, which should be an exciting tale, is glossed over in favour of Esther's parents' experiences in Auschwitz. Since you already know that Esther survived and her parents didn't, The Search isn't nearly as interesting as A Family Secret.
Still, together the pair make the World War II history of the Netherlands accessible. Though completely fictional, both were produced by the Anne Frank House, and have long lists of "content experts" from various museums, which attest to the historical accuracy of the books.
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Did you buy these ones, I see our library doesn't have them? :( Looks like they would be good for school libraries and I'd like to recommend them to some T-Ls but want to read them first.
ReplyDeleteGlad I finally found the blog - I was looking for A Cup of Tea, not A Cup of Teen!
Amber from FVRL
We've got it; but it's a Pitt Meadows book, so it's surpressed in the catalogue. Thanks for checking my blog out!
ReplyDeleteDarn Pitt Meadows! Will either have to wait or break down and buy them I guess.
ReplyDelete