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2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


33 / 30 bookish books. 110% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (9)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (2)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (2)
- Georgia (2)
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- Massachusetts (3)
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- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
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- New York (9)
- North Carolina (4)
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- Texas (4)
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- West Virginia (1)
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- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Argentina (1)
- Australia (3)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (2)
- England (22)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
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- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
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- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
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My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 50 books. 100% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


36 / 40 books. 90% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


18 / 40 books. 45% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


26 / 25 cozies. 104% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


23 / 26.2 miles (3rd lap). 88% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


42 / 100 books. 42% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


97 / 109 books. 89% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


136 / 165 books. 82% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


83 / 100 names. 83% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


19 / 80 skills. 24% done!
Friday, November 10, 2017

Based On a True Story, MG Holocaust Novel Touching, Eye-Opening Tale of Survival

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When the Nazis invade Krakow, the life of Jacob "Yanek" Gruener changes forever.  Jews are no longer safe in Poland.  Not even a harmless 10-year-old boy.  Crowded into a city ghetto with other Jews, Yanek and his family must eke out a life with little privacy, scant food, and no freedom.  Despite the hardships they endure, the Grueners are grateful to be together while all around them, friends and neighbors disappear daily.  

One day, the inevitable happens and Yanek is left all alone.  When the Nazis finally capture him, he's sent to a concentration camp.  His youth and relative strength mark him as "lucky"—as long as he can work, he can survive.  Moved from camp to camp, Yanek does everything he can to survive.  The more he suffers, the more he wonders if living is even worth it.  As hope dwindles and his "health"—the only thing keeping him alive—seeps out of him, Yanek longs to give up.  Will he continue his fight for survival, for freedom?  Will liberation come soon enough to save a young boy who's rapidly losing hope?  

Based on a true story, Prisoner B-3087 by Alan Gratz tells an amazing tale of survival.  Like all concentration camp novels, it details the unbelievable horrors suffered by people who actually lived.  It's fiction, yes, but it's grounded in harsh, shocking reality.  It's an eye-opening novel, one that's both eye-opening and touching.  As haunting as it is, the novel is a perfect one to hand to kids who want to learn more about the Holocaust.  They'll definitely root for Yanek to persevere; in turn, they might just be inspired to push through their own challenges with courage and determination.

(Readalikes: Reminds me of other Holocaust books for children, including The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, and Making Bombs for Hitler by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for violence, blood/gore, and disturbing subject matter

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find
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Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Soulmate by Sally Hepworth



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