Day: September 26, 2015

Thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers for the arc of Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin!  This alternate history of Hitler’s reign begins with Jewish families being stuffed into train cars.  Yael, a six-year-old girl, was chosen by a doctor at a concentration camp for experimentation with melanin.  As a result of the experiment, Yael can change her coloring to disguise herself.  She escapes by making herself look like a Nazi leader’s daughter.  She is found by the resistance. Once she is trained, Yael’s mission is to assassinate Hitler.  The life or death motorcycle race and the suspenseful espionage make this an interesting take on a WWII alternate historical outcome.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tanglewood for the opportunity to review Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor and Lisa Rojany Buccieri!  This non-fiction account of a set of ten-year-old twins is heart-wrenching, but also inspiring.  It describes the twins’ experiences with Josef Mengele, the Nazi doctor known as the Angel of Death.  The story begins in the Romanian village where the Mozes family resides.  I am saddened at how easily people are swayed into prejudice – even children!  Even the Mozes family friends turned against them, once the Nazis took over their village.   The family’s terrifying trip to, and ultimate seperation at Auschwitz, are brought to life by Eva’s recollections of this horrible time.

I greatly admire Eva Mozes.  She moved past the trauma and helped many other Holocaust survivors by founding the CANDLES organization.  She also founded the CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center.

She lives by the following three principles:

1.  Never ever give up on yourself or your dreams, for everything good in life is possible.
2. Judge people on their actions and the content of their character.
3. Forgive your worst enemy and forgive everyone who has hurt you – it will heal your soul and set you free.