Maw Books

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Katarina by Kathryn Winter is a Young Adult fiction book that follows the story of a ten year old Jewish girl during World War II.  Orphaned, Katarina lives a happy life with her Aunt Lena and Uncle Teo despite the fact that she has red hair and freckles.  Katarina is a non-practicing Jew and in fact knows nothing about her religion.  She much prefers Catholicism and has been learning all about the patron saints and memorizing the rosary.  So when Jews begin to be deported she doesn’t understand what is going on.  She doesn’t even think that she’s a Jew.  Her Aunt and Uncle manage to hide her at a neighboring farm, but when they don’t come back from a “vacation”, the neighbors kick her out on the street.

The book gives is told mostly from the view of Katarina’s rambling thoughts.  I thought it was a style that worked, as it really took us into her head.  What Katarina cares about is being home with her Aunt and Uncle baking bread, playing with her friends and going to school.  Instead she’s forced to make decisions beyond her wisdom as she seeks safety and refuge in a war that she doesn’t understand.  Katarina tries to survive buoyed by her belief that once the war is over and she goes back home everything will be exactly the way it used to be.

I really enjoyed this quick read but would have enjoyed it better if it didn’t take me three weeks to read this “quick read.”  This book stayed in my car and I read two pages here, three pages there.  This is the type of book that needed to be read in just one or two sittings.  This is another great book to add to Holocaust literature for young readers.  It’s listed as Young Adult but think it would be appropriate for those much younger, in fact I thought it was middle grade fiction until I looked it up.

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