Reviews (99)

Absolutely captivating and brilliant!
When I first heard about the book, it was because a friend recomended it. She said it was one of the best books she ever read, and after reading it myself I completely agree. It is about a girl growing up in the Chinese Cultural Revolution and facing the challenge of growing up in a family with a bad reputation according to the government. I liked this book because it really made me think about how kids are living. Also, because I like books about people with a realistic life, not a fairytale. I would reccomend it to any of my friends!

Stinks
Don't like it at all. Don't even waste your time reading it. i was forced to read it!!! Two thumbs DOWN :-(!!!

The Depth of Mankind...
This is not the first and probably not the last 'Cultural Revolution Memoir' that I have read.I must admit feeling a bit numb to the stories and account of this tragic point in Chinese history.It has been over a year since that last 'memoir' that I have read, and a friend passed the book on for me to check out.It was time to be reminded of the pain that so many around me have faced in their lives.What is remarkable about Ji Li Jiang's story is not the uniqueness, but rather the commonness of her experience among millions of others.This in no way should negate her or others struggles, yet rather serve to deepen compassion for the many who have experienced destruction at the hands fellow humans.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    2. Biography & Autobiography - Political    3. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    4. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. China    7. Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969    8. History    9. History - Asia    10. Jiang, Ji-li    11. Juvenile Nonfiction    12. Juvenile literature    13. People & Places - Asia    14. Personal narratives    15. Human geography / peoples of the world    16. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Political    17. Politics & government   

Reviews (58)

Writing so-so but loved the message of the book
I was appalled to read some of the ignorance in the reveiws of this book about someones experience. I think he captured the spirit and importance forcamps for people with special needs. THe point of the camp wasn't trying to "make' these kids be normal at camp the point was they were haveing a great summer despite their challenges.It wasn't about saying "all the things your suppose to say about handicapped persons" as one review read it was about sharing the initial fears and concern that often people deal with when faced with such a task and showed how it turned to great blessing.I didn't feel this book was about the children but about the change and growth within the writer because of the children.Its a beautiful message that is just a little rough around the edges with the writing skills of the author.

From a special needs camp counselor!
Very realistic! Your opinion of campers can change in less then a day. The very first time you see campers getting out of the car you do wonder what the heck you have gotten yourself into but then by the time you have dinner you have already realized what is special about each one of them. This was an excellent book to quickly describe children with various different disabilites.

The Acorn People
Camp Wiggins was not a place for medically sanitized facilities, safety rails, or strict activity schedules. It was a place for memories to be made, accomplishments, and fantasies to be fulfilled. By no means were the handicaps of the teens attending this camp would burden this in any way. The Acorn People, by Ron Jones, tells a story of how a camp of handicap teens grow together and accomplish more than they could ever dream of doing at a camp made for boy scouts. In this true story, Ron Jones, the camp counselor of a group that goes above and beyond the expectations of camp, ables these teens to work together to climb Mountain Lookout, swim for the first time, and then struggle with getting the approval of the camp owner Mr. Bradshaw. Over all, this story was emotionally filled as well as giving you a new look on people not as fortunate as those not handicapped.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Camp counselors    3. Camps for the handicapped    4. Children's 12-Up - Sociology    5. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    6. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    7. History    8. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / General   

Reviews (20)

The way to write history for children
Jean Fritz is one of the best writers of history for children. She doesn't romanticize or simplify to the point of distortion, and she really puts the story in history. Fritz looks with an intelligent and sensitive eye into the heart and mind of Pocahontas, and with an unflinching and respectful eye to Native Americans and the English. The Pilgrim's landing on Plymouth Rock gets more attention, but it all started at Jamestown and this book is an excellent introduction.

Short Biography
This is a short, less than 100 pages, biography of what is know about Pocahontas.I rated it 5 stars although I would have preferred a longer book. However the book is priced right for it's size. the worst book ever
You should NOT buy the Double life of Pochahontas.There is barely any dialog. It's really d u l l. Its about the english at Jamestown.It is more of a text book than a story book. It is barley about pochahontas at all. It all starts when the English build Jamestown... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    2. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    3. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    4. Girls & Women    5. People & Places - United States - Native American    6. Fiction / Historical   

Reviews (161)

WWII Japanese-American INTERNMENT through the eyes of a child.
2000+ American Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines (MILITARY PERSONNEL) died during the Japanese Air Attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, and as a direct result, President Roosevelt issued Presidential Executive Order 9066, forcing 110,000+ Japanese-Americans into 10 Military Internment Camps (Concentration Camps -- complete with Armed Soldiers, Machine Guns, Barbed Wire Fences, Spotlights, and Guard Towers).Each person subject to EO-9066 could only take what they could carry with their own two hands (and nothing more), leaving eveything else behind.Oh yes, the Federal Government also froze ALL BANK ACCOUNTS of Japanese-Americans through to the end of the war, so they could not get any cash out of the bank nor pay any bills.As a direct result, Japanese-Americans lost her homes due to nonpayment of Property Taxes.In Jeanne's Dad's case, someone stole their fishing boat while they were incarcerated.Her dad was a fisherman, and the boat had been the primary means of support for their family.
Japanese Americans Internment Camps-WWII
This story delves into the culture of the Japanese and applies it to their life in the Manzanar interment camps during World War II. An insightful must-read.

YUCK!
No offense to the author or anything but this book was really boring!!! It just doesn't seem to stick with one situation. Jeanne's family leaves there home, goes to Manzanar, then kicked out of Manzanar, etc. It was just really boring and I was going to be put to sleep, this book couldn't keep my attention on it for long. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography - General    2. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    3. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 3-4    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Evacuation and relocation, 1942-1945    7. History - Military & Wars    8. History - United States/20th Century    9. Japanese Americans    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. People & Places - United States - Asian American    12. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / Asian American   

Reviews (1)

Inspiring
I read this book 2 chapters per night with my children, and they loved it!I did have to skip over the part that talks about the loss of her family because they would not have stuck with it after such horrible events.The stories about the children coal miners, factory workers and families affected during the labor struggles of the late 1800s and early 1900s are stories that children need to hear about to inspire them to continue this work. They were particularly moved by the chapter "The March of the Mill Children." It may not have been necessary to detail so many different campaigns when children were the target audience, but my kids were attentive and interested nonetheless. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1843?-1930    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Political    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Child labor    6. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    7. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    8. History    9. Jones,    10. Juvenile literature    11. Mother,    12. United States    13. Women in the labor movement    14. Women labor leaders    15. Jones    16. Jones, Mother   

Reviews (31)

Not so boring.
Quite contrary to other peoples opinions on this book I found it engaging rather than boring.The main character (Amos) is an example good of patience.It is well written and an excellent book.

Amos Fortune Free Man
This book was a bit slow starting but then picked up towards the middle and end (so much that I wish it hadn't of stopped.)Even though the print and layout of book seemed kind of juvenile it's content and vocabulary was fitting for up to a 14 or 15 year old.
Rewrite!
This terrific story deserves a rewrite.This books is so good, and yet so bad.The middle is so dull I can't find a word dull enough to describe it.The amazing thing is that despite the horror of the dull bits you still feel compelled to finish the story.You still feel awed by the triumph of Amos Fortune.I've even reread it because the story and the characters are so strong.I recommend reading this book despite it's faults.Hang in there.It really is worth it, though you won't believe me until the end. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1709 or 10-1801    2. African Americans    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography - Cultural Heritage    5. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    6. Biography & Autobiography - People of Color    7. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    8. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    9. Children: Grades 3-4    10. Fortune, Amos,    11. Juvenile literature    12. Massachusetts    13. Slaves    14. Fortune, Amos    15. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Reviews (6)

I may be biased...but...
I'm not sure if it is entirely fair for me to give a review of this book, since I was one of the illustrators who worked on it BUT my contribution is quite small and I can at least give you an honest assessment of the rest of the project. I have rarely been prouder to be a part of a graphic novel project. I have read all of Ottaviani's GN's about the lives of scientists (including the ones I did not work on) and I find them riveting. I do not agree with the earlier reviewer that there is any offensive material in this book. She makes the volume sound like an adaptaion of "Caligula". The "offensive" shot is a teeny, tiny panel that shows a lady floating through a man's imagination. She is clad in a gauzy garment. The shot is a direct and necessary shot to explain how the scientist came up with a mathematical formula. It is in no way gratuitous. Lord forbid that anyone who thinks this is offensive actually stroll through the ancient Greco-Roman art section of a museum. Their head will explode. I do not recall seeing any strong language at all. I also found the book to be quite amusing. The contributions of the other artists display solid cartooning. The clever stories, especially those about the life of the mischievous Feynmann, are de facto amusing. The guy was a born prankster. Scientists aren't carved out of marble, they make mistakes, get grouchy, think of pretty girls, and play practical jokes. This book is a great way to encourage young people to pursue science as it shows the humanity of them as well as their playful ways of viewing the world. Science isn't all dry study. It's about real people living real lives, and that is why I recommend this book, even if I drew a page of it, so I suppose there's a conflict of interest there. Oh well.

Gee, I found this book particularly appropriate and helpful
In response to a previous review ("Inappropriate and unhelpful"):
Inappropriate and unhelpful
Written in cartoon format, I thought this book would be a lighter approach to a straight, dry, biography of scientists.However, it is written more like a series of political cartoons than cartoons for kids.The cartoons are barely understandable if the biography of the scientist is not already known, so using it as an initial reading is impossible.Further, some content is offensive.On the second page of cartoons, a scientist is walking along a bridge, thinking, when someone mistakenly believes he is getting ready to jump, saying, "No woman is worth committing suicide over."The pictures show a scantily-clad woman (with bare bottom in one frame) that he is now picturing in his mind.Irrelevant and inappropriate!Plus, I didn't have to go far to find swear words in the captions.Yikes!My kids will never see this book!It is not even appropriate for high-school age kids.(In fact, it isn't even funny to adults!) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography - Science & Technology    2. Children's 9-12 - Science    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Science    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Humor - Cartoons & Comics    6. Juvenile Nonfiction    7. Science & Technology - History    8. Technology - History    9. Children's 12-Up    10. Comics & Graphic Novels / General   

Subjects:  1. Awards    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    4. Biography & Autobiography - Political    5. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    6. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    7. Children: Grades 4-6    8. History    9. Juvenile Nonfiction    10. Juvenile literature    11. Nobel Prizes    12. Pacifists    13. Peace    14. History, Other    15. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / Political   

Reviews (31)

Romancing the Island
Mr. Hamill takes on every bit of New York and discusses why he loves even the worst parts of it. He crafts a walk downtown thru the 1800's past buildings and men who shaped this city and produces a novel that inspires.

Start Spreading the News...
This book was much more than I had expected.Thinking that it would be more autobiographical, I was pleasantly suprised to find that it was really the story of New York City, specifically the downtown area of Manhattan. Being a native New Yorker, Hamill gives great insight not only into the historical facts surrounding the city's origin, but also its lore, its people, its music, its drama, and its tradition. This book is so heaped with history, yet it reads so easily like a great love story.Like most New Yorkers, the names and faces of those who came before are soon forgotten, but Hamill brings them back to life again in a very real way.He leaves us with this feeling of connectedness to our past and a senseof longing nostalgia for old New York. However, he reminds us that New Yorkers do not live in the past and that self-pity is a mortal sin.The story of New York is verymuch one of constant difficult change, earned renewal, progressiveness, tolerance and optimism.These traits have been a part of the city since its origins and more important than ever as we see these traits come alive once again after 9/11.This book is a treasure to anyone who loves New York and wants to understand its history and its people without having to sift throughtextbooks that only gives facts. Put your vagabond reading glasses on and be a part of it.

A Lyrical and Lucid Glance at New York
Pete Hamill's "Downtown: My Manhattan" is part of the latest spate of books that combine personal New York City experience and New York City history, as do Colson Whitehead's "The Colossus of New York" (in a way) and Phillip Lopate's "Waterfront". However, Hamill's is as different from those two other books as those two books are different from each other. I don't know what is causing these authors to write such material--maybe the nostalgia brought about by the horrors of 9/11--but I'm glad they did.
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Subjects:  1. 1935-    2. Authors, American    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography And Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Children's 12-up - Travel - General    7. Essays & Travelogues    8. Hamill, Pete,    9. History    10. Homes and haunts    11. Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)    12. New York    13. New York (State)    14. New York - Local History    15. Personal Memoirs    16. Travel - General    17. United States - Mid Atlantic - New York City    18. United States - State & Local - Middle Atlantic   

Editorial Review

Did you know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister who was another musical genius? Musicologists even speculate that some compositions attributed to Mozart were actually the work of his sister. Nannerl Mozart is just one example of how women and their accomplishments have been ignored or erased entirely from world history. This important book seeks to amend that gaping absence in history books and popular culture by acknowledging the countless women whose contributions have made a difference to modern society. Arranged chronologically, Read more

Reviews (3)

All About Women!
Here's one of the few great books that focus on women and their accomplishments only instead of men. This book featured 120 biographal sketches of women such as Cleopatra VII, Queen Victoria, Anna Pavlova, Gabrielle "Coco" Channel, Harriet Tubmanm, Elizabeth Blackwell, Queen Elizabeth I, and much, much more. These biographies are all wonderful, easy to read, and clearly say what these women have done and accomplished. This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to read about women who have done amazing things. After all, women are capable of accomplishing and doing anything, and this book clearly shows that!

A necessity to anyone interested in women's history
What a gem!I have many history books about women because I want to share women's history with my children.I was of the generation where women were left out of the history class and I feel that women are still in large left out of much of the classes in today's schools.This book does a great job of including many women from different eras, genres and ethnicities.There are photos and great summaries that are short enough to interest children, but in-depth enough to give the reader a knowledgeable understanding.I highly recommend this book to anyone, at any level!

exellent!
This is the best book! Are you tired or reading about history through the eyes of a man? Before this history was documented by wars and treatys but this book is totally different.You learn about history as well asher-story,I learned about more than a hundred other women who changed themovement of the world.Some created inventions, others opened schools,they fighted for wemens rights and protested their weekness by workingtwice as hard as any man.This was a great book I really injoyed readingit, I hope you do too. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Children's 12-Up - Sociology    5. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    6. Girls & Women    7. History    8. Women   

Reviews (12)

Walter Dean Myers Succeeds Again!
Evaluation:This is a wonderfully written biography of an influential African American, Malcolm X. Beginning with his birth in 1925 and ending with his assassination in 1965, Walter Dean Myers describes the trials and tribulations of one of America's radical African American leaders.The book details the many differences between Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Though both men aimed to lift the African American people from their second class citizenship,Martin Luther King believed in a nonviolent approach.On the other hand, Malcolm X believed that the African American community needed to revolt. "Revolution is bloody, revolution is hostile, revolution knows no compromise, revolution overturns and destroys everything that gets in its way" (p. 107). These were Malcolm X's words as he described his belief that no African American solution could possibly involve fitting into a white society.Students will enjoy reading this biography. They will come to learn about a controversial figure in America. Several photographs and illustrations will help to entice even the most reluctant of readers.
A new look
Myers takes a new look at the Malcom X story with a special light on his childhood. The book is well organized with a blueprint of the structures that made up his life.

My idol, my admirer, my savior... Malcom X
Malcom X, as we know is a well known activist throughout the world. However, while reading "By any means necessary", I have come across a different Malcom X, infact the first Malocm X that I have come across with was Malcom Little.This was Malcom as a little boy, a Malcom who worked really hard in school to achive his goal to become a lawyer. But this dream of his, would only be dream because Malcom was black.Malcom's intelligence was over looked just because he was not white.Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Americans    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography - Cultural Heritage    4. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    5. Biography & Autobiography - People of Color    6. Black Muslims    7. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    8. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    9. Children: Grades 4-6    10. Juvenile literature    11. Juvenile Nonfiction / Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (18)

We Are Witnesses
I am not a big fan of non-fiction history books. I find them hard to concentrate on because there are so many facts that they become overwhelming. But We Are Witnesses is a non-fiction history book that I liked. First, I liked it because it was set during WWII, which is something I am interested in. Secondly, this book is about five teenagers, which I can relate to because I am in the same age group. Each of their diaries was found. They all were Jewish, they all died.
Keeping history alive!
This set of stories helps keep history alive for teenagers that have no concept of the depth horror that intolerance can achieve. All teens should read it!

Ok I guess
This book was OK. I had to read it for school but I agree that it had way too many narrations in it and the only thing that captured the teens' feelings and thoughts were the scant entries from their diaries. This book didn't move me at all. If the author had put more of the kids' entries in it, it might be more effective. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    3. Children    4. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. Europe, Eastern    7. History - Holocaust    8. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    9. Jewish teenagers    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Personal narratives    13. World War, 1939-1945    14. Biography: general    15. Germany    16. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / General    17. The Holocaust   

Reviews (145)

Deeply compelling
This book was greatly written and very emotional. It was recommended to me by a former American History teacher and I was grateful.

A thousand years
Livia Bitton-Jackson's I Have Lived a Thousand Years is her story of life during WWII and the holocaust. Livia, known as Elli, was 13 years old when her family was forced out of their home and sent to Auschwitz. Her brother and father were sent to the male side of the camp, and Livia and her mother were sent to the female side. Because Livia was 13 years old, and still a child, she would have been sent to the gas chambers. But an officer took a liking to Elli's blonde hair, told her to lie and say she was 16, and led her to the path towards the camp, and away from the gas chambers.
Great Book - Ruth Williams
I have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson is a disturbingly honest memoir of a thirteen year old Jewish girl living in the Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. The experience of living in the death camp Auschwitz is graphically shocking and distressing, but also miraculous because she actually survives. The story is told in the voice of Elli, in a direct present tense and, although a bit simple, the words and thoughts do seem to come from the mouth of a teenage girl.
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Subjects:  1. Biography & Autobiography - General    2. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    3. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    4. Children's Books/Young Adult Biography    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    6. History - Holocaust    7. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    8. Hungary    9. Jews    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Persecutions    13. Personal narratives    14. Biography: general    15. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Holocaust    16. The Holocaust    17. World history: Second World War   

Reviews (30)

almost lost
THis story is great,I loved how real and interesting it was although parts do get boring. The language used in conversation, like "gook" makes me question how much of it was true. It is pretty simple to read, but it is mind blowing to think of what this 15 year old kid went through!I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially teens in any type of counseling.

The original James Frey
Brought to you from the author of Go Ask Alice... yeah, right.
Step Off Your Thrones
You people need to realize the difference between reality and liturature. This is JUST a book! Get over the fact that everything by Beatrice Sparks is just made up by an author. She's not going to tell an entire story of one person. She'd have to fantasize it a little to get people to read it. Just enjoy the book!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Adolescent psychotherapy    2. Biography & Autobiography - General    3. Case studies    4. Children's 12-Up - Biography / Autobiography    5. Children's Books/Young Adult Misc. Nonfiction    6. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    7. Depression in adolescence    8. Family psychotherapy    9. History - General    10. Juvenile Nonfiction    11. Juvenile literature    12. Social Issues - Runaways    13. Treatment    14. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Runaways    15. True stories   

Reviews (9)

Ann Rinaldi has done it again...
Ann Rinaldi never disappoints--Nine Days a Queen was another excellent novel.
Not Just For Teens!
NINE DAYS A QUEEN, perfectly reveals the compelling story of Lady Jane Grey.Her story, which is told in a first person narrative, begins at the age of nine when she is sent to the Court of Henry VIII by her manipulative and ambitious parents.Here she meets her future guardians, Katherine Parr (the sixth of Henry's wives) and Thomas Seymour; she reconnects with her cousins, the future King Edward VI, Princess Mary (later Queen Mary I) and the Princess Elizabeth (Elizabeth I).Her happiness at escaping the harsh, unpleasant world of her parents is charmingly evident though almost fleeting when one considers her short life.Soon enough upon Katherine's death, Jane is back home as her parents continue to scheme to make the most advantagous marriage and future for her.Maneuvered into accepting the crown after Edward's death in a ploy filled with both religious and political overtones, she is abandoned and left to falter by those who should be closest to her.
Not bad, but less than I'd hoped for
I should preface my review by saying Ann Rinaldi wrote this book for teens, and I read it when I was 35, after reading several other books on the Tudors.
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Subjects:  1. 1537-1554    2. Biographical - European    3. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - History    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Executions and executioners    6. Fiction    7. Great Britain    8. Grey, Jane,    9. Henry VIII, 1509-1547    10. Historical - Europe    11. Historical Fiction (Young Adult)    12. History    13. Juvenile Fiction    14. Kings, queens, rulers, etc.    15. Lady,    16. Rinaldi, Ann    17. Royalty (kingsqueensprincesprincessesknightsetc.)    18. Social Situations - Adolescence    19. Juvenile Fiction / Royalty   

Features

• Box set

Subjects:  1. Biographical - European    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - History    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Girls & Women    5. Historical - Europe    6. Historical - Renaissance    7. Historical Fiction (Young Adult)    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Royalty (kingsqueensprincesprincessesknightsetc.)    10. Juvenile Fiction / Historical / Renaissance   

Reviews (1)

Touching Story
Hanna Jansen's OVER A THOUSAND HILLS I WALK WITH YOU is a touching tribute to her adopted daughter who was orphaned in the Rwandan war. Based on her daughter's recollections of her childhood--memories both pleasant and bittersweet--Jansen weaves a tale of sorrow, hope, fear, joy, and love. For example, the early chapters of the book feature a young girl living life large. She is visiting her grandmother. She's playing with her cousins. She's fighting with her sister and brother. Her mom works outside the home, her dad is away a lot...and she has an incredibly whiny sister that she struggles with on a daily basis.She's vibrant and unaware that her world would change in just a few short years. Later chapters reveal the pain, the loss, the confusion, the fear of not knowing if one is going to survive another day. Witnessing such atrocities as seeing your parents and siblings killed by strange soldiers. Seeking help from family friends, yet being turned away because they don't want to risk dying too. Her survival story is inspiring.
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Subjects:  1. 1986-    2. Biographical - Other    3. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    5. Fiction    6. Genocide    7. Historical - Africa    8. Historical Fiction (Young Adult)    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. People & Places - Africa    11. Rwanda    12. Social Issues - Violence    13. Umubyeyi, Jeanne d'Arc,   

Reviews (31)

eleanor's best book ever!
WOW, what a book i would say. It's a very moving book about the memoirs of Helen Waterford and Alfons Heck during WWII.This book should be in high school history not to say only for high schoolers but 12 year olds and up.

An Aryan and Jew become friends
This book is not your usual book. It details the lives of Ayran Alfons Heck and Jewish Helen Waterford.
This is a book you can not put down!
Seriously this book is impossible to stop reading once you pass a certain point. I stayed up 'til seven in the morning reading this book. Mind you I started reading that night around ten or eleven at night. It is seriously that captivating. This book tells some very important and over-all relatively unknown facts about the period surrounding WWII. It is an intriguing and captivating book that I believe every human being high school age and older should read. I also think it should be added to high school curriculums. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up    2. Biography & Autobiography - Historical    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Biography    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Frankfurt am Main    6. Germany    7. History - Holocaust    8. Holocaust survivors    9. Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)    10. Jews    11. Juvenile Nonfiction    12. Juvenile literature    13. United States    14. Juvenile Nonfiction / History / Holocaust   

Reviews (24)

Possibly not fiction
I read this book several years ago and could hardly put it down until I finished it.I wrote to the publisher to ask if this book was fiction, but I got no reply.I had the impression in reading it that is was not fiction, and yet the words 'fictionalized' and 'novel' are used for it on Amazon. I was curious to know what is fiction in it and what is not.
WOW!!!
This book is a wonderful book. I have read it over 3 times now and I still want to read it again. Before I read the book I had some sibling problems, and after reading it I am now closer to my sisters. It teaches you how much you need your family and what they can do for you. I think it is more than a 5 star book. It should be a 100 star book. I think if most people in the world read it our world would be changed. It would be peaceful and people would not get into big arguments. That is how much this book can change us. If you don't beleive me you should read this wonderful, fantastic, brilliant book by Yoko Kawashima Watkins. It is one novel you'll never forget!

Oustanding!!!
This book has influenced me very much. It teaches you many things and I recommend it to everyone, including adults. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biographical - Other    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Fiction    5. Historical - General    6. Juvenile fiction    7. Refugees    8. Social Issues - General    9. World War, 1939-1945    10. Juvenile Fiction / Biographical / Other   

Reviews (23)

I love it
This book is very interesting. I started becoming interested in the history of queens and kings of England eversince I read this book. Queen Anne Boleyn is one of my favourite queens in the whole world. She's determined to show the world that one day, she will be queen above all the people who had hated, rejected and scorned her. It made me feel like I was Anne myself. This book should not only be read by older people. 11 year old kids like me can also read and enjoy it. By, NM kid.

AWESOME BOOK!
Carolyn Meyer is my favorite author and I have read all of her books about the Tudor Family.First of all, I am a Tudor Family freak so this book immediately got my attention because it was about Anne Boleyn.It is very well written and I wasn't disappointed at all.I know a lot about Anne to begin with and found it true and detailed.It is great for teens looking for an adventure and who are interested in the life of the royal family.It isn't a hard, complicated story to understand.I loved it and finished it in a day.This book is about Anne's life as a Lady in Waiting and then her attraction to King Henry and how she falls in love and won't stop till she's queen.After she gives birth to Elizabeth and doesn't produce a male heir, Henry loses interest in her, after several miscarriages, he completely gives up hope and she is sent to the tower, where she is killed later leaving behind a daughter who will soon become one of England's greatest queens.

Anne Boleyn's story, another great Young Royals book (4 1/2 stars)...
The setting begins in the year 1520.Anne Boleyn vowed that one day she would be queen.She has a difficult childhood for being the black sheep in the family.Her sixth finger and dark mole are shown as signs of evil.She especially has a heart time with her older sister Mary and declares that one day her sister will have to kneel before her.And she does just about everything to make that happen.She sees the golden opportunity when she becomes Queen Catherine's lady-in-waiting and Henry VIII's mistress.When Queen Catherine fails to give him a son, Henry soon gets rid of her and his first-born daughter Mary (this happens in the first Young Royals book called Mary, Bloody Mary) and marries Anne.Now Anne Boleyn has finally achieved her objective: she has become the Queen of England.But how long will her good fortune last?When she gets pregnant, only one concern comes to mind, will the child be a boy?There are various twists throughout the novel.