Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Book Description:
Chaya Lindner is a teenager living in Nazi-occupied Poland. Simply being Jewish places her in danger of being killed or sent to the camps. After her little sister is taken away, her younger brother disappears, and her parents all but give up hope, Chaya is determined to make a difference. Using forged papers and her fair features, Chaya becomes a courier and travels between the Jewish ghettos of Poland, smuggling food, papers, and even people.
Soon Chaya joins a resistance cell that runs raids on the Nazis' supplies. But after a mission goes terribly wrong, Chaya's network shatters. She is alone and unsure of where to go, until Esther, a member of her cell, finds her and delivers a message that chills Chaya to her core, and sends her on a journey toward an even larger uprising in the works — in the Warsaw Ghetto.
Though the Jewish resistance never had much of a chance against the Nazis, they were determined to save as many lives as possible, and to live — or die — with honor.
Review:
It's been awhile since I paid full price for a book, but I was so impressed with A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen that when I heard she had a new book out, I jumped on Amazon and ordered it.
Resistance takes a different perspective than any other book I've read about Jews in Europe during World War II. As the name suggests, this book focuses on the resistance of Jews against the Nazis instead of those being hidden or those trying to survive the camps.
I wasn't familiar with couriers before-those women or girls who could pass as Aryan that helped by smuggling forged documents, supplies, and people. I was touched by the part of the book where Chaya smuggles a baby out of the ghetto in a backpack.
My eyes were opened to so many things in this book. The main characters were all so young. What courage they had to join this resistance!
I did want more at the end, but I was educated and touched by the strength portrayed in this novel. I can see myself reading this again, and hope that Nielsen writes more about WWII.
I had the opportunity to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. a few weeks before I read Resistance. I believe this book had an even bigger impact on me due to this unforgettable experience. Words cannot express how awful this time in history was, and how important it is that we do not forget what happened so that it doesn't happen again.
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: August 2018
ISBN: 1338148478
Source: Personal Copy
Purchase: Amazon
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