Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tressa at Wishful Endings to spotlight
and talk about the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read.
Generally they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on
Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. This week I’ve picked a book that fits with my interest in reading books about the Holocaust, and it is by an author that wrote a classic YA book about that topic, The Devil’s Arithmetic. Here is the blurb from Goodreads:
From the legendary author of The Devil’s Arithmetic, Jane Yolen, comes her first Holocaust novel in nearly thirty years. Influenced by Dr. Mengele’s sadistic experimentations, this story follows twins as they travel from the Lodz ghetto, to the partisans in the forest, to a horrific concentration camp where they lose everything but each other.
The year is 1942, and Chaim and Gittel, Polish twins, are forced from their beautiful home and made to live in the Lodz Ghetto. Their family’s cramped quarters are awful, but when even those dire circumstances become too dangerous, their parents decide to make for the nearby Lagiewniki Forest, where partisan fighters are trying to shepherd Jews to freedom in Russia. The partisans take Chaim and Gittel, with promises that their parents will catch up — but soon, everything goes wrong. Their small band of fighters is caught and killed. Chaim, Gittel, and their two friends are left alive, only to be sent off to Sobanek concentration camp.
Chaim is quiet, a poet, and the twins often communicate through wordless exchanges of shared looks and their own invented sign language. But when they reach Sobanek, with its squalid conditions, rampant disease, and a building with a belching chimney that everyone is scared to so much as look at, the bond between Chaim and Gittel, once a source of strength, becomes a burden. For there is a doctor there looking to experiment on twins, and what he has in store for them is a horror they dare not imagine.
This gut-wrenching story about the choices we make, the values we hold — and the ties that bind us all together–adds a story never told before in young adult literature to the body of work written about teens during World War II.
Have you read The Devil’s Arithmetic? Do you read many books on the Holocaust? What book are you eagerly awaiting this week?
I haven't read anything by this author before. I have read a couple of books about the Holocaust, but they're usually so heart-wrenching that I don't do it very often. Hope you enjoy this one! Have a great week!
CWW
Sandy @ Somewhere Only We Know
They are usually very heart wrenching, but for some reason I can't stop reading them. Thanks for stopping by!
Wow, this sounds intense! I have not read The Devil's Arithmetic, but I do love Jane Yolen. Thanks for sharing!
That book is a really good one, so I'm definitely looking forward to this one. Thanks for visiting!
This looks really good! I used several of Jane Yolen's picture books when I was home schooling my kids. Thanks for sharing.
I actually first read The Devil's Arithmetic when I started teaching middle school and we were reading it with the students. Thanks for stopping by!
Sadly, I don't read many book on the Holocaust. However, this one had left me intrigued. Thank you for sharing it.
Happy readings!
Tânia @MyLovelySecret
Halloween Book Bingo
I read a lot, usually ones like this. Thanks for visiting!
Sounds dark and sad. I've never read any books about the Holocaust but this one sounds like it might be a good one. Great choice!
The books about the Holocaust are almost always dark and sad, but for some reason I have to read them, no matter how much I end up crying every time. Thanks for stopping by!
I am really interested in this one as well. I am drawn to books set in and around the World Wars. I hope this one turns our to be as good as it sounds. Thank you for sharing!
I always like to read historical fiction about certain time periods and this is one that always draws me in. Thanks for visiting!
The author is new to me, but the sounds amazing. Super emotional though but interesting to how the twins made it though. Great pick.
Jenea's Book Obsession's CWW
It is always emotional to read these types of stories, but I can't help but read them. Thanks for stopping by!
This is a new one for my TBR. Thanks so much for sharing it. It sounds like one that I will enjoy. 🙂
Glad I could add to your TBR! 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
I've read some of Jane Yolen's children's books and I've enjoyed them, so I'm definitely checking this book out! Thanks for checking out my WoW!
If you haven't read The Devil's Arithmetic, you should check that one out first. It's a short but really good read. Thanks for stopping by!
This is completely new to me! I admit, books featuring tragic historic events do not appeal to me because I am almost guaranteed to cry. 😀 It sounds like an amazing book though. I hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to read it!
Have a wonderful week, Lisa. =)
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
I don't know what's wrong with me, but sometimes I want a book to make me cry. 🙂 Probably why I read a lot from that time period. thanks for visiting!
I used to read a lot of fiction and non fiction about the Holocaust but not for a good few years now. This does sound interesting though.
If it's as good as The Devil's Arithmetic you should totally pick it up. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh my goodness, Lisa this broke my heart. I don't know if I have the heart for this, but I will be looking for your review.
I must be crazy in that I love to read these books, even though they do always make me cry so hard. Thanks for visiting!
I do read a lot of books that focus on the Holocaust. This one is new to me though so thanks for putting it on my radar. It sounds like a fantastic read.
If you haven't read The Devil's Arithmetic yet, you can pick that one up while you wait. Thanks for stopping by!
This book sounds so heart wrenching but interesting! I look forward to reading your review.
Renee ~ My CWW
I'm guessing I will definitely cry as I read it. Thanks for visiting!
Oooh… this looks interesting. It's a new one to me!
Naomi @ Naomi’s Reading Palace
It definitely looks good. Thanks for stopping by!
First of all, so sorry for the late comment back, Lisa! I have fallen behind in my commenting again…. 🙁 Trying to catch up!
Anyway….this book is definitely not the sort of thing I can read, to be honest. I can't read any books on the Holocaust; they depress me too much. Not that I've ever had any relatives in concentration camps. (I was raised Catholic, although I suspect I do have Jewish ancestry.) It's just that I can't take these stories….they are much TOO horrible for me…. I tried reading "The Diary of Anne Frank" in high school, and couldn't finish it.
I did want to comment back, though, because I firmly believe in returning the favor when someone comments on my own Wednesday post (and any other of my posts), even if I don't like the book picked by the blogger whose blog I'm commenting back on.
I do hope you enjoy this book, Lisa!
Thanks for commenting on my CWW post!! <3 <3 <3 🙂 🙂 🙂
I think I feel like reading these stories is important to me, to give those people a voice. It helps me when I feel like my life is bad to realize that I've got nothing to complain about. I don't know, that's just me though. I know what you mean about getting behind though! I feel like I'm always trying to get caught up on comments and such. Thanks for stopping by and returning the comment favor though!
Sorry for my belated comment. Somehow this past week has been a crazy one. I don´t know the author and haven´t heart about this book yet, but the cover looks wonderful. Hope you´ll enjoy your pick.
Here is my current WoW
Best wishes
Vi @Inkvotary
No problem! I've had those weeks myself! Thanks for returning the comment when you got a chance!