Rave Review: "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry

Quick Summary

Type: Middle-grade novel

Genre: Historical fiction

Back Cover: "Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life."

Read Time: 2 hours

Rating: 5 stars

Review

This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. I must have reread it over a dozen times back then. I recently reread it, and I remember why I loved this book. It is a very good (and age-appropriate) look into the everyday horrors of living in Nazi-occupied land, the transition from oppression of Jews to genocide, and the lengths some ordinary people went to help their Jewish friends or even strangers.

I don't have much more to say except that this is an excellent book that has held up over time. Lowry is excellent at tackling difficult topics and presenting them in a way that younger children can understand and digest.