Anita Selzer

Anita writes about the struggles her father had growing up as a Jew in occupied Poland. In an effort to protect Sasha from being scrutinized too closely ( i.e. have his pants pulled down to check for circumcision), his mother dresses him as a girl called Salla and hides him in plain sight of the soldiers who live around them. With the help of courageous non-Jewish people like Bella (his mother's friend) and members of the underground, this is an Anne Frank type story with a twist.
I liked how this book discussed the difficulties the Jewish people faced after the war was over and showed the struggle to survive against hostile members of their cities that continued - Sasha and his mother move numerous times until finally deciding to emigrate to Australia.
The story feels very authentic in that Anita has captured the frustration of a teenage boy in having to act like someone he is not - the loss he feels of his identity and efforts he must go to, to maintain the disguise - shaving twice a day, speaking in a soft voice, walking differently, etc.
Interesting story for fans of The Book Thief, Anne Frank's diary, etc.… (plus d'informations)