Nesmith Library

The blood years, Elana K. Arnold

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 383-387)

photographs

no index present

Ages: 14 and up

fiction

The blood years

bibliography

Grades: 9 and up

Elana K. Arnold

From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania. Frederieke Teitler and her older sister, Astra, live in a house, in a city, in a world divided. Their father ran out on them when Rieke was only six, leaving their mother a wreck and their grandfather as their only stable family. He's done his best to provide for them and shield them from antisemitism, but now, seven years later, being a Jew has become increasingly dangerous, even in their beloved home of Czernowitz, long considered a safe haven for Jewish people. And when Astra falls in love and starts pulling away from her, Rieke wonders if there's anything in her life she can count on-and, if so, if she has the power to hold on to it. Then-war breaks out in Europe. First the Russians, then the Germans, invade Czernowitz. Almost overnight, Rieke and Astra's world changes, and every day becomes a struggle: to keep their grandfather's business, to keep their home, to keep their lives. Rieke has long known that she exists in a world defined by those who have power and those who do not, and as those powers close in around her, she must decide whether holding on to her life might mean letting go of everything that has ever mattered to her--and if that's a choice she will even have the chance to make. Based on the true experiences of her grandmother's childhood in Holocaust-era Romania, award-winning author Elana K. Arnold weaves an unforgettable tale of love and loss in the darkest days of the twentieth century--and one young woman's will to survive them

Foreword -- A brief history of Czernowitz -- Part I: Astra and her lover. Pigeons and promises -- The way things are -- Café Europa -- How to fix things -- Welcome to the blood years -- Broken, and breaking -- Part II: The Russian year. The goose and the bear -- When flying monkeys attack -- When time stops -- The Moiseyev dancers -- Honeymoons, waxing, and waning -- Masks on -- The narrowing gyre -- What happens to Ruth -- Part III: A very lucky girl. The Nazis -- Never pray for a new king -- Into the ghetto -- Unexpected heroes -- In Mr. Weissinger's apartment -- How lucky -- Part IV: What it costs. Right now -- Payment in advance -- Treatment -- The wheelbarrow -- The locket -- Part V: In the name of love

adolescent