Publishers Weekly
04/04/2022
This hard-hitting nonfiction biography told in verse documents the escape of two Jewish teen piano prodigies who assumed aliases to avoid Nazi persecution during WWII. Ukrainian Zhanna Arshanskaya and her sister Frina enjoyed a childhood filled with music until Stalin’s persecutions and antisemitism forced their family to move to Kharkov, where they lived meagerly until the girls’ talent earned them scholarships to a music conservatory. Hood’s tone shifts dramatically when Nazis storm the city in 1941 (“life was merry for Zhanna...// Then one morning started the beginning of the end”) and soldiers evacuate all Jews on a march toward almost certain death at Drobitsky Yar. Zhanna and Frina, then 14 and 12, narrowly escape back to Kharkov and, with assistance, assume new identities as Anna and Marina Morazova, soon becoming renowned pianists who perform across Europe during the war. While tonally light poems can feel at odds with the wrenching content, quotes from Zhanna herself, collected from Dawson’s biography for adults, Hiding in the Spotlight, and rendered in italics throughout (“I was born busy—eaten up by curiosity”), impart weight and power to this accessible portrait of two talented and determined teens. Comprehensive end notes include maps, photographs, letters, and more. Ages 10–up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Mar.)
From the Publisher
This lyrical book is one of the most truthful survivor stories I’ve ever read. I think this book will be a page-turner for adolescents. — Jack Kliger, President and CEO of the Museum of Jewish Heritage
A profound and powerful story of the Holocaust, told with heart, soul, and music. — Kathryn Lasky, Newbery Honoree and winner of the National Jewish Book Award
A harrowing and remarkable story of strength and survival. — Kirkus Reviews
Appended with generous back matter, this offers a revealing look at an underreported Holocaust chapter. — Booklist
Hood tells Zhanna’s story through both free verse and a rich array of forms. The use of poetry is effective, echoing in its complexity the music of a singular life caught in the chaos of history. This highly recommended book includes extensive background material, photos, sources, lists of musical compositions, and poetic forms. — Jewish Book Council
[A] hard-hitting nonfiction biography told in verse. [An] accessible portrait of two talented and determined teens. — Publishers Weekly
This compelling book of loss and perseverance will stay with readers long after they have finished. . . This lyrical biography (written with Dawson, Zhanna’s son) features significant back matter, including discography, original photographs and correspondence, further reading, and more. The verse format and harrowing narrative make this a quick read for reluctant and striving readers. This powerful work of persistence and hope is highly recommended. — School Library Journal
A tribute to the power of girls. — The Sydney Taylor Schmooze
On the Audio Edition: "A touching story of art, struggle, and overcoming persecution, with a narration that is a testament to survival." — Booklist
Booklist
Appended with generous back matter, this offers a revealing look at an underreported Holocaust chapter.
Jewish Book Council
Hood tells Zhanna’s story through both free verse and a rich array of forms. The use of poetry is effective, echoing in its complexity the music of a singular life caught in the chaos of history. This highly recommended book includes extensive background material, photos, sources, lists of musical compositions, and poetic forms.
Jack Kliger
This lyrical book is one of the most truthful survivor stories I’ve ever read. I think this book will be a page-turner for adolescents.
Booklist
Appended with generous back matter, this offers a revealing look at an underreported Holocaust chapter.
School Library Journal
02/03/2023
Gr 5–8—This compelling book of loss and perseverance will stay with readers long after they have finished. It is the story of a Jewish girl and her sister who lived in Ukraine in the 1930s and 1940s. First, the siblings cope with Stalin's ruthless regime and then the Nazi invasion. Zhanna and Frina are talented pianists, which affords them a small amount of fame, something helpful but also incredibly dangerous for two Jewish girls trying to avoid detection. It doesn't take long for this true story of evasion and outmaneuvering the Nazis to become fraught with danger and tension. With Ukraine in the news, and anti-Semitism at an all-time high around the world, this book, unfortunately, feels timely. Despite the horrors these two young girls endured, this work is still hopeful. In so many instances, strangers were willing to risk their own lives to aid them. This lyrical biography (written with Dawson, Zhanna's son) features significant back matter, including discography, original photographs and correspondence, further reading, and more. The verse format and harrowing narrative make this a quick read for reluctant and striving readers. VERDICT This powerful work of persistence and hope is highly recommended.—Christina Salazar
Kirkus Reviews
2021-12-15
Sisters Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya were piano prodigies in Stalin’s Soviet Union who survived against the odds.
The Jewish Arshansky family lived in the small Ukrainian city of Berdyansk until the sisters were 8 and 6, when growing antisemitism forced them to settle in bustling Kharkov. The sisters earned scholarships to a famed music conservatory and were happy for some time. But when the Einsatzgruppen, or Nazi death squads, arrived in 1941, the family was forced on a long death march to Drobitsky Yar where nearly everyone was killed. The two girls, then 14 and 12, escaped and made it back to Kharkov. Relying on the kindness of courageous people, Zhanna and Frina obtained false papers and established new identities as Christian girls named Anna and Marina Morozova. They went on to become renowned pianists, hiding in plain sight and entertaining German audiences and Nazi soldiers across Europe. Though constantly living with the risk of discovery, they survived the war with their secret safe. Using a variety of poetry styles and direct quotes from Dawson’s mother, Zhanna, the co-authors relate the siblings’ horrific and incredible lives. While some of the verse forms seem almost too frivolous for such a serious tale, this work offers readers the truth of the Shoah in a simple and accessible format.
A harrowing and remarkable story of strength and survival. (note on names, map, authors’ note, photographs, letters, afterword, list of music, historical note, places of note, poetry notes, sources, bibliography) (Verse biography. 10-14)
