Clara's War

by Kathy Kacer

Overview

From the Silver Birch Award-winning author of The Secret of Gabi’s Dresser.

t's a dangerous time for thirteen-year-old Clara and her family. They have just been imprisoned in Terezin (Terezinstadt), a ghetto in a medieval town near Prague - which was built to show the world how "well" the Nazis were treating Jews during the Second World War. Here Clara encounters hunger, disease and filthy living conditions. Even worse is the constant threat of being deported to concentration camps where the possibility of death awaits her.

In the midst of the horror of these conditions, Clara still makes strong friendships and attends classes. Life in the ghetto takes an unusual turn for the young people when a children's opera, Brundibar, written by an inmate, allows them moments of joy and laughter. With a real escape being planned by Jacob, a family tragedy to confront, and an inspection tour by the Red Cross at hand, Clara has some life-challenging decisions to make. Inspired by real events.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781926739113
Publisher:	Second Story Press
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Series:	Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	198
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Kathy Kacer’s books have won a number of awards, including the Silver Birch and the Jewish Book Award. A former psychologist, Kathy now travels the globe speaking to children and adults about the importance of keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive. Kathy lives in Toronto with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-7-Thirteen-year-old Clara and her younger brother Peter are living in Prague with their parents in 1943 when the family receives orders to join a transport. Their destination is Terezin (also known as Theresienstadt), a lesser-known concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic. Although her family is separated for most of each day and the living conditions are harsh, Clara learns to find comfort in schoolwork, music, and friends, especially streetwise Jacob. He tells her what is really happening to the people chosen for further transports to Auschwitz, and that he plans to escape from Terezin when the time is right. The story is realistically open-ended; when Jacob disappears, Clara never learns if his escape was successful or if he died in the attempt. Also, since the story ends before the camp is liberated, readers never find out if the main character survives the war or not, which is disconcerting and disappointing. The novel is not as engaging as the many Holocaust stories by Carol Matas and others, and has an annoying tendency to overuse the term "alright." However, the details are accurate and the historical photos and artwork at the end add realism.-Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert Middle School, OH Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

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