Earlier this month I posted that I would be participating in the YA Historical Fiction Challenge.So far, I have read two of my proposed 5 books:
Annexed by Sharon Dogar & Countdown by Deborah Wiles
My Reviews:
Countdown is told by an eleven year old girl (Franny), wise beyond her years living through the Cuban Missile Crisis, the fear of Nuclear War and the rise of Communism. Her Dad is an active member of the Air Force, her uncle a war veteran with obvious post-traumatic stress syndrome, she has an older sister who is keeping secrets, a terrified younger brother and a mother who is trying to hold the family together. The President's announcement of the nuclear threat pushes into all aspects of lives of this family, and yet, the family is expected to continue their daily lives.
I have hear this book called as a Documentary-Novel and it certainly fits. Through Franny's eyes we see how the political climate is affecting her and her family; but, through the pages of photographs, news stories, quotes and song lyrics the reader sees what Franny and her family saw. Through these "extras" the reader is able to experience the 1960s and understand the actions of the characters.
There were parts of Franny's story that I would have like to see developed further, but overall I am very impressed by this book and recommended it to all fans of historical fiction or real-life dramas.
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Annexed is the story of Peter Van Pels the boy in the attic with Anne Frank. We follow Peter as he makes his way to the Annex and as he grows up with a limited number of people in his daily life. We learn how he is encourage to continue his studies while outside other Jews are being sent away and while he grapples with the hope that he one day will be free or the despair that one day he might not be. The annex was of course discovered, and Peter also brings the reader to Auschwitz.
Peter's story is very moving. The characters ultimate fate is already known, but that won't stop readers from routing for their escape and survival and from succumbing to their obvious depression. Above all, this book is a character study of what it must have been like to be locked away, uncertain of your future and those of your friends you left behind.
