The Girl Who Escaped from Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood is an engrossing book, shining a light on brave heroes we should never forget

After finishing the book, the first thing that stood up in my mind is the quality of the writing. In these short stories, sometimes a whole world was discovered

The research the author did shine, and I’ve learned several things about Latvia, the region, the way Latvian Jews viewed the Soviets, and a bit of history

While the subject is, indeed, very serious, there’s also playfulness within the narrative. I have no idea how Mr. Uris managed to do that

Nine Tenth of the Law by Claudia Hagadus Long, while certainly dealing with serious issues, comes across as light hearted, with poignant and clever observations

I enjoyed the interaction between Ingrid and David. I thought that plot device worked well to personalize the events, & also to highlight the history

The book makes observations about how people treat one another in a civilized society, the challenges of raising kids, what’s important, and more

“Daughters of Iraq” by Revital Shiri-Horowitz is a well written account of Jewish Iraqi family who is forced to immigrate to Israel from Iraq in the 1950s.

A document written by Rabbi Gurion ben Judah Maccabee and “translated and re-translated from the Hebrew and the English” before being published

“Stalina” by Emily Rubin is the fictional story of a Russian immigrant to the United States. The story takes place after the fall of the Soviet Union.