8. My Enemy's Cradle

TITLE: My Enemy's Cradle
AUTHOR: Sara Young
COPYRIGHT: to be published Jan 2008
PAGES: 361
TYPE: Fiction
RECOMMEND: Yes, if for no other reason, it is a good story.

I read the uncorrected copy of this work by Sara Young, who has written a number of children's books undet the name of Sara Pennypacker. The copy I have has no cover picture, so I will not include one. I loved this book.

This is the story of a young Polish girl who was half Jewish. She was sent by her father to live with Dutch relatives, including a cousin she resembles in almost every way except perhaps temperment. It was her father's hope that she would stay safe during World War II. It is also the story of the Nazi machine and policies which encouraged young Aryan women to become pregnant, often by married soldiers, and give their babies to the Nazis to help populate Europe. The young girls' experiences and her understanding of how her safety and future were dictated by circumstances often beyond her control provide the reader with a somewhat different, and decidedly female, picture of the Holocaust.

I read this book very quickly and loved every minute of it. I think it would be appropriate for a wide age range and hope that it will be used in History classes at multiple levels. Thank you to the publisher for providing these copies at ALA.