Customer Reviews

Shadow of the Wall

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I AM A 6TH GRADE STUDENT AND I JUST FINISHED READING SHADOW OF THE WALL. IT IS A FANTASTIC BOOK. IT IS CONFUSING AT THE BEGINNING BUT WHEN YOU GET TOWARD THE MIDDLE IT GETS REALLY GOOD. I WOULD RECOMEND IT TO ANYONE. IT IS ABOUT A 13-YEAR-OLD JEWISH BOY THAT LIVED IN A GHETTO DURING THE HOLOCAUST. HE GOES ON A VERY IMPORTANT MISSION (SMUGGLE HIS BABY SISTER OUT OG THE GHETTO TO LIVE WITH A NON-JEWISH FAMILY). IT ALSO TELLS ABOUT HIS OTHER ADVENTURES.

To keep his ailing mother alive, Misha Edelstein must risk his life to smuggle what bits of food he can find into the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of the city in World War II. Later on, he must risk his life to smuggle his baby sister out of the Ghetto, into the hands of kind strangers, in the hope that she may survive. Adding to the theme of the meaning of life in the face of death is that much of the story takes place in Janusz Korczak's orphanage in the Ghetto. Dr. Korczak, along with Mrs. Stefa and Miss Eszterka and several of the orphans were all real people. Throughout his life, "Mister Doctor" (as Korczak often was called) cared for orphans, providing Warsaw's unwanted children with nurturing and comfort. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Warsaw was under seige; the following year, the city's significant Jewish population was rounded up and imprisoned in a Ghetto the Nazis encircled with an eight-foot wall (hence the title of this book). Though Janusz Korczak was offered false papers for safe passage to the Aryan side on several occasions, he steadfastly refused, saying that one must never abandon children in a time of need. To the end, with solemn dignity, Janusz Korczak accompanied his children to the cattle cars that would take them to Treblinka, never to be seen or heard again.

The theme of this Young Adult novel fits very well with the life of Janusz Korczak, an important figure more children should know about. Ms. Laird drew upon her own research to ensure the book's historical accuracy. Although Betty Jean Lifton's superb biography had not yet been published when this book was written, Ms. Laird did consult Hanna Olczak's "Mister Doctor" and Joseph Hyams's "A Field of Buttercups," the former being a translation from the Polish of an account written by someone who actually knew the Doctor, the latter being the first original English-language biography of Korczak. Young readers who wish to know more about this kind, gentle champion of children would do well to read Mark Bernheim's "Father of the Orphans."

Christa Laird's beautifully told book has been translated into several languages and deserves to be reprinted again in English. Moreover, it deserves to be read by a new generation of young adults.

Thirteen year old Misha and his sister Rachel live in the Warsaw ghetto orphanage ran by Dr. Korczak. Although Misha and his sister are fictional, other characters in the book are not. In order to survive, Misha smuggles goods out of the ghetto, returning with much needed food and provisions. At the age of 16, Misha leaves the orphanage and joins the underground resistance group. A decision which saves his life from the liquidation of the orphanage.

Overall, the book was only so-so. The author struggles to find words to adequately describe the horrors of the ghetto. The characters are weekly written, and it is hard to imagine them as real people. Although this wasn't my favorite book, it may be a good introduction to the plight of Jews during WWII for a younger reader.

Shadow of the Wall

This is a story about a boy that survived what seemed to be the impossible, when he was very young his father died of a disease. His mother sent him to an orphanage; she eventually started to live there. After Misha was older he started to smuggle food in from the "outside" for his family because his mother was very sick and couldn't work. Eventually Mishas mother died, leaving him and his two sisters. The Nazis started to give terrible punishments to people who broke the law, if Misha was caught smuggling food he would be killed. The Nazis are preparing to raid the orphanage and many of the children and adults are very weak. What will happen to Misha, his sisters and the rest of the orphanage?

I didn't like this story because it is to sad the way both of his parents die when he's young and leave him to fend for both him and his two sisters. It is also a little bit gross, when Misha was smuggling once he stumbled over two dead bodies and one of them wasn't even covered up! This story relates to The Diary of Anne Frank.