Saturday, March 23, 2019

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen is a powerful book aimed mostly at older kids, but it's something that adults would appreciate as well.

Resistance (c) 2018 by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Chaya Lindner is a young Jewish girl whose family is torn apart by the Nazis during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Despite the terrible risks to her, she chooses to fight back by running messages, food, etc. into the ghettos. She even manages to sneak people out. She faces terrible risks, and great danger, but still presses forward.

The things that she sees in the ghettos, (starving people, etc.) and the terrible risks she faces may be scary for really young kids, but this is a story that needs to be told. I believe older kids and teens as well as adults will learn valuable lessons about WWII, the cruelty of the Nazis, and most importantly, the strength of human courage by reading this book.

History should not be forgotten if we do not want to repeat it, and the extent to which human depravity can sink should never be underestimated. And yet Chaya's example shows that the opposite is true, too. The extent of courage that can be shown in the face of great evil also should not be underestimated.

I recommend this book without hesitation to older elementary kids, teens, and adults.

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