Number the Stars
1901
- fiction
- friendship
- rescue
- world war, 1939-1945
- jews
- juvenile fiction
- girls & women
- newbery medal
- holocaust
- world war (1939-1945) fast (ocolc)fst01180924
The story
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen, often think about life before the war. But it's now 1943, and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching in their town. The Nazis won't stop. The Jews of Denmark are being "relocated," so Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be part of the family. Then Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission. Somehow she must find the strength and courage to save her best friend's life. There's no turning back now.
What it’s like
Quiet, close-up domestic Denmark under occupation: a girl's daily life of school, thin rations and ration cards, cold rooms and a family kitchen where small acts carry enormous weight. The prose is spare, plainly worded and written for young readers, with short chapters, clear sentences and little ornament, so the atmosphere comes from restraint: soldiers marching through familiar streets, whispered conversations, the tension of a child keeping a secret. The mood is tender and anxious, a steady hush of unease broken by moments of bravery and warmth between friends and family. Pacing is brisk and suspenseful, with a few tight, frightening scenes built on hiding and near-discovery. Violence is largely offstage and implied; there is fear and grief, and a sense of danger to the Jewish characters, but no gore and no graphic cruelty. A gentle, serious read for a rainy afternoon, a long-haul flight, or a family reading aloud, suited to readers who want history carried by small human details and a courageous young heroine rather than battle or horror.
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