Shortly after the Twin Towers fall on 9/11 in New York, Shirli, a young Jewish girl, is cast as Golde (the older mother) in her middle school’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. She’s upset she won’t have a solo, until her crush, Ben Morgan (who isn’t Jewish,) is cast as Tevye (her character’s husband.) She decides to be the best Golde she can be, and even enlists her Zayde (Yiddish for “grandfather”) to help by donating old items from his attic for costumes and props for the show. While Shirli is digging around the attic looking for old clothes, she uncovers a poster and an old violin, but when she shows them to her grandfather, he yells at her. Slowly, over the book, he shares with her his experiences as a young boy who was sent to Auschwitz with his entire family.
This YA/Middle Grade novel was very moving and respectfully discussed both the Holocaust and bigotry against Muslims after 9/11 in the United States in an appropriate way for middle schoolers who may be new to these subject areas, while saving room for normal middle school subjects like first crushes, jealousy, and friendships. I really see this as a stepping stone for conversations about bigotry and hatred and the horrors that are going on in our own country today. Of course, it’s not as deep or graphic as a book written for an older audience would be, but it absolutely works for the group it was written for. I’m saving my copy of this book to share with my son in another couple years.
Thank you to LibraryThing and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.