Reviews with content warning for Death - The Light in Hidden Places

This is not a bad book. In fact, it is very well written. However, this book is incredibly problematic for some of the same reasons Boy in the Striped Pajamas is. Stefania Podgorska was a real woman who really did save 13 Jews during the Holocaust, and her story sounds amazing. Sharon Cameron chose to fictionalize this tale, and that is where the issues arise.

The protagonist of The Light in Hidden Places is a Christian Pole who hides 13 Jewish people during the Holocaust. This is her story, and the Jews become a plot device to further that story, rather than its focal point. Throughout the novel, Stefania refers to the people she is hiding as “my thirteen,” removing any individual identity they have outside of how it relates to the nonJewish protagonist. These characters are truly hidden from the readers unless Stefania needs one of them.

It is also evident that Sharon Cameron did quite a bit of research on everything Polish, but very little Jewish. At the beginning of the story, Stefania is taken in by a Jewish family and learns some Yiddish. Later on, she tries to provide the people she is hiding with a small Hanukkah celebration, she refers to a Hanukkah lamp. Not a menorah, not a hanukiah. It’s clear which culture Cameron paid attention to.

I’d like to reiterate that if this was Stefania Podgorska’s nonfiction story, I would not have had these issues. It’s only with a fictionalized retelling, where the author could have made an effort to create three-dimensional Jewish characters and actively chose not to, that I take issue.

Content Warnings

loverofvenus's review

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dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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elisweets's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Such an amazing and heartbreaking story.
I absolutely loved the writing.
Stefania’s and her groups story is so sad but brave, and I’m happy it was told in such a way.

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oldandnewbooksmell's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Trigger Warnings: horrors of war, cruelty of Nazis, starvation, death, murder

The Light In Hidden Places is based on the true story of Stefania (Fusia) Podgórska and her younger sister Helena, two Polish Catholics who hid 13 Jews in their attic during WWII in Przemysl, Poland.

As someone who, in the past, had almost always read historical fiction based in the WWII era, I held off on this one for a while before I grabbed it off my TBR shelf. A part of me wished I would have read it sooner, as I believe it’s now up in my Top 10 WWII books. But then again, I needed to be in the right mindset to read about everything.

Mr. Diamant shook his head. “Di velt iz sheyn nor di mentshn makhn zi mies,” he said. “The world is beautiful, but people make it ugly.”

The bravery of Stefania blew me away. What she did for her found family and then even for some complete strangers was amazing. Even young Helena who stepped up and kept her sister’s secret was so strong. They hid THIRTEEN Jews in their attic. THIRTEEN!

“Thirteen, I think. Thirteen Jews in the attic. It’s not like the Nazis could kill me more.”

Sharon Cameron did her research for this book: the unpublished memoir of Stefania’s was the backbone to the novel, as well as interviews with some of the other members of the group. I didn’t feel like the story was extremely long or anything as I know that Cameron was trying to put as much as she possibly could into the novel. I felt like there were a few loose(r) ends, mostly people who seemed to have disappeared after a certain point

like the one eyebrow man who was following Stefania

The depictions of the horrors of war and the cruelty of Nazis is appropriate for teen readers. It’s not an easy read, but it’s an important one. This story is beautifully written in a heartbreaking way. I would highly recommend this book to teen and older readers who would like to read about true heroism in the time of war.

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