gondorgirl's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, Bullying, Grief, Antisemitism, and Car accident
stevia333k's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
1.0
The way this book is/was used in schools is Holocaust denial. Historical fiction about the Holocaust is Holocaust denial. I had that opinion in 2004-2005. I have it in 2023.
Also it bleeds into "messianic judaism" rhetoric especially with the way the book ends, and possibly the traditional cover art for the book. Messianic judaism is less 2 sisters hand-in-hand, and more like a husband (christians) killing his wife (jewish people).
---
As a 28 year old these days I've been doing dhikr with the names al-batin & al-latif because another death in the family, studying genocide, and burnout.
When I was 9-10 years old this was a book my classmates were reading... Somehow I didn't quite process the info around me at the time? Maybe I just wasn't in their classes? (I was in the school to prison pipeline during a tgnciq2s+ genocide, yet my family was carceral instead of abolitionist.) Anyways, one of the things that made the book boring for me as a kid was that it had a lot of gaslighting, it was a subtle/gentle puzzle put together gradually, ... I'm sorry trying to make the Holocaust gentle is creepy.
It was literally teenagers who led & organized the resistance movements. This book erases that as much as possible focusing more on active parents & ignorant kids in order for schools to prevent student organizing as in prevent "disruptions to education". This book is the anti-union PSAs your manager would pick if they were assigned the task of "teaching" how about how a successful strike was organized. Hitler on the basis of age has more in common with the teachers than the resistance leaders. Strike sabatogers include cops, managers, teachers, and HR. Cops & capitalists have more in common with nazis than students & the leaders of the Danish resistance do!
[Chapter 5 triggered the hell out of me as a kid. I'm not going to elaborate on what I was going thru as a kid, but shit sucked. I read the giver trilogy when I got to middle school, but by that point I had taken living isolated as a given that I didn't get the contrast of living in a community.]
My main problem is that the book focuses on a kid on the periphery of the resistance and it implies that being relatable to a kid is to be ignorant. It's a white feminist lens. I would've preferred Ellen instead of Annemarie speak (in fact that would've been the best of both this book & the giver) -- ignorance might give bravery, but it really god damn under cuts the point about how the community needs to be consciousַ on a need to know basis because otherwise one's ignorance will lead to complicity & assimilation instead of liberation. -- bravery is separate from power, bravery is separate from victory.
Other than that tho, it's a good book about gaslighting. (I only stopped asking Santa for gifts because he stopped coming to my house.) The children book "the spider and the fly" (2002 October) kept coming to mind as I read this book, as well as the idea of lambs to the slaughter.
Anyways here's some accurate links about the righteous among nations
https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/about-the-program/honoring-the-righteous.html
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/righteous-among-the-nations
Also it bleeds into "messianic judaism" rhetoric especially with the way the book ends, and possibly the traditional cover art for the book. Messianic judaism is less 2 sisters hand-in-hand, and more like a husband (christians) killing his wife (jewish people).
---
As a 28 year old these days I've been doing dhikr with the names al-batin & al-latif because another death in the family, studying genocide, and burnout.
When I was 9-10 years old this was a book my classmates were reading... Somehow I didn't quite process the info around me at the time? Maybe I just wasn't in their classes? (I was in the school to prison pipeline during a tgnciq2s+ genocide, yet my family was carceral instead of abolitionist.) Anyways, one of the things that made the book boring for me as a kid was that it had a lot of gaslighting, it was a subtle/gentle puzzle put together gradually, ... I'm sorry trying to make the Holocaust gentle is creepy.
It was literally teenagers who led & organized the resistance movements. This book erases that as much as possible focusing more on active parents & ignorant kids in order for schools to prevent student organizing as in prevent "disruptions to education". This book is the anti-union PSAs your manager would pick if they were assigned the task of "teaching" how about how a successful strike was organized. Hitler on the basis of age has more in common with the teachers than the resistance leaders. Strike sabatogers include cops, managers, teachers, and HR. Cops & capitalists have more in common with nazis than students & the leaders of the Danish resistance do!
[Chapter 5 triggered the hell out of me as a kid. I'm not going to elaborate on what I was going thru as a kid, but shit sucked. I read the giver trilogy when I got to middle school, but by that point I had taken living isolated as a given that I didn't get the contrast of living in a community.]
My main problem is that the book focuses on a kid on the periphery of the resistance and it implies that being relatable to a kid is to be ignorant. It's a white feminist lens. I would've preferred Ellen instead of Annemarie speak (in fact that would've been the best of both this book & the giver) -- ignorance might give bravery, but it really god damn under cuts the point about how the community needs to be consciousַ on a need to know basis because otherwise one's ignorance will lead to complicity & assimilation instead of liberation. -- bravery is separate from power, bravery is separate from victory.
Other than that tho, it's a good book about gaslighting. (I only stopped asking Santa for gifts because he stopped coming to my house.) The children book "the spider and the fly" (2002 October) kept coming to mind as I read this book, as well as the idea of lambs to the slaughter.
Anyways here's some accurate links about the righteous among nations
https://www.yadvashem.org/righteous/about-the-program/honoring-the-righteous.html
https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/righteous-among-the-nations
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death, Deportation, Outing, Antisemitism, Car accident, Colonisation, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Violence, War, Genocide, Grief, and Police brutality
holiday7's review against another edition
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Now that I've read this for a second time, I can say that this is definitely 3 stars instead of 5. I don't know why I loved this book SOOO much. I mean, it's still good. But not like, amazing type good. It's just plain good. So yeah. The Willoughbys is definitely Lois's best novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Religious bigotry, War, and Grief
Minor: Violence, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
hyp3rpop's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I love this book!!
Spoiler
had Lise not died, I think she would've been a great characterSpoiler
Great explanation on world war two and the Holocaust! Not great for people with great great of death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Physical abuse, War, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Cursing
dawntin's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: War
Minor: Violence
miggyfool's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality and Antisemitism
Minor: Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Car accident, and Death
jselliot's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
A childhood favorite that handled heavy material well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, and Genocide
Minor: Kidnapping and War
bookishaddictions's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If you are looking for a book to help you talk to your children (ages 9-12) about the Holocaust, this is an age-appropriate way to begin the conversation. Number the Stars helps show the atrocities of WW2 from a child’s perspective, so this may make the history of it all easier for a child to comprehend. Although the Holocaust was now more than 70 years ago, hatred is still very much alive today; it is critical that we teach our children about the cruelties of humanities’ past so we can ideally prevent it from occurring again. Our main character, Annemarie, is a prime example of courage; she acknowledges her fear as she helps protect her friend Ellen, but she does what she believes is right anyway. This story is perfect for introducing your child(ren) or students to the darker side of history and encouraging the values we need in society (courage, love, and perseverance).
Educators: I recommend pairing this book with a unit about WW2 and/or Danish culture. Encourage students to engage in higher-order thinking by taking their learning beyond the book 💡
Educators: I recommend pairing this book with a unit about WW2 and/or Danish culture. Encourage students to engage in higher-order thinking by taking their learning beyond the book 💡
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Death
queer_frog's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Gun violence and Kidnapping
sierranorgan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
This is another one I read for work this year (teaching 6th grade English), and I enjoyed this one a lot. It tells the story of the brave who fought back against the nazi’s, and about friendship that conquers everything. I’m excited to teach this book this year and can’t wait to see what my students have to say about it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Car accident, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and Murder