Number the Stars

Title: Number the Stars
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Laurel-Leaf
Year of Publication: 1998 (first published 1989)
Reader's Rating: 5
Excerpts: “Annemarie looked up, panting, just as she reached the corner. Her laughter stopped. Her heart seemed to skip a beat. ‘Halte!’ the soldier ordered in a stern voice.”

"Ellen had said that her mother was afraid of the ocean, that it was too cold and too big. The sky was, too, thought Annemarie. The whole world was: too cold, too big. And too cruel. "

In a Nutshell: Annemarie Johansen is a ten-year-old girl living in the quiet streets of Copenhagen, Denmark in 1943. She, along with her best friend Ellen Rosen, often thought of life before the war, when food wasn't rationed, when soldiers weren't around every corner, and when people were free to do whatever they wanted. But now life is harder than it was, especially when a neighbor disappears and Ellen's family is forced into hiding because they are Jewish. It is during this time that Annemarie realizes that the "cold and cruel" world needed change, and to do that, people like her must learn how to be braver and more courageous.

The Good Stuff: Even though the book is quite thin, it held a lot of suspense and action. I recommend this to everyone, no matter how old or how young, because a lesson of friendship and bravery is shown. It was really touching.

The Not-So-Good Stuff: There weren't any at all!

Reader's Say: Number the Stars is my favorite World War II book of all time. I finished it in about thirty minutes or an hour. I couldn't put it down! It's fiction, but it's based on historical events that happened in real life. There were so many moments that I thought the suspense would kill me. It was pure awesome.