Lisa Rojany

After seeing an exhibit at the Indiana Historical Society featuring a hologram of Eva Kor answering questions about her life, I wanted to know more about her story. This book is a slim 140 pages and was a perfect way to explore her experience in her own words. From the prosperous farm she grew up on with her twin sister to their persecution for their Jewish faith, it was a heartbreaking tale. Time after time she almost died in Auschwitz, but she survived in order to save her sister. One memorable moment was when she spoke about raising her children in Indiana. She survived a death camp, communist rule in Romania after the war, serving in the Israeli army, and moving to a new country where she didn't speak the language. All of that to be harassed by teens in the community who painted swastikas on her home. My heart broke for her. Her unbelievable choice to forgive the Nazi doctors who experimented on her is shocking and inspiring.

"At Auschwitz dying was so easy. Surviving was a full-time job."… (mer)

At the age of 10, Eva and her twin sister Miriam were pulled off the tracks of Auschwitz by Dr. Mengele. They never saw their parents or siblings again. Subjected to medical experiments, the twins never know what shots they were being given and for what purpose. Determined to survive, Eva and Miriam clung to one another. After liberation, the twins were reunited with distant family and forced to live with the trauma they had experienced. As an adult, Eva became a proponent of forgiveness, often defending and fighting for her beliefs.

I read this novel years ago. It was just as touching and heartbreaking the second time around. I admire Eva's spirit of forgiveness and her desire to live her best life. I also understand why forgiving Nazi's could be controversial. Overall, the novel was well written and engaging. It does not go into graphic detail, which makes for a good middle grade or young adult novel. Highly recommended.… (mer)

Surviving the Angel of Death is a true story about twin sisters Eva Mozes Kor and her twin sister Miriam, along with their parents and two older sisters, were forced to leave their farm and home and taken to Auschwitz. The twins were just 10 years old. They were ripped from their mothers grasp, and forced to become essentially lab rats for Angel of Death: Dr. Josef Mengele, whom preformed awful experiments on the girls as well as other twins in the camp.

In general, most people are aware on some level of the horrors that happened during The Holocaust. We've learned about it in school text books, likely seen a movie or read one of the previously released survivor stories, but none have given such a clear account of being forced to succumb to Dr. Mengele, as well as what life was like before their lives were turned upside down, the gradual then sudden change in the treatment of this family by their friends and neighbors.

There are no frills or fancy word play to make it easier to read. It's plain, it's raw and it's real. At once gut wrenching and heart warming, every word is a reminder of the evil that took place, of how thankful we should be for not having to experience what these sisters and thousands of others were forced to without reason.

This book should be required reading for children in school along with the other books taught on the subject. This book is perfect to inform and empathize and maybe gain inspiration from for children and adults alike.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing me a copy giving me the opportunity to share my honest opinions. Bless every single soul touched by the horrific catastrophe and let us all be reminded what happens when the wrong person is doing your thinking for you.… (mer)