Esfir Is Alive

Gr 8 Up—This historical novel, based on real people and true events, chronicles the life of Esfir Manevich from 1936 to 1944. Told through the eyes of Esfir 10 years after her escape from the Nazi killing fields of Bronna Góra, the narrative begins with her first encounter of anti-Semitism in her public Polish school. After moving in with her aunt, Esfir makes friends with the young female students who board there and becomes more aware of the political unrest that surrounds her. While readers may lose their footing amid the many geographical, religious, cultural, and political terms and events, they will stay rooted in the everyday triumphs and growing pains of the narrator's development from little girl to young lady, all while becoming more familiar with the facets of pre-Holocaust existence not often taught in class. But while Esfir's life before the Holocaust is richly detailed, the final German occupation of Poland and subsequent events feel veiled and rushed. The historical details are sometimes too dense to muddle through without background knowledge, but a glossary of Yiddish words and phrases in the back pages helps ground readers in the cultural aspects of Esfir's journey, and an author's note shines light on which elements of the story are more fact than fiction. Two uses of the term Oriental, though appropriate for the time period, may prove insensitive given the fictional nature of the work.