Review by Booklist Review
This biography in verse recounts the Holocaust experiences of musical prodigies Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya, who were among the few to escape the 1941 killing fields of Drobitsky Yar. Using a variety of poetic forms, the text recounts the sisters' early years as poor, secular Jews in Stalinist Ukraine; their move to Kharkov to study music at the conservatory; their flight from Nazis and procurement of false papers and aliases; and their "discovery" by German officers that led to their becoming a part of a traveling troop that entertained Nazi officers. Interspersed throughout the poems are quotations from Zhanna, who only revealed her story in recent years. Drawing on adult titles by Dawson (Zhanna's son), this narrative never shies away from the atrocities of genocide (Zhanna's father, marching to his death, pushes her off the road, whispering, "I don't care what you do. Just live"), but the emphasis on music and its importance to the family helps to moderate the girls' travails. Appended with generous back matter, this offers a revealing look at an underreported Holocaust chapter.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This hard-hitting nonfiction biography told in verse documents the escape of two Jewish teen piano prodigies who assumed aliases to avoid Nazi persecution during WWII. Ukrainian Zhanna Arshanskaya and her sister Frina enjoyed a childhood filled with music until Stalin's persecutions and antisemitism forced their family to move to Kharkov, where they lived meagerly until the girls' talent earned them scholarships to a music conservatory. Hood's tone shifts dramatically when Nazis storm the city in 1941 ("life was merry for Zhanna...// Then one morning started the beginning of the end") and soldiers evacuate all Jews on a march toward almost certain death at Drobitsky Yar. Zhanna and Frina, then 14 and 12, narrowly escape back to Kharkov and, with assistance, assume new identities as Anna and Marina Morazova, soon becoming renowned pianists who perform across Europe during the war. While tonally light poems can feel at odds with the wrenching content, quotes from Zhanna herself, collected from Dawson's biography for adults, Hiding in the Spotlight, and rendered in italics throughout ("I was born busy--eaten up by curiosity"), impart weight and power to this accessible portrait of two talented and determined teens. Comprehensive end notes include maps, photographs, letters, and more. Ages 10--up. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Sisters Zhanna and Frina Arshanskaya were piano prodigies in Stalin's Soviet Union who survived against the odds. The Jewish Arshansky family lived in the small Ukrainian city of Berdyansk until the sisters were 8 and 6, when growing antisemitism forced them to settle in bustling Kharkov. The sisters earned scholarships to a famed music conservatory and were happy for some time. But when the Einsatzgruppen, or Nazi death squads, arrived in 1941, the family was forced on a long death march to Drobitsky Yar where nearly everyone was killed. The two girls, then 14 and 12, escaped and made it back to Kharkov. Relying on the kindness of courageous people, Zhanna and Frina obtained false papers and established new identities as Christian girls named Anna and Marina Morozova. They went on to become renowned pianists, hiding in plain sight and entertaining German audiences and Nazi soldiers across Europe. Though constantly living with the risk of discovery, they survived the war with their secret safe. Using a variety of poetry styles and direct quotes from Dawson's mother, Zhanna, the co-authors relate the siblings' horrific and incredible lives. While some of the verse forms seem almost too frivolous for such a serious tale, this work offers readers the truth of the Shoah in a simple and accessible format. A harrowing and remarkable story of strength and survival. (note on names, map, authors' note, photographs, letters, afterword, list of music, historical note, places of note, poetry notes, sources, bibliography) (Verse biography. 10-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
