44. Alias Anna

Alias Anna: A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis. Susan Hood. 2022. 352 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Dear Grandma (Z), Hi, how are you doing? I hope everything is going well for you right now. I am writing this letter for a school history project we are doing. The project is to find out as much as possible about our grandparents and what was going on when they were thirteen years old...

Premise/plot: Alias Anna is a historical novel for middle graders based on a true story. Inspired by her granddaughter's letter, a grandmother begins to share with granddaughter and son her life story. That is the framework of this one. This story is communicated with readers through verse. Readers learn of Zhanna (alias Anna) and her younger sister, Frina. The story begins in the days before the terror. Well, the majority of the terror. I'm not sure easy would be the best way to describe life in Communist Russia (Ukraine) for a Jewish family (or any family). But music fills their lives....and may just be the girls' salvation.

My thoughts: On the one hand, this is a solidly good story. The narrative is compelling. The book is packed with so much. It's dramatic without being melodramatic. The sisters' bond is touching. And the twist that it was ultimately her unwillingness to be separated from her sister that saved her life (and gave birth to future generations of family) is something. I can't regret for a minute meeting these characters and learning their stories. On the other hand, I'm not exactly sure why it has to be written in verse. The narrative isn't one that begs to be written in verse. Prose would have done just as well in my opinion. That being said, I would have been hooked either way.

 

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