Alias Anna
A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A Sydney Taylor Book Award 2023 Middle Grade Notable!
A Jewish Book Council Award Middle Grade Finalist!
The moving true story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias “Anna”) and her sister Frina outplayed their pursuers while hiding in plain sight during the Holocaust. A middle grade nonfiction novel-in-verse by award-winning author Susan Hood with Greg Dawson (Zhanna’s son).
She wouldn’t be Zhanna. She’d use an alias. A for Anna. A for alive.
When the Germans invade Ukraine, Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world’s top conservatory. With no time to say goodbye, Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye, Zhanna flees with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father’s final plea: “I don’t care what you do. Just live.”
This incredible true story in-verse about sisterhood, survival, and music is perfect for fans of Lifeboat 12, Inside Out and Back Again, and Alan Gratz.
Includes extensive back matter with original letters and photographs, additional information, and materials for further reading.
A NERDY BOOK CLUB 2022 BEST NOVEL-IN-VERSE BOOK!A NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 2022 BEST BOOK FOR KIDS!A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST INFORMATIONAL BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS OF 2022!
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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.
