One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make… It is 1943, and for four years, sixteen-year-old Stefania has been working for the Diamant family in their grocery store in Przemysl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio — a betrothal they must keep secret since she is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish. But … are Jewish.
But everything changes when the German army invades Przemysl. The Diamants are forced into the ghetto, and Stefania is alone in an occupied city, the only one left to care for Helena, her six-year-old sister. And then comes the knock at the door. Izio’s brother Max has jumped from the train headed to a death camp. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, and eventually twelve more Jews. Then they must wait, every day, for the next knock at the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two Nazi officers, requisitioning Stefania’s house for the German army.
With two Nazis below, thirteen hidden Jews above, and a little sister by her side, Stefania has one more excruciating choice to make.
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If you read a single book about WW2, this one should be it. It was absolutely, irrevocably heart wrenching and breath-stealing. It reminded me that heroes, true heroes, those who don’t wear capes or have superpowers, exist.
Thank you to Sharon Cameron for bringing this terribly beautiful tale to life, and to Stefania for her enduring courage.
Seriously debating between 4 and 5 stars but the 5 stars prevailed because of the story itself. We mostly hear the stories of those that are in hiding, but Cameron’s book tells the story of Stefania, a Polish Catholic, who hid 13 Jews in the attic of an apartment in which she lived. The sacrifices she, and her sister, Helena, made were astronomical. Stefania was determined that all 13 were going to survive and she was going to make sure that happened. Based on Stefania’s unpublished memoir, Cameron tells the story with just a few added twists on her own. Really liked this novel of sacrifice, love, and survival. Read as part of our county’s high school Book Madness (like College March Madness but with books instead of basketballs).
5 Stars. A wonderful read based on a true story of an amazing real-life heroine! I may have to buy a copy of this for my classroom! YA at it’s finest!
As interesting and compelling as The Diary of Anne Frank. Fusia and sister Helena hide 13 Jews in Poland during WWII. Fusia was a young teenager when she went to stay with a Jewish family before the war. She fell in love with one of the sons while she was there. Then the war came to Poland and the Jews were eventually rounded up and put in a ghetto. She brought them food and supplies, selling off jewelry and possessions of the family to keep them going. In the meantime, Fusia finds her young sister Helena alone, and brings her back to the city to live. When the Nazis sent the Jews off to work camps and death camps, the remaining family members planned their escape from the ghetto and go into hiding. Fusia and Helena take them in, ultimately reaching a total of 13! Added to that is the nail-biting situation of having SS living next door and Nazis moving into the extra bedroom in her home! Fusia’s determination to save her Jews, and the day to day struggles to keep them safe and fed – often when food was scarce or so expensive she couldn’t afford much, kept you on the edge of your seat. Remembering that Fusia did this when she was only a teenager is remarkable. Don’t forget to read about Fusia and the survivors at the end of the book.
What a truly amazing story of a very young girl taking care of her six-year-old sister alone during German occupation in Poland. That is not the amazing thing about this story of saving Jews hiding from the Germans but that it was done by a 16 year old girl on the edge of starvation who kept taking in more and more refugees until there was an attic full of 13 refugees.
A really great story and so well researched and written. Please stay at the end and hear about the true Stefania’s life.
I won this in a Goodreads giveaway from I Read YA and started it as soon as I could as this is my favorite time period in Historical Fiction.
In Poland during the second world war, Stefania, called Fusia, takes a job with a family to get away from home. The family is Jewish, which means little to her as she’s Catholic and safe, but she bonds with the mother, who she calls her babcia, her grandmother, and her sons, mainly Izio and Max. As Hitler starts to deport Jews, the boys must go into hiding. After learning of Izio’s disappearance, Stefania works harder to help protect Max and his brothers. When she finds her younger sister Helena, she knows she will do everything in her power to protect them all, even if it means death for helping the Jews.
Cameron has taken a lesser-known hero of the war and given her a voice. I imagine Fusia’s story is very typical of young girls at the time, the naivety that comes with growing up where secrets are kept from the children, and where a lot of people didn’t want to believe what was happening right under their noses. As Fusia starts to grow up, she sees the horrors that are happening to the Jews. She learns what happens to single girls that get taken advantage of. As she tells us of the lessons she learns, we watch her knowledge expand, we watch the lengths she goes to get what she needs, to protect those she cares about.
Her younger sister Helena was incredibly bright, who caught on quick and picked up a lot of the work at home when Fusia was unable. Fusia really was a beacon of light for the people she kept hidden. Time and again they were so close to being caught, but her quick thinking kept them all safe. The Light in Hidden Places is a story that needed to be told, that is worthy of everyone’s time, and a definite must-read for fans of Historical Fiction.