Anya's War

Anya's War
By Andrea Alban
Feiwel and Friends, 2011. 188 pgs. Young Adult

Fourteen-year-old Anya is a Jewish girl who has recently moved with her family from their home in Odessa to Shanghai to escape persecution in the years prior to World War II. Anya must deal with changes in her family (her mother is no longer the loving, fun woman she was in Russia), adjusting to a new country, and the normal aspects of being a teenage girl (namely, dealing with boys). At the same time, she is worried about her missing heroine, Amelia Earhart, and whether or not Japan will be attacking Shanghai.

This story, based on the author's ancestors' experiences, addresses an aspect of World War II and the Holocaust that isn't normally addressed, but at the same time, I found it hard to get into the story. There seemed to be a lot going on, but it isn't weaved together well enough to make it a truly cohesive piece of writing. Also, while the Hebrew and Chinese phrases and customs thrown in give the book an authentic feel, they are used in such a way that they seem to break up the flow of the story rather than contribute to it; I think most readers will be frustrated by it rather than drawn into the different cultures.

AE