The Upstairs Room

Today I finished a book called The Upstairs Room by Johanna Riess. Johanna tells of parts of her childhood as an eleven year old Jewish girl in World War II. Although she doesn't use the real names of the people in her childhood. Annie, Johanna's name in the story is the main character. Annie had two older sisters, Sini and Rachel. She also had a father and an ill mother. When being Jewish in the time of World War II German soldiers, Nazis, were told to kill Jews for the Germans were against Jews. This made Jews go into hiding in kind, and brave nieghbor's houses. Annie's whole family got pulled apart exept for Sini and her, who hid together. Not only was hiding dangerous for the Jewish people, but also for the people who were hiding the Jewish for those people would be killed if discovered. Annie's story explains World War II in a whole different way. I think this book is great for ages ten and older. You will have to read this book to understand the real experiences of a hiding Jewish girl.