As the title would have you suppose, the book is largely a tribute to the author's mother, Raja, who moved heaven and earth so Schoschana (then called Susie) could survive. The odds were stacked against them, particularly since Susie was a child, only eight years old when the war began. VERY few Jewish children survived the war, and most of those who did survived in hiding with gentile families or in institutions. Susie never went into hiding; although a kind former maid offered to take her, Raja couldn't stand to be separated from her. Somehow Raja pulled her through everything: smuggling Susie into camp in her backpack, giving up her own rations so Susie could eat, enlisting other camp inmates to crowd around her and hide her immature body in the bathhouses, etc. Susie somewhat repaid her mother's dedication by nursing her back to health after liberation, while Raja lay dying of typhus and a festering leg wound. Of the entire family, only Raja, Susie and one of Raja's brothers survived the war.

The narrative is matter-of-fact with no pretense at poetry or anything "literary" and direct without being graphic, and I think it would be good for middle school through adult readers. It's a pretty typical example of the Holocaust memoir genre, excepting that Susie and Raja were in some lesser-known camps, Kaiserwald and Stutthof. Recommended. ( )

The author, whom at eight years old, illustrates her mother’s heroic love by drawing the reader into the dreadfulness of the Holocaust. Through words, you see the vivid transformation of the once resort with colorful flowers, rivers and beaches and walking paths transforming into the catastrophic, hellacious concentration camp, Kaiserwald. The photographs are also contributors in the shattering memoir of a mother’s attempt from keeping her entire family from total extermination.

NO OF PAGES: 246 SUB CAT I: Holocaust SUB CAT II: SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Susie Weksler was only eight when Hitler's forces invaded her Lithuanian city of Vilnius. Over the next few years, Susie endured starvation, brutality, and forced labor in three concentration camps. With courage and ingenuity, Susie's mother helped her to survive--by disguising her as an adult, finding food to add to their scarce rations, and giving her the will to endure. This harrowing memoir portrays the best and worst of humanity in heartbreaking scenes that you will never forget.NOTES: Donated by Gary and Angie Springer. SUBTITLE: