Silver medal, Moonbeam Awards 2025, pre-teen Historical/Cultural
Julie Ditton, "Storybook Lady"
"Anya's Echoes tells an important story of holocaust survival in an age appropriate manner that is perfect for children. This touching middle grade novella weaves together a story of a young girl's middle school friendship drama involving a bully and her great aunts memories from the holocaust. Although the characters in this book are fictional, Anya's story is based on the author's own aunt. Schachter has retold the woman's story in a way that captures the reader.
When Lea's great aunt comes to visit, she is upset at the loss of privacy, and she is saddened by the fact that Anya reminds her so much of her late grandfather. But then she accidently discovers a cassette tape which Anya has been recording. As she listens to Anya's story about life during the war, Lea's resentment dissolves and soon the two form a bond. Esty Schachter has created believable realistic characters. Both Anya and Lea are people that you want to know. Kids will identify with Lea's problems when one of her friends begins to bully another and she must choose what to do. Should she stand by silently or stand up against the bully? Her story serves an allegory about the inaction of many German citizens and the bravery of a few in a way that children can find relatable. By framing Anya's story in the 1980's, (when cassette tapes were popular) and having a young girl listening to the woman's recollections, the wartime story is distant enough for even the most sensitive reader. Adults looking for age appropriate holocaust fiction for their children or students will definitely wish to consider this book."
"Anya's Echoes tells an important story of holocaust survival in an age appropriate manner that is perfect for children. This touching middle grade novella weaves together a story of a young girl's middle school friendship drama involving a bully and her great aunts memories from the holocaust. Although the characters in this book are fictional, Anya's story is based on the author's own aunt. Schachter has retold the woman's story in a way that captures the reader.
When Lea's great aunt comes to visit, she is upset at the loss of privacy, and she is saddened by the fact that Anya reminds her so much of her late grandfather. But then she accidently discovers a cassette tape which Anya has been recording. As she listens to Anya's story about life during the war, Lea's resentment dissolves and soon the two form a bond. Esty Schachter has created believable realistic characters. Both Anya and Lea are people that you want to know. Kids will identify with Lea's problems when one of her friends begins to bully another and she must choose what to do. Should she stand by silently or stand up against the bully? Her story serves an allegory about the inaction of many German citizens and the bravery of a few in a way that children can find relatable. By framing Anya's story in the 1980's, (when cassette tapes were popular) and having a young girl listening to the woman's recollections, the wartime story is distant enough for even the most sensitive reader. Adults looking for age appropriate holocaust fiction for their children or students will definitely wish to consider this book."
Historical Novel Society
Anya’s EchoesWritten by Esty Schachter
Review by Bonnie DeMoss
Lea is in middle school but already experiencing a lot of pressure. Her friend group has been fractured by bullying, and she is being pressured to take sides against her good friend Lauren. At the same time, her Great Aunt Anya has arrived and will be staying indefinitely, forcing Lea to share a room with her little sister. When Lea goes into Aunt Anya’s room in search of a tape recorder, she finds the recorder with a cassette inside belonging to her aunt. Lea then secretly begins listening to the story of Aunt Anya’s past as a Holocaust survivor during World War II.
This is an important book for kids that enables them to see what it was like to go through the Holocaust and really learn about the evils of persecution through the eyes of a survivor. In Aunt Anya’s story, which is based upon real-life events experienced by the author’s aunt, we are taken to Poland in 1939 at the beginning of the German occupation. We are shown how Jews quickly lost their freedoms, their homes, and then their very lives at the hands of an evil regime. I liked the way Lea begins to learn about injustice and standing up for others by listening to Aunt Anya’s story. This book is recommended to middle grade readers and their parents as a great way to learn about the Holocaust.
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/anyas-echoes/
Anya’s EchoesWritten by Esty Schachter
Review by Bonnie DeMoss
Lea is in middle school but already experiencing a lot of pressure. Her friend group has been fractured by bullying, and she is being pressured to take sides against her good friend Lauren. At the same time, her Great Aunt Anya has arrived and will be staying indefinitely, forcing Lea to share a room with her little sister. When Lea goes into Aunt Anya’s room in search of a tape recorder, she finds the recorder with a cassette inside belonging to her aunt. Lea then secretly begins listening to the story of Aunt Anya’s past as a Holocaust survivor during World War II.
This is an important book for kids that enables them to see what it was like to go through the Holocaust and really learn about the evils of persecution through the eyes of a survivor. In Aunt Anya’s story, which is based upon real-life events experienced by the author’s aunt, we are taken to Poland in 1939 at the beginning of the German occupation. We are shown how Jews quickly lost their freedoms, their homes, and then their very lives at the hands of an evil regime. I liked the way Lea begins to learn about injustice and standing up for others by listening to Aunt Anya’s story. This book is recommended to middle grade readers and their parents as a great way to learn about the Holocaust.
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/anyas-echoes/
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