A sad, scary glimpse of life as a Jew in early Nazi-regime Austria. This wonderful fictional account of life at the time also shows the glamor of high-life New York available only to the privileged upper echelon during the Great Depression. ( )

I was fortunate enough to obtain an advanced edition of this wonderful book. Barry Denenberg is a wonderful author. He brought a wonderfully human viewpoint to this tragic time in history. Twelve-year-old Julie Weiss is the daughter of a wealthy Jewish couple in 1938 Vienna. She has a comfortable life, until Hitler's army invades Austria. Her family is the target of violence, and her mother sinks into depression, eventually commiting suicide. In spite of the bleakness of the first half the book, there is hope in the second half. Julie's father, desperate for her safety, arranges for her to go to New York City to live with her aunt and uncle, but decides to stay behind and help others. She is full of loneliness and despair at first, but finds comfort in her relatives and in a career in acting. I highly reccomend this to historical fiction fans. The author did an excellent job of bringing the time period to life. ( )

I really liked this book. It was a bit sad in the beginning but the end turned out eventful. ( )