Book Review: Alias Anna

Alias Anna

A True Story of Outwitting the Nazis

by Susan Hood; Greg Dawson

Pub Date 22 Mar 2022

HarperCollins Children’s Books, HarperCollins

Children’s Nonfiction | History | Poetry

I am reviewing a copy of Alias Anna through HarperCollins Children’s Books and Netgalley:

Written in free verse format Alias Anna is a powerful story about survival against all odds.

Alias Anna is the moving story of how young Ukrainian Jewish piano prodigies Zhanna (alias “Anna”) and her sister Frina outplayed their pursuers while hiding in plain sight during the Holocaus.

She would no longer be Zhanna she’d use an Alias A for Anna. A for alive.

After the Germans invade the Ukraine Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world’s top conservatory. Without any time to say goodbye Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye Zhana takes the opportunity to escape and that’s what she does with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father’s final plea: “I don’t care what you do. Just live.” She would later discover that Frina had escaped as well.

I give Alias Anna five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!