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Available
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Collection
Publication
Second Story Press (2012), Edition: 1St Edition, 256 pages
Description
"Rachel is a Jew living in Kishinev, Russia. At fourteen, Rachel knows that she wants more from life than the traditional role of wife and mother. She has dreams of being a writer. But everything is put on hold when a young Christian man is murdered and Rachel is forced to keep the murderer's identity a secret. Tensions mount as the Christians' distrust of the Jews is fueled by prejudice and rumour. While Rachel keeps the truth to herself, she watches as lies and anti-Jewish propaganda leap off the pages of the local newspaper, inciting Christians to riot against the Jews. Violence breaks out on Easter Sunday, 1903, and when it finally ends, Rachel finds that the person she loves most is dead and that her home has been destroyed. As she struggles to survive the aftermath of the riots-or pogroms-support comes from someone totally unexpected, when a young Christian named Sergei turns against his father, a police officer complicit in the riots, to help Rachel. With everything against them, the two young people find comfort in the bond that is growing between them, one of the few signs of goodness and hope in a time of chaos and violence."--Publisher's website.… (more)
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User reviews
LibraryThing member Carolee888
Rachel's Secret by Shelly Sanders is a fictionalized account of a real event in Kishinev, Russia in 1903.
The books started off with a group enjoying the day ice skating on the River Byrk. It was customary for the Christians and Jewish to not mix socially but this day they all having fun on the
Mikhail Rybachenko had a crush on Rachel, a Jew, who lives in Kishinev. Mikhail didn’t want to work at the family factory like his grandfather wanted, he wanted to he wanted to choose his own life. He wanted Rachel to be in his life, that would never be accepted but he went ahead and on that day kissed her.
Rachel pulled back. She wasn’t ready for marriage or children period. Her dream was to be a famous woman writer, something unheard of in her time and place. She was worried that people would see them and she told him to stop and later went home when her sister called her to help with the supper. She returned later for a forgotten shawl andwitnessed the murder of Mikhail by his uncle and cousin. She couldn’t tell anyone for fear of retaliation against her family. She wanted justice and she missed Mikhail badly but it wasn’t wise to reveal her secret at that time.
Newspaper articles and gossip made the Christians blame the Jews for the murder of Mikhail. Anger erupted quickly and on Easter Sunday, drunken mobs formed, many were killed and injured, houses and shops were destroyed. This book told of the terror of the bludgeoning and stabbings that happened in front of family members and the other destruction of where the Jewish lived.
There is a short summary in the back of this book that told of the real events in Kishinev in 1903. Many details in the book were true. The author wrote in this book that Leo Tolstoy protested the pogrom.Responses to this tragedy were heard from around the world. This pogrom was the historical beginning of the Holocaust.
The story is well written and I could not lay it down, I urge you if you are interested in knowing the background of the Holocaust to read this book.
I received this book from the GoodReads program and that in no way influenced my review.
The books started off with a group enjoying the day ice skating on the River Byrk. It was customary for the Christians and Jewish to not mix socially but this day they all having fun on the
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ice.Mikhail Rybachenko had a crush on Rachel, a Jew, who lives in Kishinev. Mikhail didn’t want to work at the family factory like his grandfather wanted, he wanted to he wanted to choose his own life. He wanted Rachel to be in his life, that would never be accepted but he went ahead and on that day kissed her.
Rachel pulled back. She wasn’t ready for marriage or children period. Her dream was to be a famous woman writer, something unheard of in her time and place. She was worried that people would see them and she told him to stop and later went home when her sister called her to help with the supper. She returned later for a forgotten shawl andwitnessed the murder of Mikhail by his uncle and cousin. She couldn’t tell anyone for fear of retaliation against her family. She wanted justice and she missed Mikhail badly but it wasn’t wise to reveal her secret at that time.
Newspaper articles and gossip made the Christians blame the Jews for the murder of Mikhail. Anger erupted quickly and on Easter Sunday, drunken mobs formed, many were killed and injured, houses and shops were destroyed. This book told of the terror of the bludgeoning and stabbings that happened in front of family members and the other destruction of where the Jewish lived.
There is a short summary in the back of this book that told of the real events in Kishinev in 1903. Many details in the book were true. The author wrote in this book that Leo Tolstoy protested the pogrom.Responses to this tragedy were heard from around the world. This pogrom was the historical beginning of the Holocaust.
The story is well written and I could not lay it down, I urge you if you are interested in knowing the background of the Holocaust to read this book.
I received this book from the GoodReads program and that in no way influenced my review.
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LibraryThing member curioussquared
I really enjoyed this! I feel these sorts of books are always hard to write without seeming trite, but Rachel's Secret got past that admirably. I had a long bus ride and this book and I barely looked up once. While the writing was a bit young at times, it didn't at all impede my enjoyment, and I
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was really pleased that Sanders succeeded in appealing to multiple ages. I thought Rachel and Sergei were great, believable characters who worked very well together and there was a lot of interesting cultural information, especially considering Jewish traditions, that Sanders worked in without seeming heavy-handed at all. I couldn't put it down and I got a bit teary-eyed near the end; any book that does that deserves praise. Well worth the read! Show Less
LibraryThing member milliebeverly
I received this book through a Librarything.com giveaway. This historical novel is based on a true event. The story centers around a young Jewish woman who witnessed a murder in 1903 in Russia. There was a lot of prejudice against Jewish people, and everyone assumed the murder was committed by a
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Jew. As a result, there was a massacre of Jewish people. The story is well-written, and keeps your attention. I would recommend this to teenagers and older. Show Less
LibraryThing member LauraEnos
This is a fabulous historical-fiction novel for young adults highlighting an overlooked time in the early 1900s. Many times young adults are captivated with Holocaust survivor stories, but it's important to remember that the Jewish population in both Russia and Europe faced discrimination decades
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before World War II. The story begins in 1903 with a young female protagonist named Rachel, a Russian Jewish girl who wants to break down barriers for her gender by one day becoming a famous writer. Soon she realized that she not only has to face the prejudices that come with being a female in a religiously divided Russian, but also the prejudices that are directed at her, her family and her friends for being Jewish. Alternating chapters focus on Sergei a Russian Christian whose father is the police chief and has been sucked into the politics of a corrupt city rather than protecting all communities, regardless of their religious beliefs. Sergei finds he has to find his way, like Rachel, being one of the few citizens in the community who does not believe the cruel lies being published about the Jewish population. This was a difficult book to put down. I enjoyed the relationship between Rachel and Sergei as their lives and struggles collided during a based-on-true-events turmoil that was happening in their community. I also appreciated the realistic ending (even though I secretly wouldn't have minded a fairy-tale version); it was believable and still left the reader with hope that these two mature teens would one day meet again. Show Less
LibraryThing member KWROLSEN
Rachel’s Secret is a serious read that portrays life for Jews in Russia during the early 1900s. The events in the story depict a true massacre of a Jewish town in 1903 through the eyes of a 14 year old Jewish girl. As I read the novel, I was saddened by the rumors and violence that spread against
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innocent people. I connected to Rachel, the main character, and felt her fear and sadness. However, I admired her courage and perseverance. I think this would be a great read for middle and high schoolers, as the story unfolds through the eyes of a teenager. The glossary in the back of the book was helpful. The ending was a bit abrupt. I hope there is a sequel in the works! Show Less
LibraryThing member briannad84
Was originally expecting this book to be about the Holocaust, guess I read through the description too quickly when I signed up for it. But that's okay! It took awhile to get here, but it was worth it! A very good read for kids and adults. Very original plot and I liked the author's writng style
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and the descriptions she used. Reading about the riot was very graphic for a children's book, but that's what made it so good. I'll be on the look-out for more of her books. I also thought it was exciting to be getting a book from Canada! Show Less
LibraryThing member sara1022
I received this book from Early Reviewers. This book had me straight from the beginning. It is one of those tales that is captivating and leaves readers wondering what will come next. It is about Rachel, a jew, who lives in Kishinev and witnesses a friend's murder. Although I thought this book was
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going to be about the Holocaust, it actually takes place around 1903, another round of prejudices that faced the Jews of the time period. The author does an outstanding job of taking historical facts and merging them with a fictitious main character. I would love to read more of her books! Show Less
LibraryThing member MrsHerrick
This book took a while to get into, but once I was passed the beginning, I was very interested to read about what was going to happen to Rachel and her family. The beginning definitely dragged. It was interesting to read on the back page that this story was based on real events.
LibraryThing member Sarah_Gruwell
A promising start to this trilogy, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. YA novels are sometimes a toss-up; they can be shockingly awesome or heaping piles of stinky stuff. It all depends on which part of the YA audience the author is targeting, I think, and how much effort goes into telling a
First off, I was surprised by how much the author DIDN’T shy away from the tragedy, drama, suspense, and horror that revolve around the early 20th century pogroms in Russia. Events are shown in all their horrific and bloody boldness; giving the reader an immediate portrayal of these sad historical events.
I found this go-for-broke portrayal refreshing as its stuff that the younger generations really need to be exposed to, in my opinion. But if you want to protect your kids longer, maybe screen this one first.
I admired the amount of real historical research that was incorporated into the storyline, too. Real people and real event sequences found themselves woven into Rachel’s story with seamless effort. The times and effort the author put into getting her facts right shows.
Our leads, Rachel and Sergei, made me invested in the story even more. Very human and understandably young, the story in these horrific surroundings seems more immediate due to them. Rachel is trying to find an identity for herself outside of her society’s expectations, dreaming dreams bigger than her circumstances. Sergei is rebelling against the expectations of his father as well, standing up for his dreams of a different life as well as his own inner moral code that differs significantly from his fathers. How these two deal with the trauma and tragedy of the Kishinev pogrom pulled at the heartstrings and made me live the events with them.
This was a winner of a YA historical novel. The author took her time in her research and portrayal, giving homage to the original material at the same time making it her own for her story. Brutality wasn’t shied away from, giving the book extra weight. Our lead characters made the story very immediate and close to my heart, their young eyes providing fresh horror and depth to the intolerance of anti-Semitism. This is the first in a trilogy, and I can’t wait to follow Rachel and Sergei as they travel the world and follow their dreams.
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truly great story. This one falls on the awesome side.First off, I was surprised by how much the author DIDN’T shy away from the tragedy, drama, suspense, and horror that revolve around the early 20th century pogroms in Russia. Events are shown in all their horrific and bloody boldness; giving the reader an immediate portrayal of these sad historical events.
I found this go-for-broke portrayal refreshing as its stuff that the younger generations really need to be exposed to, in my opinion. But if you want to protect your kids longer, maybe screen this one first.
I admired the amount of real historical research that was incorporated into the storyline, too. Real people and real event sequences found themselves woven into Rachel’s story with seamless effort. The times and effort the author put into getting her facts right shows.
Our leads, Rachel and Sergei, made me invested in the story even more. Very human and understandably young, the story in these horrific surroundings seems more immediate due to them. Rachel is trying to find an identity for herself outside of her society’s expectations, dreaming dreams bigger than her circumstances. Sergei is rebelling against the expectations of his father as well, standing up for his dreams of a different life as well as his own inner moral code that differs significantly from his fathers. How these two deal with the trauma and tragedy of the Kishinev pogrom pulled at the heartstrings and made me live the events with them.
This was a winner of a YA historical novel. The author took her time in her research and portrayal, giving homage to the original material at the same time making it her own for her story. Brutality wasn’t shied away from, giving the book extra weight. Our lead characters made the story very immediate and close to my heart, their young eyes providing fresh horror and depth to the intolerance of anti-Semitism. This is the first in a trilogy, and I can’t wait to follow Rachel and Sergei as they travel the world and follow their dreams.
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LibraryThing member HandelmanLibraryTINR
Set in pre-revolutionary Russia, where tensions are high between the Jewish and Christian populations. Rachel, who is a Jew, and Sergei, a Christian, find their worlds torn apart by violence as lies about Jews leap off the pages of the local newspaper. Vicious riots break out on Easter Sunday,
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1903, and when they finally end, almost three days later, Rachel finds that the person she loves most is dead and that her home has been destroyed. As she struggles to survive the aftermath of the riots—or pogroms—support comes from someone totally unexpected, as Sergei turns against his father to help Rachel. With everything against them, the two young people don't want to fight the bond that is growing between them, one of the few signs of goodness and hope in a time of chaos and violence. Show Less
ISBN
1926920376 / 9781926920375