Silver Days

Silver Days is the sequel to Levtin’s Journey to America in which Lisa Platt and her family emigrated from Germany to New York at the beginning of World War II, and begins with the family settling on the East Coast. Soon after, despite their poverty, Lisa’s father moved the family against their

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wishes to California, in search of greater opportunity and a more ideal climate. Once in California the family finally begins to acclimate to American culture.

I found the characters to be realistic in this first person narrative as Lisa shares her family’s trials and tribulations after escaping the Nazis in Germany. “Silver Days” takes place through her middle and high school years. What I particularly like about this book is that it shows Jewish people as just like everyone else, and not as some strange other culture.

Another fascinating section of the novel follows the family’s reaction to a Japanese friend whose family is taken away to camps in the US, causing an argument within Lisa’s family as they discuss the pros and cons of removing people who “might be traitors to the country.” This and other moral questions raised by the author make compelling reading.

While the reading level of this book is low, this book is great for high school girls who want an easy yet thoughtful read; it gives a clear insight regarding how the Jewish people came to America from Germany, and the anti-Semitism they encountered upon arrival.

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I enjoyed this YA novel of German Jewish refugees arriving in the US just before the start of World War 2.
The second in a series of three.

The only thing I take issue with in these books is the historical accuracy.

This book ends in 1943. The American public let alone the European
one did not have the

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knowledge of what was happening to the Jewish
population in Germany and occupied countries. Rumors yes but nothing
in the official press.

This is a common error in many books that have the Holocaust in the story line.

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