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10 young adult books worthy of adult readers

Grownups will also find that these nonfiction books aimed at young adults are worth a serious look.

9. ‘Hidden Gold: A True Story of the Holocaust,’ by Ella Burakowski

  • By Ross Atkin

For the Jewish Gold family of Pinczow, Poland, living with growing anti-semitism in the late 1930s went from tolerable to horrifying when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Suddenly, Leib and Hanna Gold and their three children found themselves in survival mode as the homes and businesses of Jews were burned and rumors of death camps mounted. Leib disappeared while searching for a hiding place for his family. Meanwhile, Hanna and the children fled the city through sewer tunnels and managed to spend the next 26 months in hiding in a farmer’s barn. “Hidden Gold” is based on the true story of the author’s mother.

Here’s an excerpt from Hidden Gold:

"On his way to the kitchen he got sidetracked and found himself in front of the forbidden cabinet. He knew very well that cabinet was off-limits, but its magnetism was overwhelming.

David put Yoel down and surveyed his surroundings. The music was still coming from the salon, Ania was busy in the kitchen; the coast was clear. He very carefully opened the cabinet, which was where the family kept their medicines and other forbidden items. The first thing to catch David’s eye was a bottle of deep red iodine. He was just about to open when Ania screeched, “David, what are you doing!""

(Second Story Press, 325 pp.)

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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