As I read, I couldn’t help but admire Ana Novac’s writing style. Instead of simply stating that the characters are anxious, she captures the mood and emotions of the situations she describes. For example, the reader is able to see that as the Slovak author/main character is forced to stand in line in a concentration camp controlled by Germans, she thinks, “Anxiety…I feel it growing in my body, a fat beast, dark and sticky.” I also thought that illustrations and images were cleverly incorporated throughout the book to support the details of the text. For example, there is an image of the layout of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Extermination Camp, the “death factory” Ana had survived from on page 16. The main reason I admire this amazing literary work is that it offers young English-speaking students the grand opportunity to experience the lives of those who are forced to mature at an early age due to extenuating circumstances. ( )