It is very sad to see the world through Jutka's eyes, especially when she gets separated from her friends and has to stay home as she's banned from attending school. The hatred from some of the characters just makes you want to seethe in anger at how horribly they've treated Jutka and her family. It almost wants you to jump in and throttle these people. It's very well written in the first person point of view, and Jutka is portrayed as just a normal teenage girl with friends and family she loves with the world turning upside down in a matter of months. The book is somewhat divided into several parts so you go through various stages of her life. It is tragic to read, naturally, yet the chapters are short and detail and the narration is clear and concise. Reading this book won't take long as it is very interesting, and you want to know the outcomes of some of the people she knew and the fate of Jutka herself.

What I thought was interesting to see is the sudden maturity and development of Jutka the moment she enters the camp and the sudden losses she encounters. I admired her for her struggle to survive, and her ability to speak up when others stayed silent. Throughout the book she constantly dreams, especially dreams of Canada and living there. I believe those dreams were the key to her survival, and they kept her hope alive among the pain and suffering of those around her and the constant threat of death over her shoulder.

I was afraid of what she was planning to do with the rest of her life, but when she came right down to her choice, I was happy for her and agreed with it. I suppose the only problem I have with this book is the outcome of Tamas. He was horrible to Jutka and thought he should have been left to rot. However, that's just my opinion. I enjoyed the ending. Unlike some of the Holocaust fiction I have read in the past, this one leaves a glimmer of hope for her, albeit bittersweet. The reader can only hope for the best for Jutka.

Overall, it was a good read. It shows a great deal of strength in the face of hopelessness and suffering. We can definitely learn a lot from Jutka and what she's been through. ( )

This is the story of 14 year-old Jutka’s life before, during, and after World War II, with the three sections of the book dealing with those periods being titled Limbo, Hell, and Paradiso.

The story is heart-wrenching. We see how her friends and neighbors turn from loving her family to despising them. We see the horrors of the ghetto, Auschwitz, and the DP camps. Then we see Jutka and her friends struggle to find a new home for themselves when nothing is left of their old ones. While most want to relocate to Israel, Jutka dreams of being with her relatives in Canada.

The story is compelling, but I did find the writing to be a bit simplistic and choppy, thus the lower rating.

Kanada’s author, Eva Wiseman, was born in Hungary and has based this book on her parents’ and other friends’ experiences during the war. She now lives in Winnipeg.

2006, 241 pp.
Rating: 3.5/5

http://1morechapter.com/2008/04/08/review-kanada/ ( )

You wouldn't think it from its title, but this is a holocaust story. The title refers to the dream this Jewish girl has repeatedly while enduring her ordeal during World War II. She has a cousin in Canada and she dreams of going there. It was a good view of the before, during and after the Holocaust experience. ( )

Jutka is a 14 year old living in a Hungarian town during World War 2. Jutka, her family and Jewish friends are discriminated against and sent to Auschwitz. Her grandmother and motehr are gassed. Jutka and Agi move bricks for no purpose except they are ordered to do so. Jutka moves to a refugee camp. Sandir tried to talk her into going to Israel. They escape over the Alps but she changes her mind. She wants to go to Canada instead. ( )