4/5 stars

I usually enjoy WW2 era books as I have always found that time period very interesting for some odd reason. It may be due to the reason that after one world war that the countries that make up the world could not settle their differences, or maybe it is the fact that it was such a gruesome event that it intrigues the dark side of me. No one, especially me, will never know the truth.

So, I picked this up on a whim on Netgalley since it sounded and looked intriguing. Also, I knew it was going to be somewhat about books as there is a librarian in it. I found that there were lot of powerful messages in this book, told through pages of books Dita picks up along her journey through survival as a Jew in Germany and through the time Dita spends in conservation camps, trying to survive from being gassed and tossed in a graveyard where she would never see her mother nor any of her surviving friends ever again.

Even though I may have enjoyed the thrill of keeping books away from German Nazis and reading different parts of this book that may have made me tear up a little, I found this books to be very slow and that you need to be in the mood to read this book. Although this book may be compelling in some manners, in others it can be seen as a boring and slow.

READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Love,
newbookcats

Full review soon to be on www.newbookcatsreads.blogspot.com.

I loved this book. I loved the characters. A young girl risking her life to protect books and knowledge was an original take on Holocaust literature. We always need more novels about this atrocity and this is one perfect for young adults to read. I highly recommend this moving and emotional story. Well done.

An interesting story set in the horrors of WWII but about what people did to band together to survive and overcome. Loved the afterward and explanation about what was based on the true story and what was embellished.

The Librarian of Auschwitz was a little all over the place for me. There were so many people and stories and memories to keep track of that I started to zone out. There just wasn't enough action to counteract all the information. I felt like the book really, really dragged on and could have been much shorter, but perhaps the translation is to blame for this. History needs to be told, and we must never forget the Holocaust... but this book didn't do much for me, unfortunately.

Dita is asked to be the "librarian" of the children's school in a concentration camp. It's a risky position as being discovered with any of the books in her possession will surely get Dita killed. However, Dita doesn't hesitate to accept the dangerous role when asked.

While not the most engaging plot, the description of how books were valued by the prisoners in the concentration camp and how the school was run added to my understanding and would be helpful for presenting a more holistic view of the Holocaust.

I ugly cried when I read this. Every adult in my house who read it (I made them) ugly cried when they read it. Everyone I know who's read this book has ugly cried over this book.

This book had an incredibly slow start and I found it hard to get into. I actually never finished it but may suggest it to my students if they are interested in the Holocaust. I usually enjoy these books but just couldn't really get into this one. I was sad about it.

The overall story was a good one, but this book needed to be edited down a bit Too wordy and detailed/lengthy , it could have been cut by 100 pages.

I enjoyed (as much as one can “enjoy” reading about one of the most horrific times I’ve history) this historical fiction story based on actual events and people during the Holocaust. It was interesting to learn about the library in Auschwitz-Birkenau run by the main character is the story. There were so many wonderful quotes in this book. I had sticky notes sticking out everywhere.

I think the translation of this novel was very poor. I was not a fan of the writing but I truly have to say that it is likely due to the translation. Much of the novel did not make sense and it was quite confusing so I have to believe it was not the fault of the author but the translation of the novel itself.

Phenomenal. I had first started trying to read this on my phone, and it was tough to get into that way. I let it expire and a few months later I finally checked the book out, and I'm so glad I did. Dita's voice comes up through the pages, beyond the translation, and into the reader's heart. So many things in this book touched me, some more than any other WWII fiction story I have read.

It's sad and hopeful and adventurous, all at the same time. This book should be paired up with The Diary of Anne Frank and a staple read in every English class.

Fourteen year old Dita is a prisoner in Auschwitz along with her mother, father, and thousands of other Jewish people. Dita and her family are learning to live with the terror that is living at Auschwitz, and one small glimmer of hope for Dita is Block 31 and the Family Camp. It is here that Dita finds her place among the terror as she takes on the role of Librarian caring for the books that have been snuck in to the camp. Disguised as an activity center for the children on Block 31, the adults are really using it as a secret school, hoping to keep some kind of normalcy for everyone.

Dita and her family were not always at Auschwitz though, when the Nazis first came to her town, her and her family were moved to a ghetto. She could never imagine the horrors she would witness though when she is moved to Auschwitz. On a daily basis she observes horrors that are hard to imagine, most especially those at the hands of the Mengele, one of the camp’s leaders who is known for his notorious human testing. Worst of all, he appears to have his eye on Dita. What will be Dita’s fate be?

I found this book to be a decent account of the horrors that millions faced during World War II. I did not realize when I started the book that it was actually the story of a real person, in the end that really made the story hit home. I found that with the story going back and forth in time, and switching to various people’s points of views, it was easy to get lost. In the end, this made the story drag in some parts and it really took me a long time to get through this one. One thing for sure though, Thwaites does a great job of capturing the horrors that people went through, which even though it is hard to read and imagine that this all happened in real life, it gives the reader a first account look of what happened which hopefully be a reminder to us all and keep us from allowing something like this from ever happening again.

I absolutely adored this book, which was both a bit of a delightful surprise and the first step in laying a foundation of affection for everything that comes after this!

"Out of one of the darkest chapters of human history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope." The sentence, at the end of The Librarian of Auschwitz's back cover synopsis, is the best way to describe this book.

Dita is an amazing character because she brings life and light to a dark place. Her sense of honor and duty, despite difficult (understatement) challenges is encouraging. She was a great protagonist to some of history's most horrendous real-life villains. Knowing that Dita was based on an actual Holocaust prisoner just made me appreciate her character even more.

There were parts of the story that had my heart thumping in my chest with anticipation. Antonio Iturbe did a splendid job of building suspense. When Dr. Mengele made an appearance, I was instantly thrust into worry for Dita. I am not a Holocaust researcher, but I know enough to know that he was a horrible person. While reading The Librarian of Auschwitz, a video popped up on my Facebook feed about the experiments Dr. Mengele performed. It really helped me appreciate how horrific these experiences were, and exactly what Dita was up against if she was discovered.

Unfortunately, the setting was easily imagined. Maybe it's because of all the images we have seen in history books or through documentaries, but I had no trouble visualizing the horrors young Dita experienced. While the topic could easily become too much for younger readers, this story walks a straight line between two difficult tasks: keeping the story authentic without watering down what really happened.

Compelling story of a true history that was unknown to me about WWII. I think the writing style was a bit young for teen readers and cones across as more middle grade.

Anything dealing with the Holocaust is tough to read but this book was well written and handles it beautifully. I would 100% recommend.

The depiction of day to day life in this book was masterful - harrowing and well written. As a librarian, I appreciated a different look at books and the part they play in history. A beautiful book.

Wow! This novel is a masterpiece, in my opinion. Iturbe has managed to tell a hard story and teach the reader at the same time. A sign of an excellent historical novel is when a reader immediately starts to look up the characters and events to find out more. The people and events of this book are based on Block 31 of Auschwitz- Birkenau, which managed to hide several books and have a school for children even though this was against the rules. The writing style is lovely, and the excellent translation skills of Lilit Zekulin Thwaites no doubt helped with that. I have read many, many books about the Holocaust, yet I learned so much more from this one, taking pages and pages of notes of interesting facts and inspirational lines.

The book was really slow paced, there were some interesting parts that helped the story but otherwise I was really bored throughout the book. The writing style was also really dull. The secret library operation was interesting which is probably what compelled me to push through. All in all I just didn't like this book.
Rating: 2 stars

I hate writing a negative review about a Holocaust book, because every book about that tragic time is another reminder that it happened and we cannot ever forget it. And honestly, the book might be good. I can't tell because I can't get past the unbelievably atrocious grammar and plot structuring.The author is from Spain and I feel like the translation work could have been equal or better by some of my first-year Spanish students. Or, equally likely, the translator did solid work and the original text was just awful. Tense changes, confusing pronouns, characters thrown in and out of the story like they're being juggled, mercurial moods that leave you with more questions than answers, and a lot of unneeded melodrama that is clumsily foreshadowed. I see the need for this story--what the real Dita did is amazing. I just wish that literally anyone else had told it.