Hidden Pearl is the true story of Pearl, a young Polish Jew in WWII. The author is Pearl's daughter-in-law and the details of the story are based on the memories she has shared of her experiences. 

Many of the stories I've read over the years have followed a child who was literally hidden for the duration of the war: inside walls, under the floorboards, tucked in closets and attics; this is the story of a 10 year old girl who passes as a Catholic orphan and is able to hide in plain sight, helping on a farm in exchange for food and a roof over her head. 

While this is a very short book at just under 120 pages, it didn't feel overly rushed or incomplete. Overall an interesting story that I'm glad to have read.


*received free ARC from netgalley

Hidden Pearl tells the true story of Pearl, a Jewish 10 year old that must pretend she is an orphan and not Jewish during World War II in Poland. Hiding Jewish children in plain sight was risky as well as traumatic – being separated from their families in order to survive. This is a great story for young adults because it deals with the horror and unpredictability of the time but leaves out the details of the violence. The perseverance and single minded efforts to be reunited with her family moves the story forward. Kudos to the author in telling her family’s story so young adult audiences can experience what a 10 year old girl had to endure that during the war. Thank you to Little Egg publishing and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review the book.

This was such a great book especially for children to read in schools. It felt easy enough to understand without feeling like the entire story lost it's excitement. It's definitely different than any story I have heard in regards to fleeing the atrocities of the concentration camps and to have as many surviving members of their family that they did is amazing.

I think this would be excellent material in schools and I will definitely be making my kids read this one day.

This is somewhere between a novel and a short story, telling the true story of the Author's own mother in law at the the of the second world war.

The family were Jewish, and having seen first hand the terrible things that were going on in their country of Poland, they decided that the only way to survive was to run away into the forest.

Living out in the forest for a prolonged period is not easy. Pearl had to run away without shoes and her feet are a mass of sores. Her many sisters and brothers needed to eat and her parents found feeding them very hard from what they could forage. As they were blonde and blue eyed, and looked Aryan, it was decided for them to hide in plain sight by pretending to be Catholic orphans, and work on various farms in return for their keep. Their parents were heartbroken at having to separate them but knew they would have to do it in order for them to survive.

Pearl was billeted by a very unpleasant woman who wanted her as in unpaid slave, and hated Jews, however the woman had a nice daughter and that together with visits from a friend and from her brother, made life bearable. Pearl had to do what she could to survive and that included pretending to be Catholic and going to church.

Pearl and some of her family were the lucky ones. They survived the war. Some of her family were found and shot. Other friends were taken off to concentration camps to experience unspeakable horrors and never to return.

I haven't read many books written by those who escaped the camps by hiding in plain sight before, and found it very interesting. It's well written and you see the life and times through Pearl's eyes. It is suitable for both young adults and adults. I highly recommend it.

Pearl is a Jew - the only chance she has in life. Is to escape. Otherwise she will be shot or carted off to the death camps.

One day her family saw the Nazi approach and ran as fast as they could. They traveled for mile to find safe shelter but no one could help them.

Sad and defeated the family split up - the children finding work on the farms.

A sad and true story of Pearl's life during the Haloucaust.

A good introduction for teens. The plot is clear but not full of the horrible conditions of how people lived. That you get in some books.

Not very long but any longer and the book might have become boring.

What happens to Pearl and her family? Do they get reunited?

I was sad to hear about Pearl and her family. They were incredibly brave and courageous. I loved the pictures at the end of Pearl and her family. It was nice to see what happened to them after the war. Despite them losing a few members.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Egg Publishing Company for a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Hidden pearl is a simple and easy to read true story of a family during WW2. It is a tale of hope and courage in desperate times when families are torn apart. The author's writing style is simple and and easy to read. This novel is ideal for young readers of the middle grade range. This novel is moving and makes you consider what one family will do to survive when humanity fails them.

This book was just what I needed! J.E. Laufer's writing style is simple, yet nice. You can tell she is a debut writer, and writing only to tell her family's story, but she did a nice job. I appreciated that she got to the point quickly and immediately set the scene and made you understand this family's plight. and feel for all of the characters. There were enough descriptors that I could clearly picture the scenes, but not so fluffy that it was unnecessary. It was a little confusing to keep the characters straight at first, partly because of their foreign names and partly because there were SO MANY KIDS but I quickly got my bearings with their family tree. She immediately draws you in and the story line moves quickly. Overall, the book is short and I read it in just a few hours. Really enjoyed!

A true tale of both hope and inhumanity dressed in the finery of fiction. While Pearl and her family are hunted and separated, many of them survive and relate what they went through to their own family members. That is how this book came about. My biggest takeaway is the totally un Christian attitudes and behaviors of ordinary people who weren't even stupid enough to be nazi. A very moving book complete with post war follow up and even some family pictures.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Little Egg Publishing Company via NetGalley.

This is a true story - we follow Pearl, a young Polish Jewish girl, and her family at the start of World War II.
As the Nazi's start to decimate the Jewish population, Pearl and her family must escape. The family flee their home on foot, and as one family member is shot and a small child is lost in the confusion, Pearl & her family take refuge in a forest. With Aryan looks (blond hair & blue eyes), the older children soon realise that they all have a better chance of survival if some of them seek work/refuge on farms, pretending to be Catholic orphans. Pearl's older brother & sister flee first to nearby farms & establish a new life with their "new identity". A forest ranger who is an old family friend takes Pearl to a distant farm where she too masquerades as a Catholic orphan. Although the woman she is taken too is harsh, and her life is far from idyllic, ultimately this new life ensures that Pearl will survive the atrocities of the war.

The story is well written to keep the interest of young people - there is not as much description as you'd expect in an adult book but this keeps it fast paced. It does not skirt around the horrors and the difficulties that many families faced, and there are mentions of death, abuse, anti semitism, and much more, but there are no graphic details included & this is not a story about the Concentration camps.
The photographs at the end serve a poignant reminder that this is a true story. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

So many stories of World War II survivors are still untold. Thankfully this one is told about a child who is now 90 years old and in Canada. It is a heartwarming story of the strength that love gives us. It is also a study of good and evil. It gives us hope that good does prevail.

Compelling account of a very courageous story of a family fleeing the Nazis. Very well written. You could almost jump into the book and visualize the events and surroundings.

Survival of the Children
This story about a Jewish family and how they hid from the Nazi's in occupied Poland is a great one for young adults and perhaps even middle school children as well as adults.

It tells the story of how different members of the family split up and survived. It has no graphic passages and the extermination of the Jewish people is not dwelled upon.

The story is mainly based around one of the Children Pearl and a forest ranger that helped her find a home to hide as a non Jew. He would stop by on occasion and give her news about her family.

After the war the remainder of the family that survived, several members did not, reunited and found a small home in town.

I liked the honest and simple writing style, so easy to read. I am glad that the author wrote the story and shared it with us. I would definitely recommend to the YA age reading group.

Thanks to the author, the publishing company and Net Galley for allowing me to read an advance copy of the book.

This was an incredibly moving and short story (around 110 pages) based on the life of the author's Jewish mother in law and what the family had to go through whilst they tried to survive in Nazi occupied Poland during WWII. There were beautiful photos of family members at the end of this book which really drove home that this was a true story, and these people had to survive through such horrors.

I was really moved by this book and what people had to deal with because of one political party and their absolutely batty belief in the Aryan race and eradication of Jewish people. 

This felt far more like a middle grade historical fiction, primarily because of how short this was and how it felt very unemotional when facing family tragedies in the writing style.

I would recommend this for a quick read, maybe something to read with a younger member of your family if they're just beginning to learn about WWII. 

Trigger warnings for antisemitism, concentration camps, ghettos, Nazi war crimes, death of loved ones, racial cleansing, genocide, ableism, and physical abuse.

What I 😍 Loved: Learning about the hiding of Jewish children in plain sight. I have not read a story like this before.
How I 😥☺ Felt: Saddened at the terrible things this family went through, but the strength of this entire family was so moving!
To Read 👍 or 👎Not to Read: You must read this book! I finished it in less than 24 hours. It was so good!!
📖
This is a true story, following Pearl and her family at the start of World War II in Poland. Pearl and her family must run as the Nazi's invade their town and begin shooting people. Their grandmother is shot as they run and in the confusion and terror, lose track of one of her brothers. Thus begins a terrifying journey to survive for Pearl and her family.
📖
After being turned away from numerous homes, they take refuge in a forest and abandoned bunker. As they try to survive there, they realize they must hide some of the children at farms in the area. Pearl pretends to be an orphan and is taken in as a helper on a woman's farm.
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Pearl's story is so intense and moving, you can't stop reading. The book is well-written and easy to read. The story never has downtime and my only wish is that there had been more! There's photos at the end of the book of Pearl and her family, which was a wonderful addition.

Hidden Pearl by J.E. Laufer was a quick read. It tells the true story of Pearl a young Jewish polish girl hidden during the WWII. It also tells of the hardships her family went through. I especially like the pictures at the back. This is a necessary story to be told. Never forget.


I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Hidden Pearl is a fast read. Based on the real life of Pearl, a young Polish girl, who hid from the Nazis during WWII. Her story is quite remarkable in that she was reunited with her parents during the war and two of her siblings also survived. I appreciated the afterward as well as the family photos at the end.

Hidden Pearl is a good starting place for younger readers being introduced to the Holocaust and WWII. The story of Pearl and her family hiding from the Nazis is a powerful one, with both tragedy and joy. It does not skirt around the devastation that many families faced, but as it is for younger readers, it does not go into too much detail of the horrors of daily life at that time and place.