28 Days shines light on one area of the Holocaust we don't often get to read about: the Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto and how they fought for and kept their home from the SS. This novel was a page-turner with compelling characters, relationships, and circumstances. I feared for each character at every turn and was encouraged by the small bits of hope they each found and shared through constant bloodshed and turmoil.

This book is not for the faint of heart. The author rightfully does not shy away from any of the horrors that people from history just like these characters would have faced during the holocaust, like death, violence, rape, suicide, sexual assault, and even more awful, awful things. And yet, it is important for this kind of history to be shared.

The plot was gripping and paced very well. Our female lead is gritty, tough, and empathetic. We even get to see a good touch of romance, some light in a dark world.

This book also highlights real people and their histories and how they were involved in taking back the ghetto from the SS.

I would highly recommend 28 Days to an older teen and adult audience. Though a novel of tribulation and despair, it is highlighted with glimmers of hope and the treasure of human relationships, important lessons that will persist even in the midst of trauma.

This is a compelling novel of resistance, love, and the terrible experience during a time of terrifying struggle for existence of the Jewish people. I found my heart breaking as I read! I wanted so much for survival. It left me wondering, did they survive? I wish I knew, but I can hope they survived and lived long happy lives! I will bring this book into my classroom. An important story to tell.

"What kind of human do you want to be?"

This was a tough read for me because I was so overwhelmed while reading it. This novel was packed with emotion and action to the point where I would have to take short breaks just to process what was happening.

What I really liked about this story was the respectful balance of action, history, and romance. This book never felt like it was a romance, but the romantic love that was shown felt purposeful in raising the stakes of the novel and did not detract from the actual plot. All the characters felt complex enough for this to work, and it would have been hard to say any of the main characters (Mira, Daniel, Hannah, Amos, or any of the other resistance fighters) were wrong in the ways they worked towards their own survival. Each character's personal journey was fleshed out and treated with depth.

The only reason I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5 was really due to the pacing at the beginning of the novel. It was hard to stay motivated in reading during the first third of the book. I am glad I stuck around to keep reading because the pace really picked up to the point that the last 150 pages flew by.

***I was provided with an e-ARC of this book from Macmillan Children's Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions above are my own.***

I am a real fan of Holocaust fiction (that seems really dark as I type it...). I enjoy books that rip your heart out over and over and hopefully put it back together in the end. I wasn't prepared, however, to find such a gem in this book. I couldn't read it fast enough and then I didn't want to turn the page to see what was next because I was emotionally distraught. People are always asking for read alikes to popular WW2 fiction and this book is going to top the list from now on!