This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our library collection on preorder and will recommend it to students.

This book had a lot of potential, but the narrator seemed uncharacteristically immature. As a reader, I wanted to hear less about her and more about the survivors.

The audiobook, To Look a Nazi in the Eye, by Kathy Kacer with Jordana Lebowitz was stunning and powerful. This audio will be included in our 8th grade curriculum when discussing WWII. Any testimony about WWII and the Holocaust are beyond important and this captured the sentiments, information, and emotions we need to continue to share this horrific event in the future.

I really enjoyed this one and I think I happened to read it at a time where the lessons seem so relevant.

This story follows Jordana, a teenage girl (18? 19? I forget), who connects with the history of her people by visiting Auschwitz and forming friendships with the Holocaust survivors who spoke during her visit. Through one of her friendships, she finds out that there is to be a war crime trial for Oskar Groening, the bookkeeper of Auschwitz. Although she doesn't have an explicable reason for it, Jordana feels the deep need to be present at this trial and witness history.

I won't lie - for most of this story, I found Jordana kind of pushy and juvenile. I had to keep reminding myself that she was still a teenager (young adult) and that I know what it's like to feel an intense passion for moments in history that I don't even understand. And in this case, Jordana *is* connected to the Holocaust as she is Jewish. Her family may not have died there, but her people were exterminated. It's bound to make you search for connections and meaning.

The most compelling part about this story was everyone's reaction to Groening. I thought it was brave that Jordana put into writing that she was first feeling sympathy for him after he told "his side." It's so easy to feel black or white about most disgusting moments in history and to not let ourselves hear someone's story if we've already judged them guilty. I also really appreciated that she kept those feelings to herself. I was so nervous that she was going to tell one of the survivors and it just wasn't her place to have an opinion on someone that had a hand in causing these people so much pain.

This story made me question forgiveness and accountability. If you are just part of the machine, are you guilty? If you didn't personally pull the trigger or fill the gas chamber, did you commit murder? If you choose to forgive someone for their part in something so abominable, are you implying that others should forgive them too? And if so, should you just keep your forgiveness to yourself so that you don't make the mistake of speaking for others?

It was a short book, but I got a lot out of it.

Thanks to the publisher for providing a digital review copy of To Look a Nazi in the Eye in exchange for an honest review.

To Look a Nazi in the Eye follows 19 year old Jordana Lebowitz as she travels to Germany to witness the trial of Oscar Groening to try and become more informed on the tragedy that her grandparents and other holocaust survivors lived through.

In my opinion, the books biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. Jordana's story is framed as an example of the importance of young people to observe and remember the atrocities of WWII so it makes sense that the narration is blunt and simplistic to make it more widely accessible to readers of all ages and capabilities, but it also causes Jordana herself to be portrayed in a very simplistic, self-absorbed life. I'm sure this was not the intention of author Kathy Kacer who clearly has a lot of respect for the real world Jordana, but it does hurt this from a narrative perspective so if you're looking for a compelling narrative to learn about WWII and Groening's trial through, you might be let down. If you're looking to learn about WWII and Groening's trial in an easy to comprehend format though, this book serves its purpose perfectly.