First published 2020
Stefania Podgórska works in the Diamant family grocery store in Przemyśl, Poland in 1943. At sixteen, she cares for her six-year-old sister Helena and secretly loves Izio Diamant, though their different faiths make romance dangerous. When German forces invade, the Diamants disappear into the ghetto. Stefania finds herself alone with Helena in the occupied city. Then Max Diamant, Izio's brother, appears at her door after escaping a deportation train bound for a death camp. Stefania decides to shelter him in her attic. Soon twelve more Jewish refugees join Max in the cramped hiding space above her home. Stefania must feed thirteen people while maintaining the appearance of normalcy below. The situation becomes desperate when two Nazi officers arrive to commandeer her house as their quarters. With German soldiers living downstairs and thirteen Jews hidden upstairs, Stefania faces impossible choices daily. She must protect her sister, keep her secret, and find ways to sustain the lives depending on her courage.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, world-war-ii, jewish
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, heroic-sacrifice
Setting: Przemyśl, Poland
Period: 1943
400 pages · Hardcover · Scholastic Press
Content warnings: death, violence