Jewish Heritage: Young Adult

A moving graphic memoir of a young woman trying to find herself after her mother dies from cancer. Both heartbreaking and hopeful, this is a love letter to the author's mother, and a reminder that when you feel alone in loss, someone in the world understands you.

Recounted in the form of a diary, lively and intelligent Joan escapes an abusive family and a life of drudgery on the farm for hard work and opportunity in the city. While working as a hired girl in a well-to-do Jewish household, she learns about faith, family, love, and life, all the while holding out hope for a proper education.    

World War II has just ended and concentration camps have been liberated. 18-year-old Zofia is free but traumatized and malnourished, without a home, money, possessions or family. She is determined to find her missing brother and make a new life for herself. This is a beautifully written historical novel that portrays a young woman who comes to terms with the past, her scars and slowly picks up the pieces of her shattered life.