My Real Name is Hanna is a really good book. Last year I read quite a lot of 20th century books, including Defying Hitler; I also regularly attend a Russian meetup group. When I had the opportunity to read a book about a Jewish Ukrainian girl during World War II in exchange for an honest review, I figured that I had to read it. I was not disappointed.
At the beginning of the book, we meet Hanna and her family. They are a observant Jewish family who won’t even light a fire on the Sabbath: they pay for their neighbor to light the fire for them. She has a normal family, attends school with her best friend Leon, and lives a typical Ukrainian life. Even through they sometimes have to pledge their loyalty to one government or another (first Stalin and the Soviet Union, then Germany), they still live decently.
Hanna and her family begin to hear rumors about things happening to other Jews in faraway places. At first, they are insulated from these problems because they live in a rural area. Eventually, Hanna’s family is affected by Hitler’s rules for Jews. First, her family is asked to wear armbands marking them as Jews (her family rebels against this order). Then, they are given fewer food rations than their non-Jewish neighbors. They start hiding fleeing Jews in their barn. Eventually, things get so bad that Hanna’s family, as well as Leon’s family, have to flee their homes and hide.
Throughout the remainder of this book, they struggle to survive while in hiding. Their circumstances get progressively worse, and when it looks like the family won’t be able to make it, the Russians finally take over their town and they are able to return to society.
My Real Name is Hanna is a book that you won’t want to put down. I wanted to know what would happen to their family next. How would they find food? Will Hanna and Leon become more than friends? You grow to care about Hanna and her family as they go through these struggles. Hanna is a likeable girl, and even though you know she is going to survive (Hanna is telling this story as an adult), you still want to root for her.
With everything that is going on in the world, books like My Real Name is Hanna are more important than ever. If you read the news, there is a growing hatred for “otherness” in both the United States and in Europe. This is not only a good book; it is also a reminder that tragedies like this could happen again if we don’t remain vigilant.
This book will be available on September 15th, but you can pre-order it now.
You’re right, this sort of book is more important than ever — I certainly hope more people read this!
Definitely. I wish I could get everybody who is riled up politically these days to read it!