Hey all! I am back with a book review–a non fiction, Surviving the Angel of Death, based on the true story of Holocaust survivor, Eva Mozes

Eva Mozes Kor was just ten years old when she arrived in Auschwitz. While her parents and two older sisters were taken to the gas chambers, she and her twin, Miriam, were herded into the care of the man known as the Angel of Death, Dr. Josef Mengele. Subjected to sadistic medical experiments, she was forced to fight daily for her and her twin’s survival. In this incredible true story written for young adults, readers learn of a child’s endurance and survival in the face of truly extraordinary evil and Eva’s recovery and her controversial but often misunderstood decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Readers will learn of how she triumphed over unfathomable pain and suffering into a life-long work for peace, human rights, and Holocaust education.

The new edition provides interesting details and important context to the events related in the original story. A new Afterword by publisher Peggy Porter Tierney offers a richer portrayal of Eva as a person, the truth behind the controversies,  and the eventful last ten years of her life.

Lisa Rojany has written dozens of children’s books, 2 adult books, a few YA novels, and a YA memoir, including several award-winning and bestselling titles. She is also a publishing executive and editor with over 20 years of experience in the industry. As well as spearheading four publishing startups, Lisa has simultaneously run her own business, Editorial Services of L.A. She has been Editorial/Publishing Director for Golden Books, Price Stern Sloan/Penguin Group USA, Intervisual Books, Gateway Learning Corp (Hooked on Phonics), and Intervisual Books. She loves working with authors to make their work the best it can be. She may be contacted at http://www.EditorialServicesofLA.com.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book is based on the true story of Eva Mozes Kor, who along with her twin sister Miriam were used as test subjects for one of the Mengele’s experiments. Josef Mengele was the one known as “Angel of Death”. The fact that this is actually a true story itself was unbelievable and as a reader, you can never imagine the type of horrors that the Holocaust survivors, including Eva and her twin sister had gone through. It was actually emotional, terrifying and also I admire how brave and courage both Eva and her sister were, as they were determined to survive and go through the horrors of the Holocaust. It’s really disturbing to read the experiment part in Auschwitz, how Mengele conducted the experiments on the twins. I also loved reading about how the twins led their lives before the war–Eva was a strong one while Miriam was the quiet one, how the twins wore identical clothes so people would not be able to identify which one is which one. Then with the war, the attack against the Jews in their small village Portz in Romania coupled with them taken to the ghetto and eventually to Auschwitz was so sad and emotional to read, particularly when her parents and her older sisters did not survive the war. I also like reading about their lives after the war, how communism would soon affect them, how they eventually emigrated to Israel where Eva was a draftsman and where she met her future husband Michael Kor and moved with him to U.S.A to start new life. I like how Eva still struggled with the nightmares of the Holocaust and how she eventually overcame her nightmares by simply forgiving the Nazis.

This book is actually the new edition, with a detailed page of what Eva’s life was after the war. Her willingness to forgive the Nazis and how even survivors also didn’t agree with her idea of forgiveness. Eva actually teaches us, readers how to give forgiveness and then only you will be able to survive whatever the nightmares you are going through. The story is actually really a good lesson to all of us, as it will remind us, never to forget the horrors of the WWII. A must read for those interested in WWII history and Holocaust.

Worth five stars!