"Somewhere there is still a sun" is a ok book at best. Michael Gruenbaum does excellent as depicting the life of a Jewish person during ww2, and times of the holocaust, and beautifully displays the troubles he had to face growing up during this time. The overall story and concept was amazing and while the beginning of the book was strong, but once he went to Terezin, it felt like there was no climax or rising action, and felt pretty plain towards the middle. We read about his life with the boys which felt the same for every day until they get deported to Auschwitz but avoid it in order to survive. the book picks up on the end with the deportations of many of Michael's close friends and the end of the war. Overall the book was amazing but mainly towards the beginning and the end. A good read but not one of the best ( )

This is a wonderful book told from the perspective of a 12-year-old Jewish boy who lived in Prague during WW II. His father was taken by the SS and brutally murdered while he is sent to a camp with his mother and sister. This book tells his experiences in that camp, and while not as horrible as those in other camps, it is still not a good one. However, he does find the sun on certain days and the three people in his family survive, despite the odds against them, even avoiding several deportations to Auschwitz. This is a very age-appropriate discussion of that time period and the horrible things people to each other. ( )