Suzy Zail

Late last year I heard Suzy Zail speak at a school libraries conference in Melbourne and was moved by her gentle spirit and big heart. I didn’t know until then that she had written "I Am Change" so when I arrived home I went searching for it. The other novels I’ve read that Suzy has written have centred around the holocaust, so reading one set in Uganda was a big change.

Lilian’s story was heartbreaking as well as inspirational. The things she had to endure because she was a girl, the show more way she was treated and her desperate quest for an education broke my heart. At times the story was quite harrowing with child marriages, rape, female circumcision, and domestic violence and I felt Lilian’s pain as she faced situations that left her feeling hopeless.

I loved Lilian. She was such a strong, compelling protagonist but her story made me angry. So many young women face similar circumstances across the globe and they are denied the education they need to escape their bondage. "I Am Change" was raw, gritty and emotive. A powerful read. show less

"Alexander Altmann 110567" would have to be my favourite Suzy Zail novel that I've read so far. After finishing the book I discovered it was based on the life of an actual Holocaust survivor that Suzy met at the Melbourne Holocaust Centre.

Fourteen-year-old, Auschwitz prisoner, Alexander Altmann, having been raised on a farm, volunteers to be part of the Horse Platoon and finds himself caring for a Nazi commander's horse. However, the horse is frightened and untrustworthy and Alexander knows show more time is running out for both of them.

I loved the bond that grew between boy and animal. Despite the horrors around them, they learnt to trust each other and helped save the other. While the author didn't back down from the brutalities and the horrendous treatment of prisoners, "Alexander Altmann 110567" was ultimately a book of hope and survival, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. A wonderful, touching story. show less

Well worth the wait! I was concerned that this book would get too serious, but Zail balances the very sensitive historical narratives of concentration camp survivors, with the coming of age tale of a young girl who just wants to share her amazing gift with the world. There are amazingly written passages here; words so colorful that it transports the reader to the space Hanna occupies.

This needs to be read by every schoolkid in America.

"The Wrong Boy" is a gritty little novel about fifteen-year-old Hanna who, along with her family, is taken from her home and sent to Auschwitz. The reader is given an awful insight into the life of this camp, the cruelties, degradations, horrors and struggles to just stay alive. Hanna is a very likeable character. Throughout the book she feels shame, fear, guilt and hopelessness, but at all times she remains determined, determined to stay alive and tell the world about what she and the other show more women have had to endure. Although there is a romance woven through the plot, it is only of a secondary nature. "The Wrong Boy" is another well-written holocaust story and is a good companion to Boyne's "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" and Gleitzman's "Once". show less