The Length of a String

One of the best books about the Holocaust that I have read in years, and that's saying something. 1) I love Imani's character, and her journey about her adoption/birth parents. 2) I think the thing I responded to so strongly was that the kids in this book are all going to Hebrew school and preparing for their Bar Mitzvahs and they are kind of bored and jaded about their history -- and then Anna's journal makes it all very immediate and real for them (and the readers) -- the impact was huge to see the characters react to it sort of reinforced my own reactions. 3) I didn't really think I was going to read this book, but from the moment I opened it, I just couldn't put it down. It's heartbreaking, empowering, thoughtful -- just extremely show more vivid and packs an emotional punch that makes you want to see where it's going. Spectacular. show less

This is a very detailed story of a young woman who discovered her Great Grandmother's diary that was filled with messages she hoped to send to her twin sister who, unlike her, did not have the opportunity to flee to the United States during the 1940's when Hitler was deporting so very many people to concentration camps.

Imani is adopted, and deals with both the fact that she wants to find her birth mother, and to learn more about the outcome of her adoptive families relative.

The longing exhibited keeps the book together. If not for this, I would have put the book down as it seemed way too winding and filled with too much unnecessary text.

This is a cute story about what makes us who we are, and I'm glad I read it, but it doesn't hold together as tightly as it might. There were some opportunities for tension that I think the author missed out on, and I'm not keen on seventh graders dating each other. I did, however, enjoy learning about Luxembourg and Luxembourgish. I read this with my son as part of Build Your Library homeschool curriculum, level 6.

Imani is adopted, and she's ready to search for her birth parents. But when she discovers the diary her Jewish great-grandmother wrote chronicling her escape from Holocaust-era Europe, Imani begins to see family in a new way.

10yo review: "I loved this book!
i loved this book because I thought the plot was exciting. I thought it was cool to get to read her great-grandmothers diary! This is definitely a don't judge a book by it's cover/title. When I first looked at it I was like meh, but when I actually read it i was awesome!!!!! If you choose this book I hope you enjoy it!"

Gets a bit boring.

10yo review: "I loved this book![return]i loved this book because I thought the plot was exciting. I thought it was cool to get to read her great-grandmothers diary! This is definitely a don't judge a book by it's cover/title. When I first looked at it I was like meh, but when I actually read it i was awesome!!!!! If you choose this book I hope you enjoy it!"