Book Descriptions
for Hostage to War by Tatjana Wassiljewa
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Wassiljewa's is an unusual World War II account in that as a child in Russia she was conscripted by the Germans for their work force. She did factory and farm work alongside adults. Her recollections of the many times she was close to starvation will be memorable for readers, as will her descriptions of the forced labor. The occasional humane acts and coincidences that saved her offer respite from an account that is often difficult to read - not to mention believe. Her chronologically organized memoir was written in Russian, translated into German; it was then translated from German into English for publication in Great Britain. She now lives in St. Petersburg, Russia. A short historical summary ends the book. (Age 12-adult)
CCBC Choices 1997. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 1997. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Wassiljewa pens an award-winning, first-person account of a Russian girl's World War II hardships. Enduring terrible conditions and near-starvation in workcamps, Wassiljewa survived through liberation, but had more obstacles to overcome before fulfilling her dream to become a teacher. A harrowing, uplifting story. --Kirkus Reviews.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.