Number the Stars: World War II through the eyes of a young girl

One of the scary moments in the book reads: "The officer tore the photograph in half and dropped the pieces on the floor. The he turned, the heels of his shiny boots grinding into the pictures, and left the apartment. Without a word, the other two officers followed. Papa stepped forward and closed the door behind him.

Annemarie relaxed the clenched fingers of her right hand, which still clutched Ellen's necklace. She looked down, and saw that she had imprinted the Star of David into her palm."

Written by Lois Lowry, "Number the Stars" is a different summer read. From a few sentences written on the flap of the book we can find that: "They plan to arrest all the Danish Jews. They plan to take them away. And we have been told that they may come tonight."

An award-winning book, "Number the Stars" explores the Second World War through the eyes of a young girl who is determined to protect her Jewish friend from the Nazis. The story takes place in Denmark, Copenhagen where we get to meet our protagonist, Annemarie, a ten year old. We are also introduced to her best friend Ellen who is a Jew.

Lois Lowry was born in 1937 in Hawaii. As her father was an army dentist, they lived all over the world. Though Lowry went to Brown University, she left to get married and to settle down in Maine. Her childhood dream was fulfilled when she graduated from the Southern University of Maine and started writing in the 1970s. Her books are said to be inspirational and try to answer and help adolescents' questions about their lives, identity, and human relationships.

As the story moves along, the Nazi occupation becomes more intense and the Jews are either becoming refugees or are being captured. For the Jews, life becomes worse with each passing day as they receive no help or lifeline. Even for other people life is getting harder than ever – there is food storage, curfews, and soldiers on every corner of the city. However, there are those who are unable to lose their humanity and so offer their help, even risking their life for it. Annemarie and her family are one of those who are willing to help, and so their mission is to take Ellen's family and every other Jew they possibly can to a secure place until the war ends.

As a ten-year-old, Annemarie's little shoulders have some huge rocks on them, but she is a strong and a brave girl, who has and will give her life to protect and secure her friend. Many types of themes are brought out through this book, such as, sacrifice, bravery, teamwork, patriotism, risk, friendship and pride and many more.

Lowry has written over thirty novels and has twice won the Newbery Medal for her outstanding books "The Giver" and "Number the Stars".

A note from the author reads that the concept and events that take place in "Number the Stars" are true though, the characters are not, and this book is dedicated to her friend Annelise Platt who had also grown up in Copenhagen.