Written by Jennifer Nielson, Resistance is an action-packed novel that follows the adventure of a Jewish teenager during the Holocaust. What made this novel so enjoyable to read was how the author incorporated many aspects that draw the reader in, including descriptive passages and real-world connections. More specifically, Resistance uses hidden meanings, real-life examples, and complex characters. The style also intrigued me because of its uniqueness, having a structure like that of a diary, with the first-person point of view, date, and time at the beginning of each chapter. Jennifer Nielson created a novel that not only teaches but also uses captivating details that engage the reader.
Resistance is told by the main character Chaya Linder, a Jewish 16-year-old living in Nazi-run Poland. The loss of both her sister and her brother causes her parents to lose all hope, which motivates her to fight against the Germans. She joins a resistance group known as Akiva, where she smuggles items such as food and forged identification papers through Jewish ghettos. However, all goes wrong in one of her missions and everything begins falling apart. She reunites with another member named Esther, and they make a dangerous mission to deliver a package to the Warsaw ghetto. Here, they prepare for the brutal war between the Jewish and the Nazis. In the end, Esther sacrifices herself so that Chaya and her companions can escape the Warsaw ghetto as it's being liquidated, and the victory is given to the Nazis. The plot of Resistance was carefully written in-depth, with a compelling story that keeps the reader reading.
Having unique and lively characters is key to a good book, and Resistance does just that. We meet many characters throughout the adventures of the book and learn a lot about them. Nevertheless, the first and most complex character in the book is Chaya Linder, the main character. Chaya is a strong and valiant character, always wanting to help others and do what she can to solve problems. A quote early in the book shows this, saying, “But I’d get in today. And tomorrow I would lie my way into another ghetto and do the same every tomorrow until my last breath or theirs” (Nielson, 5). In this passage, we are introduced to Chaya’s fearlessness, which adds to her character depth, allowing us to learn more about her. We can build on this a bit more with another quote later, in which Chaya says, “Our choice is never between safe and not safe. It’s not safe or not alive, that’s all we have” (Nielson, 115). This quote displays Chaya’s leadership skills, always acting and taking leadership. Resistance uses in-depth and complex characters to keep the reader engaged in the story.
There are many hidden themes that are explored in this novel, but one that stood out to me was how the meaning of resistance was interpreted differently for each person. During Chaya’s missions and adventures, we can see how different people view the Nazis and rebel against them. One example is during a conversation between Chaya and Esther, which goes, “’ But isn't that the point of the resistance, to make the world notice us?’ Esther replied angrily. ‘The point of the resistance is to save lives...Every single day, more Jews are dying. Our fight is to stop that from happening. Nothing else matters” (Nielson, 154). In this conversation, we can see the different points of view between Chaya and Esther, which causes some arguments about it. The hidden themes inside Resistance help make a book that has deep meaning to it.
One of the final things that make this book so good is how the author uses real-life examples to not only engage the reader but to teach them too. One example of this is when the author talks about the Warsaw ghetto, which is an actual place where Jewish people were kept by the Nazis. Jennifer Nielson uses these sorts of examples to make Resistance into a book that can teach people about the Holocaust, informing them with the information they might not have known about. Resistance is one of my favorite historical fiction novels, and what makes it so good is that it uses many intriguing topics that keep the reader reading, such as complex characters, real-world examples, and hidden themes that have deeper meanings. I really recommend this book; it was beautifully written.
This seems like an interesting read because the Second World War is a pretty interesting topic. The idea of Jews looking "Aryan" enough is a pretty difficult thing to think about. Do you think there is any sugarcoating on the atrocities committed by Nazis or is the book heavier?
ReplyDeleteWriting a book on a historical event like the holocaust is risky because the author needs to craft an interesting story and keep the event historically accurate. An example of this is like Rick Riodans books with Greek Mythology. I liked how you talked about the book without summarizing and focused on what the book was trying to convey.
ReplyDelete