Grace in the Wilderness

Because she is Jewish, 14 year-old Piri has been held prisoner in Nazi concentration camps for two years. She is freed when Bergen-Belsen is liberated, but she is very ill and has deep psychological scars. In a voice full of innocence and courage, Piri tells how she got through the first years after the Holocaust. Piri and her sisters are taken by the Red Cross to Sweden, where people prove to be most generous and humane. But Piri still longs for her home in Hungary. As she makes friends, falls in love, and goes to live with a Swedish foster family, Piri shares her most intimate feelings and thoughts. Aranka Siegal is the author of the Newberry award-winning Upon the Head of the Goat. In this moving sequel, Christina Moore's expressive performance as Piri intensifies the bittersweet effect of her compelling story.