Marika Hardcover – August 1, 2002

I bought it knowing it was a used book, but I didn't like that they had cut a piece of the cover off which made it look a little trashy. The story itself is great for middle age readers just learning about the Holocaust.

Love this book! I so enjoyed following this child and family through the war in Hungary

Great book! I am giving two as Christmas gifts.Margarita Brewer

Growing up in Hungary, Marika never gave much thought to the fact she was Jewish. She celebrated Christmas, went to Catholic religious education classes, and attended Mass. But when Hitler began redefining what it meant to be a Jew, Marika found herself, and her family, in danger. Suddenly, her family is torn apart, and thrown into hiding. Marika's future is uncertain.This story was almost like a memoir, since Cheng tells the tale of her mother's life during WWII. Marika's character is well developed, it is her voice we hear, but in some ways I still found her to be very removed. The whole book was like this, more like hearing someone talk about a book they read than actually experiencing reading the book. It is hard for me to explain.The book is intended for a young adult audience, most likely middle grades, and I think that it is artfully written for this age group. It seemed to me that it would not translate as well for older readers (perhaps that is why it seemed so detached). I think that the Holocaust is an important topic for children to read about, but it must be handled delicately. This book does a good job of approaching the subject in a way that is not terribly traumatic for young readers, and would make a wonderful introduction to the Holocaust for middle grade students.Overall, it was a good story, blending literature with history, part memoir, part fiction. It may not resonate as much with adults, but for it's intended audience, it is right on the money.This book is from my personal library.

In this fascinating first novel by Andrea Cheng, Marika is the story of a young Jewish girl growing up in Hungary during World War II. This enlightening tale depicts her life from age 6 to age 17. Marika, as family and friends call her, believes that she will not be faced with the war at any point in her life. When she is young, she is spoiled, ignorant, and self-centered because she is used to the pampered life that her wealthy parents provide for her. Her biggest concerns at this time are the separations of her parents, and reading and writing, which she has quite a talent for. However as she grows older, Marika begins to realize that the war is intruding more on her life than she had ever thought possible. For the first time ever, she is confronted with racism, prejudice, and segregation, and as the Nazis begin to take over her country, the problems only become worse. Marika must learn to break away from her naivety in order to grow and mature to save herself from the harrowing consequences that the war presents. This is a story that every young person can relate to because the characters are portrayed very realistically with traits that separate them from one another. This tale offers great insight into the culture and everyday life of a wealthy Hungarian family during World War II; however, it deals more with their lifestyle than what is going on with the rest of the world or the country. The characters and language are simplistic yet eloquent, which is perfect for children around middle school age. It explains the Holocaust in a very concise manner which is also conducive to young readers. And although I felt that the climax of the story came a bit too late, I felt that it was considerably worth the wait. At times in the story, especially the end, I wished that the author had concentrated on describing the scenery more vividly so that I could picture the story as it was happening, but this was only a minor flaw and did not deter me much from the main gist of the story. Overall, I believe that this was a decent novel and I would recommend it because it was interesting and kept me immersed in it the whole way through. It dealt with real historical issues and they were clearly presented so that younger children could understand them with ease. It also dealt with a transformation and maturation of the heroine which I thought added infinite richness to the novel.

Marika is a Hungarian, but Jewish girl growing up in the time of the Nazis. She grows up with people believing that she's inferior to them. she is a very intelligent girl. She makes many friends, but loses many over this terrible time. Her father goes missing, her brother is drafted into a slave labor camp, and she goes into a concentration camp. She is trying to keep her mother alive, while staying alive herself.

This story, based on the author's mother's experiences as a young Jewish girl growing up in Hungary was an absorbing read. We follow Marika through ten years of her life, from her parents' separation to the rise of Hitler. Marika's transformation through some very tough years makes you feel as if you can relate to her. This book is more character-development driven than plot-driven, but I still found interesting, probably because of the feelings I developed for the young Marika.