About the Book:
Fifteen year old Julian Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of local teens.
Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father's dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.
Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls to the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.
Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon-the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust-How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices.
About the Authors:
About Heather:
Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in southern France where her parents were missionaries like their parents before them. She has a BA in literature from Wheaton College and now lives in a Christian intentional community in rural Illinois, where she and her husband, Paul, host free spiritual retreats for the poor, especially those transitioning out of homelessness or addiction. When not writing or hosting, she works on the communal farm.
About Lydia:
Lydia Munn, daughter of missionary parents, grew up in Brazil. She received a BA in literature from Wheaton College, and an MA in Bible from Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions. With her husband, Jim, she has worked in church planting and Bible teaching since 1983, notably in St. Etienne, near the small town in the central mountains of France which forms the background of How Huge the Night. The Munn's now live in Grenoble, France.
My Opinion:
How awful it must have been to be a teenager in Europe at the onset of WWII. This book chronicles the story of a family in the countryside of France that refuses to just let children be swallowed up by the Third Reich because of their heritage.
Young Julien resents having to leave Paris for his grandfather's farm in what he feels is the middle of nowhere. He has left his friends and cousins behind but his parents know this is best. His mother suffered dearly in Italy in WWI and during that war the soldiers did not reach his grandfather's They suffered in the way of war due to lack of food and other supplies but they did not have the soldiers running rampant over the village.
In Germany a young Jewish girl is told to take her brother and go.Nina becomes Niko per the dying wish of her father. Everything she knows and loves is crumbling around her as the Nazis escalate their evil. She/he arrives in the little town of Tanieux in poor health with little more than her brother.
Julien feels helpless at 15 - too young to go to war and yet old enough to understand what is going on. He needs to do something. He is determined to help Niko and his/her brother and finds himself confused as he becomes close to Niko. The story is strong and well developed and one you won't easily forget.
This is a well written tale, at times hard to read. But a story like this should be hard to read. Julien is a well developed character who starts out selfish and uncaring of others who turns into a young man. Probably much sooner than he should have but war forces change - not always for the good. The book is well worth reading as these stories really need to not be forgotten.
How Huge the Night is available at Amazon.com
Disclosure: I received a gratis copy of How Huge the Night from Litfuse. Any opinions expressed are my honest opinions and were not impacted by my receipt of the free book. I received no monetary compensation for this post.
1 comments:
Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review How Huge the Night. I am glad that you appreciated it, and very much agree that these stories should not be forgotten.
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