The Light in Hidden Places is centered around a 16-year-old girl named Stefania in the
midst of WWII and Germany-occupied Poland. Much like The Diary of Anne Frank, this story is about Jewish people hiding from the Nazis, except in this book, a 16-year-old girl and her
younger sister are the ones harboring the Jewish. I loved this book because it was told in such vivid detail like you were actually a part of the story and knew the characters themselves. This is the result of the author’s, Sharon Cameron’s, extensive efforts to make it as accurate as possible, via interviews and much research.
The story is based on a true one, but that isn’t revealed until the end. It doesn’t hurt if I
reveal it now, though :). One aspect of this book that makes it powerful is how one can truly feel the pain and suffering that the characters have to endure and what the conditions were like in Poland for Jewish and non-Jewish people alike. You learn that life was very difficult even for non-Jewish people in German/Nazi-occupied countries and that despite all of the hardships, Stefania and her sister manage to carry on the effort of painstakingly concealing over 10 Jewish people in a dilapidated home.
There are a bunch of parts throughout the book that have high levels of tension, and what makes them even more nerve-wracking is the fact that it is based on reality. The Light in
Hidden Places is truly a gem of a novel and a must-read in the wide range of WWII books. The main thing, I think, to take away from this book is the strength of raw humanity and the value of persistence.
Review By ~ Andrew
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