Just a Girl Book Review

 

Just a Girl by Lia Levi















1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Levi, L.. (2020). Just a Girl. HarperCollins Italia.  ISBN: 978-0-06-306508-6


2.  PLOT SUMMARY

This memoir written by Lia Levi follows her navigating through Italy during WWII as a Jew. Beginning as a shy little girl, Lia speaks directly to the reader. Under Mussolini's law, Jews lose more and more as time goes on waiting on the Americans to rescue them.. She and her sisters are sent to a convent to live under a new name as Catholics for safety. When the war is over her mom tells her she’s just a girl, and no longer has to say she’s a Jewish girl. 


 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Lia Levi wrote this story as a memoir from World War II. She along with her two sisters lives with their parents and their nanny. The family begins the story as happy and content. While the war advances, they all grow more fearful and protective of each other. Her parents sacrifice their welfare to keep their daughters safe from the harm of advancing Nazis. There are supporting characters throughout the story, from headmistress and friends to nuns and other refugees hiding their true identities. 

The story begins in Turin where life is wonderful and carefree for Lia’s family. When the war is advancing they must move to other cities so their father can find work. They end up at a convent near Rome. The settings are vital to the intensity of safety. 

The themes of resilience and the impact of war are explored. The importance of family is also evident in this book. The Jewish and Italian cultures are provided through from traditions to vocabulary. It sheds light on the role of community in Lia’s life as some help and some abandon her. 

This story is told in such a way that World War II is explained gently to a younger audience. The adversity of the Jews and their survival are key points. War and historical details are intertwined with the narrative Lia is telling from a young girl’s perspective. 


4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

  • Booklist starred, 02/01/22

  • Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, 03/01/22

  • Horn Book Magazine, 05/01/22

  • Kirkus Reviews starred, 02/15/22

  • Mildred L. Batchelder Award, 2023

  • School Library Journal, 05/01/22

Full-Text Reviews
Booklist starred (February 1, 2022 (Vol. 118, No. 11))

Grades 3-6. A quiet Jewish Italian child uprooted by war proves resilient in this endearing illustrated memoir for young readers, adapted from Levi’s award-winning book for adults. Born in Turin, young Lia Levi soon found her comfortable childhood routines upended by antisemitic Mussolini’s rise to power. Her mother eventually hid Lia and her younger sisters at a convent boarding school to evade Axis capture. Readers will see how Lia capably adjusted and held close the secret of her Jewish identity and true name, despite scarcity of food and separation from her loved ones. This account is neither rose colored nor naive, but it also doesn’t focus unduly on the pain of Lia’s Holocaust experience. Charming spot and full-page line illustrations of round-faced characters convey the innocence Lia maintains throughout her ordeal, while a collection of photos following an author’s note shows Lia and her family in the years surrounding these events. This highly readable first-person recollection is peppered with asides in which Lia directly addresses the “dear readers,” and her confiding tone reassures and gently informs an audience that may yet be unfamiliar with the inhumanity of that war. Levi’s memoir provides an excellent step beyond Jennifer Elvgren’s The Whispering Town (2014) and Peter Sís’ Nicky and Vera (2021) for sensitive readers and gives voice to an underrepresented nationality among Holocaust survivor stories.




  • 5. CONNECTIONS

Related Books:


Gruener, R. (2020). Out of Hiding: A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey to America. Scholastic Press. ISBN: 978-1-33862-747-3

Hartman, R. (2022). Signs of Survival. Scholastic US. ISBN: 978-1-33875-335-6

Hollingsworth, T. (2012). Anne Frank: A Light in the Dark. Teacher Created Materials.       ISBN: 978-1-43334-865-5

Zullo, A. (2004). Survivors: True Stories of Children in the Holocaust. Scholastic Inc.         ISBN: 978-1-41558-603-7

Activities:

World War II Choice Board


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