Somewhere There Is Still a Sun: A Memoir of the Holocaust Paperback – Illustrated, April 25, 2017

Once I started reading the book, I really couldn’t put it down. Except for the beginning, I essentially read it all in one sitting.People might wonder why we need yet another book in a field that has already been exhaustively researched and recorded from most every angle, but I think this story is truly unique and adds a fresh perspective. You see and experience everything through the eyes of a pre-teen. The use of the present tense really makes everything come to life. There is no hindsight, so it leads you step by step from a fairly pleasant, regular life in Prague down into a situation that goes from bad to terrible to worse. In this way, you start to vaguely grasp how this horror of horrors really can happen. And it did.The matter-of-fact storytelling, with its solid, realistic detailing, engages all five senses in a way that really fleshes out the physical and mental anguish of being thrown helpless into this condition. Without giving away anything, I can say there are certainly a few searing scenes from this book I will never forget. There are also cliffhangers along the way that ratchet up the suspense notch by notch as the story builds toward what appears to be an inevitable and final doom. And it's all true.This book is already a classic in my eyes -- a story well told, demonstrating how the values of teamwork, friendship, resourcefulness, and family love can prevail. I have never lived through anything at all like this, and I thank the author for sharing his experience in a way that has helped me gain a sliver of a grasp at understanding, in a more tangible and emotional way, what really did happen -- and can happen again if we’re not careful. I will be processing what I have just read for years to come.

I read this book with a 7th grade student and here is what she had to say:"Misha’s point of view in this story is fascinating and engaging. It is about a Jewish boy in the early 1940s noticing how the war is starting and what is happening to his family and millions of other Jewish people. It starts when he is around the age of 9 and takes you through his life story of how he survived the Holocaust. It is written as if you are living through this devastating time with Misha himself. This is a true story written by Michael Gruenbaum, a real survivor of the Holocaust. The story starts when the war is beginning and life is normal. As things begin to change you understand and learn how Jewish people in that time transitioned to the different rules and changes. After a devastating loss, Misha and his family are moved to the Terezin concentration camp. He watches different people come in and out of what is now his home and he meets some new friends that become like family to him along the way. He learns to make the best out of the awful situation that he and millions of other have been placed in.I enjoyed this book because it is a true story from a horrifying but historical time period. I couldn't put it down for one second especially towards the end! I have always been interested in this topic but this is by far one of my favorites. I really enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it to anyone!"

I enjoyed this book, even though I wasn't sure what to anticipate, give the subject matter. Because it's written for young adults, it's an easy read. In fact I read it over a few successive days, since the tale is an absorbing one. I had never been very clear on the restrictions imposed on Jewish people in the years before they were incarcerated in camps, and there are lots of details on that aspect. There was more than one section of the book that was touching enough to bring a tear to my eye. If you buy the book, be sure to read the authors' notes at the very end, since there are several things revealed there that put previous parts of the story into perspective.

I found this sadly true story that Michael Gruenbaum tells about his life as a boy during the Holocaust fascinating. With the help of author Todd Hasak-Lowy, they reenact Michael’s life from the age of eight until fourteen – from shortly before anything bad happens to him, to significant events making his life continually worse before he is sent to the Nazi concentration camp Terezin, until he is freed from there at the end of the war. (It’s a little like reading “A Series of Unfortunate Events”, except that it’s true, and much shorter). It has given me a much better understanding of what happened during this terrible period in history.In the face of all the horrible things that happen, Michael and his 40 or so bunk roommates in their overcrowded room have a 20-year-old “teacher”, Franta, who shows amazing strength and wisdom in leading them to let nothing separate them from their humanity. He firmly makes them keep clean from disease, teaches them how to stick together to fight their oppression from the Nazis to be strong, kind, care for each other – even when it was hard to do.Fortunately, Michael’s very prescient mother managed to save him from being transported from Terezin to almost certain death, which allows him to be here today to tell us his story.I recommend this book both to middle school children, whom it was written for, as well as anyone older. It is very important to know about what the Nazis did, to prevent things even remotely like that from happening again. It is too easy for people in power to do great harm in the name of their ideals (WHOSE ideals?) – we must be very careful of what programs and laws we allow our politicians to institute.

A lovely personal account that captures the author's journey and feelings during his difficult passage through childhood. It is an easy read for an adult, though could still be very accessible to a middle school reader or even a good pre-teen reader.

We heard about this book while enjoying a New Zealand cruise earlier this year. Michael Gruenbaum was on our Dinner Table and what a lovely man he is. He told us about the book and gave us his business card which he kindly signed. I said we would purchase the book so we could both read it. I am delighted to say we tracked it down at Amazon and both my husband and I have read and enjoyed it. We found the book to be well written, moving and riveting especially knowing it to be a true account of the trauma the young "Misha" endured along with his family. He is not a bitter man, even today. This is something that comes across in the book. I have no idea what we ate for our Evening Meal that day in February 2017 but Michael Gruenbourn definitely made an impression and I can fully remember our most interesting conversation. This is a book I will definitely return to time and again. I so wish we could meet Michael Gruenbaum again to tell him in person how much we enjoyed reading his words. Unfortunately, though the book was well packaged, a corner of the cover had been bent in the process which spoils it somewhat. Shame. about that.

good

Great addition to my books of this genre. Don't be fooled this is only for teenagers. Well worth the money to see the events from a young persons perspective.

This book of 373 pages of tedious reading should be no more than 15. Mr Todd Hasak-Lowy has turned Mr Greenbaum's Terezin experiences into a nightmare of dialogues with the story struggling to come to the surface.As a teacher I am certain that no 13 or 14 year old will read it through even with the best of intentions.