While appropriate for its juvenile audience, this collection of stories told by the child Mara at night in the barracks of a concentration camp has depth to engross and enlighten an adult audience. Woven from Rabbinic and Hasidic tales,these are tales of endurance, hope, tragedy, and humor. ( )

It is not surprising that I rate this book so highly, given the fact that Gary Schmidt's books The Wednesday Wars and Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy were two of my top reads in 2009.

Once again Schmidt wove magic with his astute understanding of human nature and his fantastic writing ability that hooks you in and keeps you riveted from the first to the last page.

Using Rabbinical stories, tellings of Hasidic traditions, folktales and actual recollections from the concentrations camps, Schmidt uses the voice of young Mara, who from the cold, fearful barracks, weaves stories at night to bring a glimmer to the darkness of the horror all around.

While not an easy book to read, it is indeed a subject that needs to be told again and again. Schmidt's delivery packs a breathtaking punch, while also astounding the reader with stories of hope and the depth of faith and fortitude of six million Jews who died at the hands of an evil power.

When I finished the book, I once again marveled at the strength not only of those who perished, but of those who survive and know the depth and resiliency of a wonderful faith with the supreme understanding that love is indeed the highest power.

Of interest is the back of the book which contains the actual resources Schmidt chose to use as a reference for Mara's stories. ( )

In the night and fog of a concentration camp, women and children gather at night to listen to stories told by a prisoner named Mara, the daughter of a rabbi. The stories are adapted from Jewish lore; the listening is an act of resistance. ( )