Title: The Devil's ArithmeticAuthor: Jane Yolen
Publisher: Puffin Books
Published Date: April 12th 2004
Genre: YA, Historical Fiction
Page Count:170
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Goodreads Summary:
Hannah thinks tonight Passover Seder will be the same as always. But this year she will be mysteriously transported into the past. Only she knows the horrors that await.
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My Review:
After having watched the movie multiple times I finally decided to read the book.
Hannah a 12-year-old doesn't want to go to Passover at her grandparent's house where she doesn't really feel comfortable. Yet once there she acts like she is supposed to and is even supportive of her brother when he needs it.
After having opened the door as is tradition she appears to pass-out and is back in the past to see what really happened first hand to her grandparents and aunt.
This leads her on an incredibly scary journey during WWII from being rounded up by just going to a wedding, to trying to stay alive in the camps. We see a heartbreaking story of one girl's journey through the eyes of a present day girl who knows what happened, yet came seem to stop anything from happening.
Overall this is a really good modern classic that doesn't feel at all like a classic, and I am so glad I finally took the time to read it. You really feel Hannah's fear about knowing what happens and her hopelessness about not being able to save the children and those around her. It's a scary throughout, but what she does at the end was really amazing, because it didn't seem like she had really been listening to her aunt's stories and yet she had been and she remembered. I have more of Yolen's work on hold from the library and I can't wait to read her other stories.
Book to Movie
A few of the characters I would get confused but I think that had more to do with watching the movie first and already having certain expectations in my mind. But besides that, I think it was a pretty good adaption. I also completely understand why they made Hannah older, even if it was rather disappointing.
“You are a name, not a number. Never forget that name, whatever they tell you here. You will always be Chaya—life—to me.”
After having watched the movie multiple times I finally decided to read the book.
Hannah a 12-year-old doesn't want to go to Passover at her grandparent's house where she doesn't really feel comfortable. Yet once there she acts like she is supposed to and is even supportive of her brother when he needs it.
After having opened the door as is tradition she appears to pass-out and is back in the past to see what really happened first hand to her grandparents and aunt.
This leads her on an incredibly scary journey during WWII from being rounded up by just going to a wedding, to trying to stay alive in the camps. We see a heartbreaking story of one girl's journey through the eyes of a present day girl who knows what happened, yet came seem to stop anything from happening.
“We are all monsters," Hannah said. "Because we are letting it happen." She said it not as if she believed it but as she were to repeat something she had heard before.”
Overall this is a really good modern classic that doesn't feel at all like a classic, and I am so glad I finally took the time to read it. You really feel Hannah's fear about knowing what happens and her hopelessness about not being able to save the children and those around her. It's a scary throughout, but what she does at the end was really amazing, because it didn't seem like she had really been listening to her aunt's stories and yet she had been and she remembered. I have more of Yolen's work on hold from the library and I can't wait to read her other stories.
Book to Movie
A few of the characters I would get confused but I think that had more to do with watching the movie first and already having certain expectations in my mind. But besides that, I think it was a pretty good adaption. I also completely understand why they made Hannah older, even if it was rather disappointing.
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