It is June 1941. The Rudomin family has been arrested by the Russians. They are "capitalists—enemies of the people." Forced from their home an...
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Aug 30, 2010
Hava
rated it: 
LOVED it. This was better than "Diary of Anne Frank," in my not-so-humble opinion. I had never even heard of this book until my sister handed it to me and told me to read it. It sat on my shelf for months and I kept ignoring it - it just seemed like it would be depressing, and I wasn't in the mood.
BUT! This book was wonderful. Moving, beautiful, funny, believable, heartbreaking...all rolled up into one. I read some of the other reviews of the book and was surprised to see th More...
BUT! This book was wonderful. Moving, beautiful, funny, believable, heartbreaking...all rolled up into one. I read some of the other reviews of the book and was surprised to see th More...
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Apr 18, 2010
Julie
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The cousin of Anne Frank’s diary, The Diary of Anne Frank, could be thought of more as an enjoyable reading book. I loved the way Esther puts family forth more than her own needs of survival. For example, the way she kept on insisting she bring her photo album with her instead of her own clothes. Where she was going, she didn’t know. Yet it was still a selfless and admirable act. There was much filial love when Esther had to depend and listen to her mother direct her that she had to work hard fo
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Apr 15, 2009
Tara
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Gloriously well written. Very visually detailed.
I didn't know at the time that this was a true story, and the character, 10 year old 'Esther', was indeed the author.
In 1941 Esther and her family were arrested and taken away from the beautiful lives. Esther managed to stay with her mother and grandmother throughout their time in the labour camps, and eventually ended up in Siberia.
In the following four years, Esther tells how they battled to survive on the Siberian steppe, as...mor More...
I didn't know at the time that this was a true story, and the character, 10 year old 'Esther', was indeed the author.
In 1941 Esther and her family were arrested and taken away from the beautiful lives. Esther managed to stay with her mother and grandmother throughout their time in the labour camps, and eventually ended up in Siberia.
In the following four years, Esther tells how they battled to survive on the Siberian steppe, as...mor More...
Sep 24, 2011
ambyr
rated it:
Simple and lovely. I have no idea how I missed this one as a child; I certainly read enough Holocaust literature, much of it overwrought. This would have stood out. She captures the child's eye view perfectly, all focused on the minutia of day to day--where will I find shoes? where will I find books? how will I make friends at this strange new school?--and almost but not quite oblivious to the terrible currents in the background.
When the end came, and Esther wanted to stay in Siberia More...
When the end came, and Esther wanted to stay in Siberia More...
Aug 05, 2009
John
rated it:
It is World War II and the Rudomin family -- 10-year-old Esther, her mom and dad and various members of the extended family -- are living privileged lives in Poland. The government seizes them and takes them to a work camp. But this is not the Nazi German government and it is not because they are Jews -- although they are Jews. It's the Soviet Russian government, and their crime is being capitalists.
In this memoir, Esther Hautzig tells the story of the next five years beautifully, with enc More...
In this memoir, Esther Hautzig tells the story of the next five years beautifully, with enc More...
Jul 26, 2011
2004- It's during 1942 when little Esther Rudomin's life changes forever. A resident of Poland, who lived a comfortable life with her parents and extended family, Esther, along with her father, mother and grandparents are arrested by the Russians, suspected of being ""capitalists"" and ripped from their home. They are piled into cattle cars, their destination unknown. When the train finally stops, they realize they are in the harsh region of Siberia. For the next long five ye
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Oct 12, 2011
Alicia
rated it:
Facinating true story of a 10-year-old Jewish Polish girl who was sent with her parents and grandma to live in Siberia in 1941 because they were "wealthy capitalists". Though the 5 years in Siberia were difficult years of cold and poverty, I was so impressed with Esther's resiliency and how she worked hard to make the best of her situation. When her family finally returned to Poland, they discovered that nearly all of their relatives had died in the Holocaust.
My favorite More...
My favorite More...
Feb 06, 2012
Mindy
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This is a historical fiction, which I love, about the many hardships and trials of a young girl living in Siberia during the trying war days. This book is not a happy feel-good book, but it gives you hope and faith in humanity. It is endearing to watch the young girl maturing through her trials and staying close to her family. It will definitely remind you how lucky we are to live in America and how important simple luxuries such as running water and electricity are! Overall I enjoyed reading t
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Jun 08, 2011
Lona
rated it:
A young girl's memories of her family's forced move from Russian-acquired Poland to Siberia during WWII, this is an eye-opening view of a period in world history that saw the destruction of so many Eastern European Jews.
The author voices an accounting of a pre-teen's view of life during this period leading the reader to understand and empathize with Esther, her family, and their having been torn away from and apart from their beloved life and close family in Vilna.
During t More...
The author voices an accounting of a pre-teen's view of life during this period leading the reader to understand and empathize with Esther, her family, and their having been torn away from and apart from their beloved life and close family in Vilna.
During t More...
Sep 29, 2009
Courtney
rated it:
This is such a good book - I think every kid should read it. What a great story of survival, perseverence and love. Such a different perspective from World War II - like the Diary of Anne Frank, or Elly, or Night, this is another true account through the eyes of a victim, this time a 10-year old girl, but not about concentration camps. This one is about being exiled in Siberia, and how so many learned to get through and overcome the harshest circumstances. Kristin - this would be a great one for
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Dec 21, 2008
Diane
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Although this is a childern's literature book, I found it to be engrossing. It is a Polish woman's memoir of forceably being sent with her family when she was 10 to Siberia by the Russians. Her family's crime: being capitalists. The author describes how the family survived in the vast open, harsh environment of Siberia, and their efforts to adjust to their new poverty and political climate of communisim. Esther remained in Siberia for about 3 years, during WWII, and despite her difficult ti
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Mar 17, 2009
Sue
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I read this book to see if it would be a good one to recommend to my students. It is Esther Hautzig's autobiographical account of her family being sent to the barren, frozen steppes of Siberia during WWII and how they survive the hardships there. This is a Jewish family with some wealth living in Poland before they are forced from their home and herded into cattle cars. Their experiences are harrowing, but she tells the story with hope and even humor. "It radiates optimism and the resil
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Nov 04, 2009
Angela
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A story of a young Jewish/Polish girl in WWII- not an easy topic to write about in children's literature. However, Hautzig did so delicately and beautifully, sharing enough of her life as an outcast in Siberia to realize the difficulties and sorrows of the situation without weighing the reader down too heavily. A story of hope and survival when little could be found and proof that our trials can be our greatest blessings. Well worth reading and an entirely appropriate way to introduce WWII to
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Jun 04, 2010
Daisy
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This is such a vivid, captivating story and it's beautifully written. Engrossing.
In spite of, or maybe because of the its subject matter, certain moments and details have a lot of charm and insight. It's in the voice of a ten year-old Polish girl but it's a memoir so its real perspective must be with the benefit of hindsight and survival.
p.2 What I ate for breakfast on school mornings was one buttered roll--a soft roll, not a hard roll--and one cup of cocoa; any attempt to a More...
In spite of, or maybe because of the its subject matter, certain moments and details have a lot of charm and insight. It's in the voice of a ten year-old Polish girl but it's a memoir so its real perspective must be with the benefit of hindsight and survival.
p.2 What I ate for breakfast on school mornings was one buttered roll--a soft roll, not a hard roll--and one cup of cocoa; any attempt to a More...
Nov 04, 2008
Byers
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This gem sat on my book table for weeks before I finally cracked it open. It recounts a slice of history previously unknown to me--the Soviets, after they had devoured eastern Poland in the devil's pact with Hitler in 1939, decided to deport Jews to Siberia as slave labor. Young Esther tells the story, which is both survival and coming-of-age tale. Exile to the brutal wilderness of the steppe becomes salvation from an even more unthinkable fate had they been left behind (at one point, Esther
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Apr 24, 2008
K.
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I picked this book up the other day when I was feeling a little picked upon and needed to remember that my teeny trials are nothing comparatively.
This was a sweet little book. It tells about another side of WWII I hadn't read about before. The Russians invaded Poland before the Germans did and carried many people away for various reasons.
Esther and her very wealthy family were carried away to Siberia not for being Jewish (which they were) but for the crime of being " More...
This was a sweet little book. It tells about another side of WWII I hadn't read about before. The Russians invaded Poland before the Germans did and carried many people away for various reasons.
Esther and her very wealthy family were carried away to Siberia not for being Jewish (which they were) but for the crime of being " More...
Jan 06, 2008
Susannahcox
rated it:
Esther Hautzig's recollection of her family's five-year exile in Siberia, beginning in 1941, added a great deal to my understanding of the events of WWII as they played out between Russia and Germany. I love personal accounts of historical periods and can't think of a better way to study the past.
In a strange twist of fate, Russia's deportation of the Rudomins for the "crime" of capitalism saved them from the genocide visited upon Polish Jews by Germany. Esther's account More...
In a strange twist of fate, Russia's deportation of the Rudomins for the "crime" of capitalism saved them from the genocide visited upon Polish Jews by Germany. Esther's account More...
Oct 23, 2007
The other John
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There's a difference between fiction and reality, between real life adventure and adventures crafted by a capable storyteller. A good piece of fiction will move you along steadily, over hill and valley to bring you to the climax. In reality, sometimes you seem to be moving aimlessly, from joy to crisis, and sometimes the story ends not with a triumphant crescendo, but with a quiet sigh of relief. Anyway, that was what was going through my mind as I finished up this book. It's an autobiographical
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Mar 08, 2011
Emily
rated it:
I remember this book from about 5th or 6th grade, where it made quite an impression on me. But it seems different reading it as an adult. I may have rated it higher back then. The Endless Steppe presents a bleak, yet hopeful, picture of a Polish family exiled to Siberia for being nothing more than capitalists. I think the hopefulness comes from Esther's young and optimistic view of life. She manages to find small snippets of happiness in the daily drudgery and constant struggle to find enough fo
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Jan 21, 2010
Michelle
rated it:
Loved it! I just finished reading it for the second time. It definitely gave me a much greater appreciation for how blessed I am to live in a free country, to have more than enough food, to be able to take warm showers whenever I choose, to have an education, to live in a comparatively mild climate, to have freedom of religion, etc. etc. It is an autobiographical story of a young girl and her Jewish family who were deported by the Russians in 1941 from Vilna, Poland to the Siberian Steppes. I
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Aug 24, 2011
Sharon
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I first read this book in about the 5th grade, and then I read it to my son when he was in the fifth grade. It is definitely for a younger audience but I think it does a good job of portraying characters during the hardships of war. I know I enjoyed it as a kid and my son, who really doesn't like to read, really liked the book and couldn't wait to read the next chapter with me. So, I read this book twice, but put the date as the last date I read it.
Apr 21, 2011
Tfromo
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If this book had been written for adults, I would be frustrated with the understated presentation of the grueling living conditions. However, it is a children's book and, as such, is very well done. While I've seen many books about life and death under the Nazis, and some about escape to Palestine or the USA, I'm not aware that there are many about exile of Jews into Siberia. This book does a good job of at least partially filling that gap.
May 12, 2008
Helen
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The girls and I read this for our mother/daughter book club. I was extremely impressed by this book, which is a true story of the author's experiences during World War II. Esther was a Polish Jew, and only 10 years old when the Soviet communists gathered up all of the "capitalists" in her city and shipped them in cattle cars to a Siberian labor camp. This book tells of her experiences, how they survived, and touches on their guilt when they later learned that almost all of their fam
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Sep 29, 2010
Summer
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Having never faced serious personal hardship, it amazes me to see how much adversity the human spirit can endure. A few things I thought about as I read this true story: 1) WWII Siberia is amazingly similar to frontier America 2) A government run amok can really have a devastating affect on families and individuals 3)friendship, clothes and romance will always be important to teenage girls no matter what.
Jul 16, 2009
Amanda
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Aug 27, 2011
Kameron
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Found this book listed in "Honey for a Teen's Heart" and really enjoyed reading it. I've read things about the Gulags, but I had never been exposed to what life was like for deportees who were not imprisoned, but had to make a new life from nothing in Siberia. Horrible. I can't imagine the difficulty. Yet these people survived and did their best to make a life for their families.
Jul 19, 2010
Marilyn
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Another book that would be especially good for girls 8-14. It is the autobiographical account of a 10-year-old upper-class Jewish girl from Poland who is exiled to Siberia in 1941 for five years. She learns to cope with hunger, cold, loneliness, and even death. If the story structure is not exactly what one would wish for in a novel, it makes up for it by being a true story.
May 17, 2010
Lindi
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Beautifully written memoir of a terrible time. Esther and her immediate family are deported from their lovely home in Vilnius during the first occupation of the Soviet Union in the early days of World War II and sent to Siberia. As it turned out, this proved to be a blessing, as nearly all of her extended family was killed during the German occupation. The book ends with Esther, her mother and grandmother being reunited with her father in Warsaw at the end of the war.
Apr 28, 2009
Jennifer
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This book gave a whole new perspective to the tragic events of WWII. What seemed at first as a cruel Siberian exile evolved into a fortunate event for a small Polish family. I highly recommend reading this one. Again, I could not fathom living through something like that today. We are incredibly spoiled and wealthy. If we have enough to eat, we are well off compared to so many in history.
Feb 01, 2008
Sarah
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