Touch Wood: A Girlhood in Occupied France

by Renee Roth-Hano

Chronicles the life of nine-year-old Renee Roth and her two sisters as they seek refuge from the Nazi terror with a group of Catholic nuns

Genres: Nonfiction, Holocaust, France, World War II

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1988

Reviews

[Chris Mollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. It had a lot of suspense while keeping a nonfiction point of view on the story. It kept humor in the girl's normal sense of living even at a time of the Holocaust. I would recommend it for people who wanted to know about the Holocaust without hearing about the death and the blood. The characters were safe from harm in this book, but were informed of the death that was happening nearby in Germany.

[Sophia King · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book had a good idea and background; however, the chapters and the way the author carried out the idea was boring to read.

[Emilydodge · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about from this book, or at least it made me think more about the Holocaust and just how insane it was! This book is not from a concentration camp point of view, but from the view of a 12 year old girl whose family were fortunate enough to hide during the war. The family was separated, the parents remained in Paris with fake names and ids while their daughters were taken in by catholic nuns in Normandy. Aside from being away from their parents, they had to lie to everyone they met, become baptized catholics, and take shelter from bombs. One part that was most intriguing was the baptism - the girls really took the catholic religion and in the end they had to return home back to Judaism - I think it would be difficult to reconcile the two beliefs.
This book also made it finally touch home that the explanation for persecuting the Jews was so uncalled for (obviously). The author goes into detail of the vandalism and conversations she overheard of the Jews being called awful names and being accused unjustly for crimes and just being Jewish. If that makes sense. I just have never felt as much sympathy as I did in this book. "Night" another Holocaust book touched me deeply, but this gives a different side of the story that I greatly appreciated.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touch Wood: A Girlhood in Occupied France by Renee Roth-Hano is about three sisters who must move around from city in order to stay alive. The German Nazis have taken over their beloved France and life seems unbearable. Little do the girls know that they still have four more years left of the war and they haven't lived through the worst of it yet. Renee Roth, the oldest sister, a young Jewish girl, and the main character in the book, starts out as a spoiled child who doesn't take anything for granted. As the story progresses, the reader watches her grow into a compassionate young girl who is forced to grow up way to quickly because of a war she was thrust into. I enjoyed this book because it wasn't just another Holocaust book, but a book about a girl's personal, traumatic experience during this time period. It was different from the concentration camp books and showed that bad things also happen to people who weren't Jewish.This book is five shortened years of the life of three children in France during WWII. Its heartwarming, gut-wrenching, and an amazing story.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the few books I've read about Nazi-occupied France. It is maybe the only one that showed the way the French people also treated the Jews badly. The book was full of suspense and real emotion. I had a hard time putting the book down.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book. different from the WWII concentration camp books (not to belittle those experiences). i really enjoyed this. can't wait to meet her next week!