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The Vanishing
To save her best friend from the horrors of Nazi Germany, an invisible girl must embark on an utterly unforgettable journey of redemption and revenge. The Vanishing is fierce and loving, devastating and compelling, a breathtaking blend of history, fiction, and magical realism.
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“I've long wondered whether any writer would have the courage to truly portray the sodden, mindless, pointless brutality of the Holocaust as it was. In The Vanishing, David Michael Slater has done just that, and I haven't been so moved by a book in a long time.” ~ Eric A. Kimmel, 5-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, Recipient of the Sydney Taylor Award for Lifetime Achievement.
"A remarkable book." ~ Steve Stern, Author of The Frozen Rabbi and Winner of the National Jewish Book Award
"It has often been said that we need creative ways to illuminate the horrors of the Holocaust for each new generation. David Slater’s novel, The Vanishing, has accomplished this remarkable feat. An important and fascinating read." ~ Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
"A tragic, yet beautiful story that deserves a place on the shelves among some of the greatest literature penned on the Holocaust." ~ Mark A. Cooper, author of the Edelweiss Pirates series
"A vivid journey through every emotion in the human experience." ~ Michael P. Spradlin, New York Times Best Selling author of The Enemy Above and Into the Killing Seas
"Took my breath away and held it until the very last page." ~ Felice Cohen, author of What Papa Told Me
"A moving, compelling, and highly dramatic novel." ~ Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Gospel According to Lazarus
"A page-turner... reminiscent of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief." ~ Julia Moberg, author of Presidential Pets, Animal Heroes, and Historical Animals.
~
“I've long wondered whether any writer would have the courage to truly portray the sodden, mindless, pointless brutality of the Holocaust as it was. In The Vanishing, David Michael Slater has done just that, and I haven't been so moved by a book in a long time.” ~ Eric A. Kimmel, 5-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award, Recipient of the Sydney Taylor Award for Lifetime Achievement.
"A remarkable book." ~ Steve Stern, Author of The Frozen Rabbi and Winner of the National Jewish Book Award
"It has often been said that we need creative ways to illuminate the horrors of the Holocaust for each new generation. David Slater’s novel, The Vanishing, has accomplished this remarkable feat. An important and fascinating read." ~ Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO and National Director, Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
"A tragic, yet beautiful story that deserves a place on the shelves among some of the greatest literature penned on the Holocaust." ~ Mark A. Cooper, author of the Edelweiss Pirates series
"A vivid journey through every emotion in the human experience." ~ Michael P. Spradlin, New York Times Best Selling author of The Enemy Above and Into the Killing Seas
"Took my breath away and held it until the very last page." ~ Felice Cohen, author of What Papa Told Me
"A moving, compelling, and highly dramatic novel." ~ Richard Zimler, author of The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon and The Gospel According to Lazarus
"A page-turner... reminiscent of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief." ~ Julia Moberg, author of Presidential Pets, Animal Heroes, and Historical Animals.
191 pages, Hardcover
Published September 29, 2022
18 people are currently reading
1974 people want to read
About the author
David Michael Slater
68 books98 followersDavid Michael Slater is an acclaimed author of over 40 books of fiction and nonfiction for children, teens, and adults.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
October 3, 2022
A story unlike any other I’ve read, The Vanishing is a remarkable telling of the most horrific event in history, the Holocaust, using a style which is original, captivating and brutally honest.
The Vanishing is a heartbreaking tale of Sophie, a young teenager who loses her family in the Jewish genocide at the hands of Nazi Germany. As she witnesses the murders of her parents, hidden in a wardrobe, she realises she is no longer visible to anyone, including her best friend, Giddy. With her newfound invisibility, she resolves to save Giddy from all the terrors waiting to fall upon them.
As a fan of cross-genre writing, I was curious to see how the writer would blend historical fiction with magical realism while also dreading what if this playing around with fantasy elements lightens the gruesomeness of the Holocaust and makes a mockery of it. David Michael Slater must be proud of himself for working out the technique to convert something this horrifying into a fascinating coming-of-age story while also not deviating from the authenticity of the horrors the Jews went through.
This book is in no way meant for light reading even though the main characters are teenagers and are too innocent to be true. It is full of graphic details of the heinous atrocities these kids witness around them, from murders to rapes and various other kinds of torture. That said, the author does a great job of translating all this despair to hope and balances out the grimness with love and kindness. Since the tone is primarily YA, it can be a good addition to children’s literature at schools and public libraries. Yes, the subject matter is traumatic, but the tone makes it easier to read. Besides, history should be accessible to all ages.
My experience could have been better as a reader had there been an adult POV character. I hated to see Sophie make thoughtful decisions only to land in more trouble. The length of the book was short resulting in quicker escalation of events and diminishing the overall experience.
Thanks to Library Tales Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.
The Vanishing is now available for purchase.
Overall, powerful, gripping and heartbreaking.
4/5🌟.
TW: Holocaust. Period.
The Vanishing is a heartbreaking tale of Sophie, a young teenager who loses her family in the Jewish genocide at the hands of Nazi Germany. As she witnesses the murders of her parents, hidden in a wardrobe, she realises she is no longer visible to anyone, including her best friend, Giddy. With her newfound invisibility, she resolves to save Giddy from all the terrors waiting to fall upon them.
As a fan of cross-genre writing, I was curious to see how the writer would blend historical fiction with magical realism while also dreading what if this playing around with fantasy elements lightens the gruesomeness of the Holocaust and makes a mockery of it. David Michael Slater must be proud of himself for working out the technique to convert something this horrifying into a fascinating coming-of-age story while also not deviating from the authenticity of the horrors the Jews went through.
This book is in no way meant for light reading even though the main characters are teenagers and are too innocent to be true. It is full of graphic details of the heinous atrocities these kids witness around them, from murders to rapes and various other kinds of torture. That said, the author does a great job of translating all this despair to hope and balances out the grimness with love and kindness. Since the tone is primarily YA, it can be a good addition to children’s literature at schools and public libraries. Yes, the subject matter is traumatic, but the tone makes it easier to read. Besides, history should be accessible to all ages.
My experience could have been better as a reader had there been an adult POV character. I hated to see Sophie make thoughtful decisions only to land in more trouble. The length of the book was short resulting in quicker escalation of events and diminishing the overall experience.
Thanks to Library Tales Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.
The Vanishing is now available for purchase.
Overall, powerful, gripping and heartbreaking.
4/5🌟.
TW: Holocaust. Period.
September 27, 2022
Sophie Siegel has moved several times throughout Germany as her family has seen the rights of fellow Jewish residents diminish and anti-Semitism rising to new heights. In 1940, they settled in the small town of Ortschaft. Sophie is heartbroken when she can no longer go to school, something she loves. Life soon gets much worse, and Sophie finds herself on her own hoping to keep her young best friend Gideon “Giddy” Goldfarb safe. From being transported to the local Ghetto established to contain the area's Jewish families to the deportation to a concentration camp, Sophie sees the continued horrors of Nazi Germany's plan to eliminate her people in this vivid and moving story.
David Michael Slater has utilized historical fiction combined with magical realism to tell a tale that will leave you deeply affected. All books about the Holocaust are important yet many feel repetitive. Not The Vanishing. The author has taken such a unique approach to telling this story, which is often raw and hard to read yet extremely compelling. Slater is an excellent storyteller, and the characters are all well-formed and complex. Having all this evil and brutality seen through the eyes of a child is beyond heartbreaking. Even with some very tough parts to get through, I highly recommend this book to adult readers as well as high schoolers. It's a short book (just under 200 pages) and moves quickly. Yet there's so much packed into these pages. Don't miss it.
Many thanks to the author and Library Tales Publishing for the opportunity to read this unforgettable book in advance of its publication.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review to be posted on MicheleReader.com.
David Michael Slater has utilized historical fiction combined with magical realism to tell a tale that will leave you deeply affected. All books about the Holocaust are important yet many feel repetitive. Not The Vanishing. The author has taken such a unique approach to telling this story, which is often raw and hard to read yet extremely compelling. Slater is an excellent storyteller, and the characters are all well-formed and complex. Having all this evil and brutality seen through the eyes of a child is beyond heartbreaking. Even with some very tough parts to get through, I highly recommend this book to adult readers as well as high schoolers. It's a short book (just under 200 pages) and moves quickly. Yet there's so much packed into these pages. Don't miss it.
Many thanks to the author and Library Tales Publishing for the opportunity to read this unforgettable book in advance of its publication.
Rated 4.5 stars.
Review to be posted on MicheleReader.com.
October 16, 2022
When Sophie‘s family is impacted by the violence of the Holocaust, she realizes something amazing about herself. She can make herself invisible. She uses this power to help those around her and in particular try to ensure the safety of her friend. This story spans through most of the war and takes us to all of the dark places in which the Jewish people were isolated, tortured and killed.
I think there’s a lot of burnout out there when it comes to Holocaust stories. They are important and no amount of books will ameliorate the pain of that time. But I do think it is important to read stories that provide different accounts or new angles. The story is unique and that it focuses a bit on magical realism and mysticism. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have the stark brutality and violence of your average Holocaust story.
Because it is told through a child’s eyes, we get the gut punch of an emotional story with the eternal optimism of a child. Seeing how Sophie dealt with losing her parents, her friends, her community, her identity and yet forged forward to protect her friend was heartening. I also liked how easily the magical realism fit into the story a bit like Whitehead’s Underground Railroad. Magic quite often has an unexpected affect but it is painted into the story in the right way.
The author did reach out to ask me to read and review. I accessed the story via KindleUnlimited and you can too. All opinions above are my own.
I think there’s a lot of burnout out there when it comes to Holocaust stories. They are important and no amount of books will ameliorate the pain of that time. But I do think it is important to read stories that provide different accounts or new angles. The story is unique and that it focuses a bit on magical realism and mysticism. That’s not to say that it doesn’t have the stark brutality and violence of your average Holocaust story.
Because it is told through a child’s eyes, we get the gut punch of an emotional story with the eternal optimism of a child. Seeing how Sophie dealt with losing her parents, her friends, her community, her identity and yet forged forward to protect her friend was heartening. I also liked how easily the magical realism fit into the story a bit like Whitehead’s Underground Railroad. Magic quite often has an unexpected affect but it is painted into the story in the right way.
The author did reach out to ask me to read and review. I accessed the story via KindleUnlimited and you can too. All opinions above are my own.
May 23, 2022
David Michael Slater’s “The Vanishing” is a transcendent experience. Sophie Siegel is still only a little girl when the Third Reich begins passing new laws intent on victimizing Jews and other minorities. On the morning of her eleventh birthday, this culminates in being forced to watch, stashed away in a closet, while a group of Nazis brutally murder her parents.
Afterwards, the girl is left invisible to the world around her. She can touch others. She can pick things up and still needs to eat and bathe and do everything else that makes a human, human. It is a blessing, because she is safe from the Nazi’s. It is a horror, because she is forced to watch those she cares about be tortured, killed and treated like animals. All of it, she must weather alone. If there is one thing she can do with her newfound vanishing, however, it would be to make it her life’s mission to keep her young best friend, Giddy Goldfarb, safe. Over the next four years, and in life beyond the war, Sophie will become his own guardian angel. Following him from the ghetto, to a commandant’s mansion, and through the wilderness of Germany, Sophie learns that in a world full of horrors, by working together and bonding with those we fight with, she, Giddy and newfound friends can become an everlasting blessing in the lives of others.
“The Vanishing” is a difficult book to get through. Not because of the way it is written, or how the characters are portrayed. It is difficult to get through, because Slater has unashamedly portrayed the horrors of the Holocaust for what they were, and through the eyes of two children. I have read many books, children’s books, Young Adult books, and adult literature, that have focused on this time period, and I do not think any managed to quite capture the unfiltered horror the way Slater has. The use of such a young narrator, however, makes the book accessible to younger audiences.
Throughout “The Vanishing,” I tried to pinpoint what exactly the purpose of Sophie’s invisibility was. I came to many different answers. Maybe she was actually killed that morning in the closet, and transcended into an angelic form, like Giddy claims she is for him. Maybe her invisibility is an attestation to feeling alone, terrified and hopeless during a time when every day seemed to bring Sophie and her Jewish loved ones closer and closer to brutal, unnecessary torture and death. Maybe Sophie is so determined to save just one person in her life, after witnessing her parent’s deaths, that God grants her the ability to become a real Golem-like protector that she loves reading about. Maybe it is all these things or none of them at all. Regardless, the invisibility factor adds a certain weight to the book that makes Sophie’s triumphs, failures, and pain seem even more palpable. After all, how many of us have wanted to scream endlessly into a void, and not have anyone hear us? Sophie screams into the void many times during the book, yet all you want as a reader is for her to one day, finally¸ to be heard.
Slater’s “The Vanishing” should not be shied away from. Yes, it is violent. It is graphic and gritty, but all the horrors inside provide the reader with a palpable, authentic reading experience. In order to truly capture the genuine sorrow and terror of a historical period like the Holocaust, authors cannot be afraid to do so unfiltered. The Holocaust was unfiltered, and to portray it like Slater has really brought home what daily life was like for millions and millions of innocent people in Germany, Poland, Austria, and across Eastern Europe.
A great choice for older teens, and even for high school social studies curriculums, “The Vanishing” by David Michael Slater is a valuable read for all. In it, we are reminded again, and again, that one person really can make a difference, even if it’s just in the life of one other person. We all have the power to be someone else’s angel. We all have the choice to make our memories be for a blessing.
Afterwards, the girl is left invisible to the world around her. She can touch others. She can pick things up and still needs to eat and bathe and do everything else that makes a human, human. It is a blessing, because she is safe from the Nazi’s. It is a horror, because she is forced to watch those she cares about be tortured, killed and treated like animals. All of it, she must weather alone. If there is one thing she can do with her newfound vanishing, however, it would be to make it her life’s mission to keep her young best friend, Giddy Goldfarb, safe. Over the next four years, and in life beyond the war, Sophie will become his own guardian angel. Following him from the ghetto, to a commandant’s mansion, and through the wilderness of Germany, Sophie learns that in a world full of horrors, by working together and bonding with those we fight with, she, Giddy and newfound friends can become an everlasting blessing in the lives of others.
“The Vanishing” is a difficult book to get through. Not because of the way it is written, or how the characters are portrayed. It is difficult to get through, because Slater has unashamedly portrayed the horrors of the Holocaust for what they were, and through the eyes of two children. I have read many books, children’s books, Young Adult books, and adult literature, that have focused on this time period, and I do not think any managed to quite capture the unfiltered horror the way Slater has. The use of such a young narrator, however, makes the book accessible to younger audiences.
Throughout “The Vanishing,” I tried to pinpoint what exactly the purpose of Sophie’s invisibility was. I came to many different answers. Maybe she was actually killed that morning in the closet, and transcended into an angelic form, like Giddy claims she is for him. Maybe her invisibility is an attestation to feeling alone, terrified and hopeless during a time when every day seemed to bring Sophie and her Jewish loved ones closer and closer to brutal, unnecessary torture and death. Maybe Sophie is so determined to save just one person in her life, after witnessing her parent’s deaths, that God grants her the ability to become a real Golem-like protector that she loves reading about. Maybe it is all these things or none of them at all. Regardless, the invisibility factor adds a certain weight to the book that makes Sophie’s triumphs, failures, and pain seem even more palpable. After all, how many of us have wanted to scream endlessly into a void, and not have anyone hear us? Sophie screams into the void many times during the book, yet all you want as a reader is for her to one day, finally¸ to be heard.
Slater’s “The Vanishing” should not be shied away from. Yes, it is violent. It is graphic and gritty, but all the horrors inside provide the reader with a palpable, authentic reading experience. In order to truly capture the genuine sorrow and terror of a historical period like the Holocaust, authors cannot be afraid to do so unfiltered. The Holocaust was unfiltered, and to portray it like Slater has really brought home what daily life was like for millions and millions of innocent people in Germany, Poland, Austria, and across Eastern Europe.
A great choice for older teens, and even for high school social studies curriculums, “The Vanishing” by David Michael Slater is a valuable read for all. In it, we are reminded again, and again, that one person really can make a difference, even if it’s just in the life of one other person. We all have the power to be someone else’s angel. We all have the choice to make our memories be for a blessing.
April 4, 2022
Fantasy meets historical fiction in The Vanishing - a compelling YA/teens story set amidst the holocaust of WWII. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one sitting.
This is definitely one for the bookshelf at school. It’s a far more accurate, powerful, haunting, emotionally engaging and heart-wrenching story of the Holocaust than many young readers will thus far have experienced in, for example, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. At times it is intensely shocking in its brutality as it vividly paints a picture of dehumanisation and injustice. Yet, it ultimately sends a message of hope that even during times of unimaginable adversity, courage, love, and perseverance will win out.
My thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is definitely one for the bookshelf at school. It’s a far more accurate, powerful, haunting, emotionally engaging and heart-wrenching story of the Holocaust than many young readers will thus far have experienced in, for example, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. At times it is intensely shocking in its brutality as it vividly paints a picture of dehumanisation and injustice. Yet, it ultimately sends a message of hope that even during times of unimaginable adversity, courage, love, and perseverance will win out.
My thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 10, 2022
David Michael Slater's The Vanishing is at once a brutally honest depiction of Nazi atrocities and simultaneously a fantastical tale of bravery and empathy. I support its reach to YA readers, because we must all know our history in order to avoid future atrocities. Sophie Siegel is a welcome girl hero, flawed and brave, compassionate and kind, who grows stronger and more resolute with each chapter. Moreover, she does so without losing her humanity and innate compassion. I appreciate this book's realism set against a magical backdrop. The premise works, and is a means to let younger generations learn about their forebears.
January 13, 2024
Wow. Just...wow. This was so well written, I feel like I could've been a fly on the wall. I like that the author gives you some details, but not so much that it's awful, and I want to put the book down. At the same time, there's no denying that events like these happened.
Poor Sophie. To try and act like God to dole out Justice... and you just can't. To watch your loved ones go through all that they did and to not be able to do anything...and to be a kid! Argh!
This book gave me all the feels: sadness, hope, and love. I can't imagine living through this or being invisible and witnessing it.
Such a great read!
Poor Sophie. To try and act like God to dole out Justice... and you just can't. To watch your loved ones go through all that they did and to not be able to do anything...and to be a kid! Argh!
This book gave me all the feels: sadness, hope, and love. I can't imagine living through this or being invisible and witnessing it.
Such a great read!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2024
4.5 stars!
it was dark, but so was the holocaust so
i’m not typically a fan of historical fiction but this one was very well written and with such a unique concept
it was dark, but so was the holocaust so
i’m not typically a fan of historical fiction but this one was very well written and with such a unique concept
July 16, 2022
The Vanishing
David Michael Slate
David Michael Slater’s latest work of fiction is brutal and brilliant bringing back the horrors of Jews living during the reign of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Readers see the atrocities through the eyes of Sophie, an invisible pre-teen girl who uses her gift to help in particular her little friend Giddy and also her fellow Jews as they are subjected to one unspeakable inhuman act after another. The author doesn’t pull punches with the savagery but he also gives his brave characters unrelenting faith that the tides will change. Sophie is the definite star of the story, determined, strong, wise beyond her years yet the author doesn’t mind painting her with normal flaws of a pre-teen only child for the audience to fully witness her transformation from victim to hero of the tale. There are some other standout characters, Giddy for one is so young to have experienced such barbarity but he’s also an old soul and an inspiration to others. There are many, many villains in this story each one more savage then the next and will all leave the reader with a nasty taste. WWII stories are so important and should never be forgotten especially now when so few who lived through these times are with us. They should never be forgotten also because of the fragility of life and freedoms and the ugly truth that this kind of barbaric ethnic cleansing still happens today in parts of the world. If you love WWII stories and don’t mind ones that are dark you will love this book. Fans of Pam Jenoff, Kristin Hannah or Kristin Harmel and other WWII authors will find this unputdownable.
Since 1938 Sophie Siegel’s papa has moved their family of three from German town to German town trying to outrun the growing anti-Semitism since Adolph Hitler came into power finally settling in Ortschaft in 1940 where it was said that the Jewish population lived in relative peace. That all changed in late 1941 when the Nazis made new rules for Jews and bit by bit started taking away rights and privileges. Since the Jewish kids couldn’t go to school Sophie spent most of her time with her young neighbor Giddy playing, reading and just making the most of a terrible situation. Then in late 1942 when Sophie was 12 she witnessed the atrocity of the Nazi monsters when her parents were killed by Nazis officers while she hid in the closet. Sophie was ready for her fate too but when the closet door opened the Nazi soldier couldn’t see her and the next day when all Jews were evacuated she learned that she had turned invisible. So she made a vow that since she had this new gift wherever it came from she would watch over her Jewish community and especially Giddy and his family helping them in any way they needed. She had no idea what lay ahead.
David Michael Slate
David Michael Slater’s latest work of fiction is brutal and brilliant bringing back the horrors of Jews living during the reign of Hitler in Nazi Germany. Readers see the atrocities through the eyes of Sophie, an invisible pre-teen girl who uses her gift to help in particular her little friend Giddy and also her fellow Jews as they are subjected to one unspeakable inhuman act after another. The author doesn’t pull punches with the savagery but he also gives his brave characters unrelenting faith that the tides will change. Sophie is the definite star of the story, determined, strong, wise beyond her years yet the author doesn’t mind painting her with normal flaws of a pre-teen only child for the audience to fully witness her transformation from victim to hero of the tale. There are some other standout characters, Giddy for one is so young to have experienced such barbarity but he’s also an old soul and an inspiration to others. There are many, many villains in this story each one more savage then the next and will all leave the reader with a nasty taste. WWII stories are so important and should never be forgotten especially now when so few who lived through these times are with us. They should never be forgotten also because of the fragility of life and freedoms and the ugly truth that this kind of barbaric ethnic cleansing still happens today in parts of the world. If you love WWII stories and don’t mind ones that are dark you will love this book. Fans of Pam Jenoff, Kristin Hannah or Kristin Harmel and other WWII authors will find this unputdownable.
Since 1938 Sophie Siegel’s papa has moved their family of three from German town to German town trying to outrun the growing anti-Semitism since Adolph Hitler came into power finally settling in Ortschaft in 1940 where it was said that the Jewish population lived in relative peace. That all changed in late 1941 when the Nazis made new rules for Jews and bit by bit started taking away rights and privileges. Since the Jewish kids couldn’t go to school Sophie spent most of her time with her young neighbor Giddy playing, reading and just making the most of a terrible situation. Then in late 1942 when Sophie was 12 she witnessed the atrocity of the Nazi monsters when her parents were killed by Nazis officers while she hid in the closet. Sophie was ready for her fate too but when the closet door opened the Nazi soldier couldn’t see her and the next day when all Jews were evacuated she learned that she had turned invisible. So she made a vow that since she had this new gift wherever it came from she would watch over her Jewish community and especially Giddy and his family helping them in any way they needed. She had no idea what lay ahead.
June 17, 2022
Life is sweet for Sophie Siegel. She’s a Top Student at school, well-fed and happy, tutored by her woodworker Papa, Big Benno, to be well scrubbed and taught that she’ll grow up to be an upstanding individual just like her mother Bianca, Bette Bee. Sure, Papa, has moved them several times the past few years but now they’re in a safe town and her mother, a seamstress, has plenty of work among the Jewish population.
On the very day in December 1941 that Sophie is to be named Top Student at school, her mother tells her that from now on as a Jew, Sophie must wear a yellow star on her outer garment of clothing. Sophie at first refuses, somehow knowing to do so will ruin her sweet life. In Nazi Germany of 1941 that star represented the hatred the Nazis felt for Jews. In the skillful hands of David Michael Slater’s riveting historical fiction, The Vanishing, the yellow star changes Sophie’s world, and her family.
In rapid succession, Sophie’s ’friends.’ Ignore her; her Top Student Award is cruelly bypassed in favor of a speech by Hitler, and her parents are murdered, leaving Sophie to fend for herself. Many of Slater’s scenes are more than sadistic and cruel, they are downright horrible, ripe with man’s inhumanity to man. Few of today’s writers have the courage Slater displays to write about these acts of wanton cruelty. (Clive Aaron Gill and his riveting novel, “Courageous Mother” is another.) Reading this work causes one’s blood to boil and the chest to fill with pain. When Sophie’s invisible friend embarks on her journey of revenge, only then does the reader get a change to cheer.
This is a remarkable book, fierce, compelling, devastating, that illuminates a historic era many would just as soon forget. This is a novel filled with seemingly pointless brutality, yet has room for love – love of life, love of people, love of self, an unforgettable journey of redemption that hopefully will wake up a generation that has forgotten the horrors of Nazi German.
July 10, 2022
The Vanishing is a truly wonderful and powerful novel. Absolutely riveting. An important book that I read in one sitting. I was sucked into the story from page one, and was held to the very last sentence. Moving, redemptive, devastating ... Slater tackles a terrifying time in history that readers need to understand. This book will help them do so.
Slater’s novel will be a very worthy addition to the list of middle grade and YA novels of the Holocaust that I use in my course on Writing the Middle Grade and YA Novel at Mills College.
--Kathryn Reiss, author of Time Windows, Dreadful Sorry, Paint by Magic
Slater’s novel will be a very worthy addition to the list of middle grade and YA novels of the Holocaust that I use in my course on Writing the Middle Grade and YA Novel at Mills College.
--Kathryn Reiss, author of Time Windows, Dreadful Sorry, Paint by Magic
February 23, 2025
A compelling read that gives a narrative to speak on the tragedy and cost of the Holocaust. It was intelligent, a bit scary, emotional and compelling. I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen next. For me, a very thought-provoking novel but I was hooked from the beginning. A great read! *This book was given to me for free at my request from NetGalley and I provided this voluntary review.*
December 2, 2022
David Michael Slater has taken historical fiction and combined it with magical realism to tell a tale that will leave you filled with raw emotions.
This is about The Holocaust, its about taking a different approach to the evil and brutality seen through a teenagers eyes.
Slater is an excellent storyteller, and the characters are all well-formed and complex. I highly recommend this book.
This is about The Holocaust, its about taking a different approach to the evil and brutality seen through a teenagers eyes.
Slater is an excellent storyteller, and the characters are all well-formed and complex. I highly recommend this book.
September 12, 2022
The Vanishing is about a young Jewish girl named Sophie Siegel who is struggling to stay alive while protecting her best friend, Giddy, during the horrors of the holocaust. Sophie’s advantage, though, is that she has somehow become invisible and is able to maneuver through her surroundings without being seen or heard. Using her newfound invisibility, Sophie makes herself useful by finding food for her surviving townspeople, sabotaging the Nazis at every chance, and most importantly, protecting Giddy from inevitable harm at every corner and throughout the duration of the war.
The Vanishing is a tightly-packed and unique take on this popular era in history which incorporates magical realism in order to give our hero an edge and a fighting chance at survival and success. It provides hope and power in a hopeless and powerless situation and incorporates messages of faith, hope, and morality in determined characters who span numerous levels of complexity, motivation, and personality. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, grounded fantasy elements, and can stomach horrific yet truthful situations.
You can read my full review here: https://laurasbooksandblogs.com/the-v...
The Vanishing is a tightly-packed and unique take on this popular era in history which incorporates magical realism in order to give our hero an edge and a fighting chance at survival and success. It provides hope and power in a hopeless and powerless situation and incorporates messages of faith, hope, and morality in determined characters who span numerous levels of complexity, motivation, and personality. I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction, grounded fantasy elements, and can stomach horrific yet truthful situations.
You can read my full review here: https://laurasbooksandblogs.com/the-v...
September 13, 2022
This book was kindly provided for review by the author. Thank you!
Trigger Warnings: Anti-Semitism, Anti-Semitic remarks, rape, human death, animal death, child abuse.
Life has been pretty good for young Sophie Siegel. While it's true she and her parents have had to move a handful of times in the last few years, things haven't been all bad. She's become a better student and has made a few friends - including the little boy next door.
One December morning Sophie wakes to find her mother sewing a yellow star on to all of their clothes. Sophie initially refuses, somehow knowing wearing the star represents a turning point for her and for the other Jews in the city where she lives. And she is not wrong because shortly thereafter Sophie's world is turned upside down.
Many times when an author writes a fictional story set during World War 2 and specifically makes mention of the Holocaust, they tend to water the truth down some. In an effort to make the subject matter more palatable certain truths are glossed over. In David Michael Slater's The Vanishing, the opposite happens. Slater does not shy away from the cruelty that was acted upon the Jewish people during this time. He does not gloss over the sadistic acts and instead lays them bare. Through Sophie's young eyes we are given a first hand account of this horrible time.
Reading The Vanishing is by no means easy. Though the book itself is just shy of 200 pages, it is the content matter that can cause difficulties. Normally I would be able to read such a book in a day or two but I found myself having to put the book down on several occasions just to ground myself. To settle the anger and despair that bubbled in my own chest at the travesties that occurred over 75 years ago.
The Vanishing is one of those books that I believe everyone should read but it is also very difficult to recommend. It is a remarkable and very well written book but it also one that is gut wrenching and at times hard to read. It is sweet and sad, breath-taking and heart-breaking. It is a book that will stay with the reader long after they have gotten to the last page.
April 21, 2022
In his gut-wrenching, unputdownable novel The Vanishing (Library Tales Publishing, Fall 2022), David Michael Slater deftly weaves history and fiction into a dark yet vivid tapestry with a brilliant golden thread of folkloric miracle. About more than just loss and devastation, The Vanishing is primarily about the sustaining strength of love and friendship. Warnings for violence, death, antisemitism.
The story begins with a sense of pleasant anticipation with Sophie Siegel seated at the vanity Papa has lovingly crafted. Sophie’s excited: Today, she’ll be honored as Top Student. But while Sophie’s dressing for her big day, readers learn about the family’s recent moves to stay ahead of disturbing developments in late 1930s to 1940s Germany. By the time Sophie greets Mama at the breakfast table, just a few pages into the story, readers already have a sense that Sophie, her family, and everyone on Judenstrasse might be in danger. Throughout the story, glimpses of brilliant humanity eased the tension long enough for me to catch my breath before Sophie, and the people she cares about, struggled anew against fresh onslaughts of inhumanity. While called “angel” by Mama, Papa, and best friend Giddy, Sophie’s trials throughout The Vanishing eventually force her to question the morality of her choices: Has she become an “angel of death”? When Sophie executes her most selfless and daring act, I was left cheering and believing wholeheartedly in its historical plausibility.
I appreciate the opportunity to review the eARC of this riveting and vital story about an extraordinary young heroine surviving through the historic nightmare of Nazi Germany. The Vanishing is about hope in dark times which is just one of several compelling reasons for reading this book. I recommend it to others who, like myself, appreciate the works of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Neil Gaiman.
The story begins with a sense of pleasant anticipation with Sophie Siegel seated at the vanity Papa has lovingly crafted. Sophie’s excited: Today, she’ll be honored as Top Student. But while Sophie’s dressing for her big day, readers learn about the family’s recent moves to stay ahead of disturbing developments in late 1930s to 1940s Germany. By the time Sophie greets Mama at the breakfast table, just a few pages into the story, readers already have a sense that Sophie, her family, and everyone on Judenstrasse might be in danger. Throughout the story, glimpses of brilliant humanity eased the tension long enough for me to catch my breath before Sophie, and the people she cares about, struggled anew against fresh onslaughts of inhumanity. While called “angel” by Mama, Papa, and best friend Giddy, Sophie’s trials throughout The Vanishing eventually force her to question the morality of her choices: Has she become an “angel of death”? When Sophie executes her most selfless and daring act, I was left cheering and believing wholeheartedly in its historical plausibility.
I appreciate the opportunity to review the eARC of this riveting and vital story about an extraordinary young heroine surviving through the historic nightmare of Nazi Germany. The Vanishing is about hope in dark times which is just one of several compelling reasons for reading this book. I recommend it to others who, like myself, appreciate the works of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Neil Gaiman.
August 6, 2023
I was afraid to read this book because I'm sensitive, especially when it comes to the abuse of children. I'm a trauma therapist and have spent my career hearing those stories. But I love David Michael Slater's books and I really wanted to read this one as it might become a movie. So, I decided to listen to the audio. When I knew the most challenging part was coming, I increased the speed so it would go by quickly.
The whole book was difficult, but the topic is necessary. Denying the holocaust is like saying the earth is flat. The only way to keep it from happening again is to remember, go to the Holocaust Museum, and read books like this one.
Seeing the terrible things that happened through the eyes of a child was even harder. But, by the end, I felt like there were some good takeaways.
First, one person can make a world of difference. Sophie often did things she felt made situations worse, but the reader knew she actually saved many lives.
Second, Sophie also made the world better for one person. Like the story of the little girl throwing one starfish back into the sea when the sand was littered with them, and saying, "I made a difference for that one." Sophie did that.
I will not soon forget this story. The characters are interesting and multilayered.
There are moments in my life when the reality of the Holocaust became very real to me.
First, when I went to the holocaust museum in New York and spent an hour in the bathroom crying my eyes out.
Second, when I lived in Israel and was in line at a store. A little old lady cut in front of me, rolled up her sleeve, and pointed at her concentration camp number.
And third, when reading good books or watching good movies about this time in history. This book now joins that list.
I'm not Jewish, but this book was easy to relate to and hard to put down. Thank you, David, for presenting a new take on this important part of history.
The whole book was difficult, but the topic is necessary. Denying the holocaust is like saying the earth is flat. The only way to keep it from happening again is to remember, go to the Holocaust Museum, and read books like this one.
Seeing the terrible things that happened through the eyes of a child was even harder. But, by the end, I felt like there were some good takeaways.
First, one person can make a world of difference. Sophie often did things she felt made situations worse, but the reader knew she actually saved many lives.
Second, Sophie also made the world better for one person. Like the story of the little girl throwing one starfish back into the sea when the sand was littered with them, and saying, "I made a difference for that one." Sophie did that.
I will not soon forget this story. The characters are interesting and multilayered.
There are moments in my life when the reality of the Holocaust became very real to me.
First, when I went to the holocaust museum in New York and spent an hour in the bathroom crying my eyes out.
Second, when I lived in Israel and was in line at a store. A little old lady cut in front of me, rolled up her sleeve, and pointed at her concentration camp number.
And third, when reading good books or watching good movies about this time in history. This book now joins that list.
I'm not Jewish, but this book was easy to relate to and hard to put down. Thank you, David, for presenting a new take on this important part of history.
August 13, 2022
Oh wow, I seriously do not know where to start with this book. Except wow.
This book captivated me from the word go with our main character Sophie, from who's point of view the book is told. She is an eleven year old German Jew, who at the start of the book is more concerned about being named top student than she is being pulled from class. This is where her troubles, due to her religious beliefs start. She see's the decline in her family, before a tragedy hits and she suddenly turns invisible. From that moment on she spends her time trying to keep her best friend Giddy safe, and help the Jewish community that is being persecuted. Her journey takes her from the Slums, to a Concentration Camp and beyond, all trying to keep her friend safe with her amazing invisible powers.
The writing of this book captured me straight away, and even though it is coming from a child's perspective (which was quite believable) it was not dumbed down or made ridiculous in any way. The detail of the period was captured flawlessly, as well as the details of the Jewish faith was are transferred over, which gives a nice segway for those who do not know much about the religion. I can see the author has worked hard to try and not be insensitive on such a delicate subject, or be insulting to any who had family who lived through that terrible period of history. I think he has done a very good job in this, and I hope people do not dismiss the book simply on its subject matter without reading it.
This book takes you on a terrible and wonderful journey, where the best and worst in humanity are shown, where consequences to actions are seen, and a little girl grows up alone and yet surrounded by those she wants to help. A beautiful book that made me weep tears of both joy and sorrow, as I could do nothing but cheer Sophie, an Angel, on in her journey.
This book captivated me from the word go with our main character Sophie, from who's point of view the book is told. She is an eleven year old German Jew, who at the start of the book is more concerned about being named top student than she is being pulled from class. This is where her troubles, due to her religious beliefs start. She see's the decline in her family, before a tragedy hits and she suddenly turns invisible. From that moment on she spends her time trying to keep her best friend Giddy safe, and help the Jewish community that is being persecuted. Her journey takes her from the Slums, to a Concentration Camp and beyond, all trying to keep her friend safe with her amazing invisible powers.
The writing of this book captured me straight away, and even though it is coming from a child's perspective (which was quite believable) it was not dumbed down or made ridiculous in any way. The detail of the period was captured flawlessly, as well as the details of the Jewish faith was are transferred over, which gives a nice segway for those who do not know much about the religion. I can see the author has worked hard to try and not be insensitive on such a delicate subject, or be insulting to any who had family who lived through that terrible period of history. I think he has done a very good job in this, and I hope people do not dismiss the book simply on its subject matter without reading it.
This book takes you on a terrible and wonderful journey, where the best and worst in humanity are shown, where consequences to actions are seen, and a little girl grows up alone and yet surrounded by those she wants to help. A beautiful book that made me weep tears of both joy and sorrow, as I could do nothing but cheer Sophie, an Angel, on in her journey.
September 12, 2022
One of the hardest books I have ever read! The Holocaust was so pointless and brutal that the shock factor is expected. With this book, Slater took it to a whole new level depicting the atrocities with violent graphic truth. Some of the graphic scenes I had no idea had happened and my stomach and heart hurt with this unforgivable genocide mission.
The main character Sophie brings to light the embarrassment as a child wearing the Yellow Star of David the first time to school. Bullied and banished from their classes, their lives had changed by Hitler's orders. While she is celebrating her 11th birthday with her mom and papa, the Nazi troops shattered their door. Her papa had enough time to hide her away in a closet. The troops shot her dad, then raped and killed her mom. The closet door was opened by the commander revealing her hiding.
Her best friend Giddy and all the other Jews in the neighborhood were transported by train to the Ghettos. When Giddy looks for Sophie, you realize she can see him, but he cannot see her. My thoughts were she must be dead and sent to be his guardian angel throughout the rest of the book.
Throughout the book, she protects him and others by stealing food and medical supplies while sneaking in and out of the Ghettos. The horror she sees will be etched in my mind forever. As if I were seeing it all firsthand, I was sickened by the torture and dehumanizing a person endured. The book warns that the scenes are not for the faint of heart or sensitive stomachs...I felt both of these. I've never seen it as clearly as I have with this author's depiction.
The atrocities, failures, mistakes, violence, terror, brutality are all unforgettable and may we never repeat this chapter in history again.
Thank you NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
The main character Sophie brings to light the embarrassment as a child wearing the Yellow Star of David the first time to school. Bullied and banished from their classes, their lives had changed by Hitler's orders. While she is celebrating her 11th birthday with her mom and papa, the Nazi troops shattered their door. Her papa had enough time to hide her away in a closet. The troops shot her dad, then raped and killed her mom. The closet door was opened by the commander revealing her hiding.
Her best friend Giddy and all the other Jews in the neighborhood were transported by train to the Ghettos. When Giddy looks for Sophie, you realize she can see him, but he cannot see her. My thoughts were she must be dead and sent to be his guardian angel throughout the rest of the book.
Throughout the book, she protects him and others by stealing food and medical supplies while sneaking in and out of the Ghettos. The horror she sees will be etched in my mind forever. As if I were seeing it all firsthand, I was sickened by the torture and dehumanizing a person endured. The book warns that the scenes are not for the faint of heart or sensitive stomachs...I felt both of these. I've never seen it as clearly as I have with this author's depiction.
The atrocities, failures, mistakes, violence, terror, brutality are all unforgettable and may we never repeat this chapter in history again.
Thank you NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
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July 25, 2022“The only truly dead are those who are forgotten.”
Sophie Siegel wakes up one morning excited to become the Top Student of her class in recognition of all the hard work that she has done. But when she goes to tell her mom, she finds her mother sewing yellow Stars of David onto all of her and her neighbors’ clothes. Rather than becoming Top Student, she is reprimanded and eventually barred from her school simply for being Jewish. The Vanishing follows Sophie’s journey through the Holocaust. After watching her parents be brutally murdered, she finds that she has become invisible. As the rest of her neighbors are hauled away to a concentration camp, she continues to go unnoticed. She decides to become her best friend Giddy’s Golem: a creature from Jewish folklore that protects Jewish communities. But can Sophie keep Giddy safe? How will she keep her humanity when the Nazis want to extinguish the light out of the Jewish race?
I am constantly looking for Holocaust fiction that doesn’t sympathize with Nazis, and instead reflects Jewish resistance, redemption, and resilience. It is so important for us to never forget these horrific, cruel, and senseless events that occurred, and I was looking forward to reading this. The book is very complex, and I felt conflicted when I read it, since I really wanted to like it... To read the rest of this review, head over to our website: The Vanishing | David Michael Slater
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
Sophie Siegel wakes up one morning excited to become the Top Student of her class in recognition of all the hard work that she has done. But when she goes to tell her mom, she finds her mother sewing yellow Stars of David onto all of her and her neighbors’ clothes. Rather than becoming Top Student, she is reprimanded and eventually barred from her school simply for being Jewish. The Vanishing follows Sophie’s journey through the Holocaust. After watching her parents be brutally murdered, she finds that she has become invisible. As the rest of her neighbors are hauled away to a concentration camp, she continues to go unnoticed. She decides to become her best friend Giddy’s Golem: a creature from Jewish folklore that protects Jewish communities. But can Sophie keep Giddy safe? How will she keep her humanity when the Nazis want to extinguish the light out of the Jewish race?
I am constantly looking for Holocaust fiction that doesn’t sympathize with Nazis, and instead reflects Jewish resistance, redemption, and resilience. It is so important for us to never forget these horrific, cruel, and senseless events that occurred, and I was looking forward to reading this. The book is very complex, and I felt conflicted when I read it, since I really wanted to like it... To read the rest of this review, head over to our website: The Vanishing | David Michael Slater
Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok and Facebook @pinereadsreview and check out our website at www.pinereadsreview.com for reviews, author interviews, blogs, podcast episodes, and more!
August 22, 2022
I want to thank #Netalley and the publisher for grating my wish to read #TheVanishing by #DavidMichaelSlater.
Set during the Holocaust David Slater brings this book to life in a brutal yet beautiful way. Sophie and her family are used to moving from place to place when things begin to get unsafe. More and more the places they can go to stay safe from the Nazi's is dwindling. One morning as Sophie is going to school she finds her mother sewing stars on all of their clothing, so all of the Jews can be easily identified. While at school a Nazi soldier comes in and collects all of the Jewish children and thus begins the end. Sophie and her best friend Giddy love stories and hide in the library to listen to the Jewish council. While in the library they learn of the Golem which can be created to protect Jews. Amongst all the pandemonium that begins to break out Sophie finds herself promising to be Giddy's Golem to protect him no matter what.
She didn't expect that vow to take on a life of its own. In a moment of brutal desecration Sophie finds that no one can see or hear her. So starts her journey with Giddy protecting him as much as possible while being faced with the horrible brutalities that the Jews had to face.
The book takes you through several ups and down and will take your breath away at points. I had to set the book down more than once to process what I had read. It is beautiful in the way it shows The Jewish people, the love and faith that got them through horrific situations. The ending was absolutely beautiful and very touching.
Please please purchase this book it is on par for me anyhow with The Nightingale.
I am so happy I got to read this and it is easily one of my favorite books of the year!
Set during the Holocaust David Slater brings this book to life in a brutal yet beautiful way. Sophie and her family are used to moving from place to place when things begin to get unsafe. More and more the places they can go to stay safe from the Nazi's is dwindling. One morning as Sophie is going to school she finds her mother sewing stars on all of their clothing, so all of the Jews can be easily identified. While at school a Nazi soldier comes in and collects all of the Jewish children and thus begins the end. Sophie and her best friend Giddy love stories and hide in the library to listen to the Jewish council. While in the library they learn of the Golem which can be created to protect Jews. Amongst all the pandemonium that begins to break out Sophie finds herself promising to be Giddy's Golem to protect him no matter what.
She didn't expect that vow to take on a life of its own. In a moment of brutal desecration Sophie finds that no one can see or hear her. So starts her journey with Giddy protecting him as much as possible while being faced with the horrible brutalities that the Jews had to face.
The book takes you through several ups and down and will take your breath away at points. I had to set the book down more than once to process what I had read. It is beautiful in the way it shows The Jewish people, the love and faith that got them through horrific situations. The ending was absolutely beautiful and very touching.
Please please purchase this book it is on par for me anyhow with The Nightingale.
I am so happy I got to read this and it is easily one of my favorite books of the year!
October 4, 2022
Sophie is a preteen Jewish girl living in Berlin at the beginning of WWII. Before the Nazis kill and imprison her family and neighbors, she befriends a ten year old boy named Giddy and vows to protect him. When the unthinkable happens to Sophie’s parents, she hides and for reasons that she doesn’t comprehend, she becomes invisible. Since no one can see or hear Sophie, she manages to follow Giddy on his journey to the Jewish ghetto, the concentration camp, into hiding with the partisans and back to Berlin and is able to intervene in “invisible” ways to help Giddy and get him to safety as well as engage in her own revenge for the atrocities suffered by her family and people.
Well, I had “sworn off” WWII novels because I had read some recent historical fiction around this time period that were just too far fetched. Of course, an invisible Jewish girl as a protagonist is pure fantasy but I found this book to be cleverly written and provided information on aspects of the war that I knew very little or nothing about. The content is very tragic so this is not light reading. The sections of the book were labeled with titles such as The Ghetto, The Camp, The Woods and so on and I gained new information about the places that the German Jewish people were forced to live in before being exterminated and about the Jewish resistance partisans who operated in secret. The ending of the book was unexpected and definitely bittersweet. I highly recommend this very different and interesting story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy.
Well, I had “sworn off” WWII novels because I had read some recent historical fiction around this time period that were just too far fetched. Of course, an invisible Jewish girl as a protagonist is pure fantasy but I found this book to be cleverly written and provided information on aspects of the war that I knew very little or nothing about. The content is very tragic so this is not light reading. The sections of the book were labeled with titles such as The Ghetto, The Camp, The Woods and so on and I gained new information about the places that the German Jewish people were forced to live in before being exterminated and about the Jewish resistance partisans who operated in secret. The ending of the book was unexpected and definitely bittersweet. I highly recommend this very different and interesting story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy.
March 30, 2022
I absolutely loved this book! Although its serious theme is quite a departure from David Michael Slater's previous novels and stories, The Vanishing will likely be considered his best work to date. This Holocaust-themed novel is intense, riveting and suspenseful. While some scenes will have you gasping out loud, and others will have you welling up with emotion, The Vanishing is a perfect example of a book that once begun, is simply too fascinating to put down.
The novel begins in December 1941. Young Sophie Siegel and her parents have been living in the fictitious town of Ortschaft for a year, after having already moved twice in the previous two years in the hope of finding a safer place for their Jewish family to live. The novel follows Sophie and her family and neighbours over the next year, and we see Sophie's world get more restricted as the Nazis advance. When Sophie survives a Nazi raid on the Siegel household, the first of many unexpected plot twists occurs - and The Vanishing becomes a Holocaust novel unlike any you've read before. Although the book is a work of fiction, the experiences and suffering that the characters endure, and the cruelty and callousness displayed by their Nazi tormentors, are heartbreakingly realistic - and as such, keep the reader invested and enthralled. The story will keep your curiosity piqued, and your nerves heightened, until the last satisfying page.
The novel begins in December 1941. Young Sophie Siegel and her parents have been living in the fictitious town of Ortschaft for a year, after having already moved twice in the previous two years in the hope of finding a safer place for their Jewish family to live. The novel follows Sophie and her family and neighbours over the next year, and we see Sophie's world get more restricted as the Nazis advance. When Sophie survives a Nazi raid on the Siegel household, the first of many unexpected plot twists occurs - and The Vanishing becomes a Holocaust novel unlike any you've read before. Although the book is a work of fiction, the experiences and suffering that the characters endure, and the cruelty and callousness displayed by their Nazi tormentors, are heartbreakingly realistic - and as such, keep the reader invested and enthralled. The story will keep your curiosity piqued, and your nerves heightened, until the last satisfying page.
September 5, 2022
Sophie is a preteen Jewish girl living in Berlin at the beginning of WWII. Before the Nazis kill and imprison her family and neighbors, she befriends a ten year old boy named Giddy and vows to protect him. When the unthinkable happens to Sophie’s parents, she hides and for reasons that she doesn’t comprehend, she becomes invisible. Since no one can see or hear Sophie, she manages to follow Giddy on his journey to the Jewish ghetto, the concentration camp, into hiding with the partisans and back to Berlin and is able to intervene in “invisible” ways to help Giddy and get him to safety as well as engage in her own revenge for the atrocities suffered by her family and people.
Well, I had “sworn off” WWII novels because I had read some recent historical fiction around this time period that were just too far fetched. Of course, an invisible Jewish girl as a protagonist is pure fantasy but I found this book to be cleverly written and provided information on aspects of the war that I knew very little or nothing about. The content is very tragic so this is not light reading. The sections of the book were labeled with titles such as The Ghetto, The Camp, The Woods and so on and I gained new information about the places that the German Jewish people were forced to live in before being exterminated and about the Jewish resistance partisans who operated in secret. The ending of the book was unexpected and definitely bittersweet. I highly recommend this very different and interesting story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy.
Well, I had “sworn off” WWII novels because I had read some recent historical fiction around this time period that were just too far fetched. Of course, an invisible Jewish girl as a protagonist is pure fantasy but I found this book to be cleverly written and provided information on aspects of the war that I knew very little or nothing about. The content is very tragic so this is not light reading. The sections of the book were labeled with titles such as The Ghetto, The Camp, The Woods and so on and I gained new information about the places that the German Jewish people were forced to live in before being exterminated and about the Jewish resistance partisans who operated in secret. The ending of the book was unexpected and definitely bittersweet. I highly recommend this very different and interesting story.
Thanks to NetGalley and Library Tales Publishing for the Advanced Reader Copy.
November 18, 2022
MY THOUGHTS -
This book! This book… How do you review a book like this? That is the question. About something that was so horrible. So… this book was horrible, horrible (but in a good way, if there is such a thing?).
This book did come with a warning… But silly me! Good thing I like sad books! Bring out the tissues… Or a box of tissues… This one is a real tearjerker!
Only on page 5 these 2 sentences threw me into tears.
“Bianca was so focused on her needle and symbol that she didn’t notice her daughter walking right up and standing next to her. She was finishing sewing a yellow star onto the breast of Sophie‘s wool jacket.“ I knew right then that this was going to be a sad one.
Very violent, very graphic, very horrific, and very heartwarming! One of the most real and best books I have read about the Holocaust yet!
Also very creative. What would you do if you could be invisible? I loved the blend of history and magical realism/paranormal. It was great for this story. It turned something bad into something a tiny bit more fun.
Loved all the characters. Excellent character development. They were all very realistic.
A mere 5 stars does not do this book justice, it deserves 10. I will definitely be reading more by this fantastic author!
Thank you TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of this book to read and give an honest review.
This book! This book… How do you review a book like this? That is the question. About something that was so horrible. So… this book was horrible, horrible (but in a good way, if there is such a thing?).
This book did come with a warning… But silly me! Good thing I like sad books! Bring out the tissues… Or a box of tissues… This one is a real tearjerker!
Only on page 5 these 2 sentences threw me into tears.
“Bianca was so focused on her needle and symbol that she didn’t notice her daughter walking right up and standing next to her. She was finishing sewing a yellow star onto the breast of Sophie‘s wool jacket.“ I knew right then that this was going to be a sad one.
Very violent, very graphic, very horrific, and very heartwarming! One of the most real and best books I have read about the Holocaust yet!
Also very creative. What would you do if you could be invisible? I loved the blend of history and magical realism/paranormal. It was great for this story. It turned something bad into something a tiny bit more fun.
Loved all the characters. Excellent character development. They were all very realistic.
A mere 5 stars does not do this book justice, it deserves 10. I will definitely be reading more by this fantastic author!
Thank you TLC Book Tours for sending me a copy of this book to read and give an honest review.
May 4, 2022
As many 5-star reviews already make clear this unique and dazzling work of plausible YA/teen historical fiction is a MUST-READ book for all open to learning empowering and inspiring lessons of the Holocaust. It tells two stories - the better-known one of what out-of-control perpetrators and collaborators ceaselessly did to their victims (the atrocities of the Horror Story) and the less well-known one of how certain victim Upstanders dared altruistically at risk of life to try and relieve suffering and improve the chances of survival of less fortunate others (the Help Story). A reader meets such unforgettable role models as French, German, and Spanish folks who hid Jews being hunted by the murderous Nazis, impoverished forest-based Jewish resistance fighters, German guards in the camps who looked the other way, a Jewish underground agent who tried to get Hitler murdered, and the noble like. An emotionally-rewarding page-turner, the book makes clear we humans are "hard-wired" to resist dehumanization in 101 creative ways. One takes away fresh hope for humanity guided by many Upstanders here and abroad, now and forever.
June 21, 2022
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating is 4.5 stars.
Sophie Siegel is a jewish girl who witnesses firsthand the rise and, eventually, the fall of Nazi Germany. She witnesses the atrocities they carry out on anyone not deemed pure.
When the Nazi come to kill her family, she hides in the closet and effectively becomes invisible. She uses this power to try and help her people. First by smuggling food and supplies into the ghetto, then by hitching a ride on one of the cattle cars that are infamous to the labor camp. Here she continues to try and help by stealing handfuls of fresh food to slip to people, sabotaging the death showers, helping people physically, whatever she can do. And through her and her actions we see some of the crimes committed.
From there we escape to the woods to follow a group of resistance and then to the city and “The bunker.”
What did I think?
Well, it’s an interesting idea to make a girl invisible so she can get into all these different places and follow all these different people. Or did she?
That ending…wow!!!
Actual rating is 4.5 stars.
Sophie Siegel is a jewish girl who witnesses firsthand the rise and, eventually, the fall of Nazi Germany. She witnesses the atrocities they carry out on anyone not deemed pure.
When the Nazi come to kill her family, she hides in the closet and effectively becomes invisible. She uses this power to try and help her people. First by smuggling food and supplies into the ghetto, then by hitching a ride on one of the cattle cars that are infamous to the labor camp. Here she continues to try and help by stealing handfuls of fresh food to slip to people, sabotaging the death showers, helping people physically, whatever she can do. And through her and her actions we see some of the crimes committed.
From there we escape to the woods to follow a group of resistance and then to the city and “The bunker.”
What did I think?
Well, it’s an interesting idea to make a girl invisible so she can get into all these different places and follow all these different people. Or did she?
That ending…wow!!!
June 30, 2023
Sophie Siegel has moved multiple times in Germany as her family has witnessed Jewish rights decline and anti-Semitism rise. Ortschaft became home in 1940. Sophie is devastated when she cannot attend school. As life worsens, Sophie is left to protect her young best friend Gideon "Giddy" Goldfarb. In this vivid and emotional novel, Sophie witnesses Nazi Germany's intention to exterminate her people, from being taken to the local Ghetto to being sent to a concentration camp.
Historical fiction and magical realism by David Michael Slater will move you. All Holocaust books are significant but many are redundant. No Vanishing. The author's raw, hard-to-read style is captivating. Slater writes brilliantly, and the characters are complex. Seeing this hatred and brutality through a child's eyes is sad. I recommend this book to adults and high schoolers despite its difficult parts. It's a quick read at 200 pages. These pages contain so much.
Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.
Historical fiction and magical realism by David Michael Slater will move you. All Holocaust books are significant but many are redundant. No Vanishing. The author's raw, hard-to-read style is captivating. Slater writes brilliantly, and the characters are complex. Seeing this hatred and brutality through a child's eyes is sad. I recommend this book to adults and high schoolers despite its difficult parts. It's a quick read at 200 pages. These pages contain so much.
Thank you so much to #Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.
June 7, 2022
Reviewing books about the Holocaust is always difficult. It feels wrong to say it's a good book. And yet, the story keeps popping into my thoughts and even dreams weeks after finishing it. I enjoy when books linger long after they've been read.
The book is a very unique fusion of historical fiction and fantasy fiction. It felt a bit jarring when Sophie first vanished--I wish the author spent a little bit more time in this scene. However, the reader and Sophie both adjust fairly quickly to her new normal. There are violent scenes, detailed murders, and rape references that make the book more appropriate for teen and young adult readers than middle grade readers.
Overall, the pacing was just right and the voice and style were intriguing. The author's spin on an alternative history was fresh and appreciated. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication.
The book is a very unique fusion of historical fiction and fantasy fiction. It felt a bit jarring when Sophie first vanished--I wish the author spent a little bit more time in this scene. However, the reader and Sophie both adjust fairly quickly to her new normal. There are violent scenes, detailed murders, and rape references that make the book more appropriate for teen and young adult readers than middle grade readers.
Overall, the pacing was just right and the voice and style were intriguing. The author's spin on an alternative history was fresh and appreciated. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication.
July 7, 2022
The Vanishing by David Michael Slater
In his novel, The Vanishing, David Michael Slater addresses the Holocaust in a truly unique and memorable way. His words capture the voices of the Holocaust--voices that speak of unimaginable evil and horror and voices of those whose courage, compassion, and commitment to humanity inspire us.
In one novel, the author focused upon all aspects of the Holocaust and the importance of memory, reminding us of the prophetic words of George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Throughout the novel, the author’s words touch upon significant truths regarding human nature, the importance of appreciating diversity, celebrating our common humanity, and recognizing the potential of each individual to affect positive change.
All this and much more…. an important novel.
Anita Meyer Meinbach, Ed.D.
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Miami (retired)
Author of books and articles for educators
In his novel, The Vanishing, David Michael Slater addresses the Holocaust in a truly unique and memorable way. His words capture the voices of the Holocaust--voices that speak of unimaginable evil and horror and voices of those whose courage, compassion, and commitment to humanity inspire us.
In one novel, the author focused upon all aspects of the Holocaust and the importance of memory, reminding us of the prophetic words of George Santayana, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Throughout the novel, the author’s words touch upon significant truths regarding human nature, the importance of appreciating diversity, celebrating our common humanity, and recognizing the potential of each individual to affect positive change.
All this and much more…. an important novel.
Anita Meyer Meinbach, Ed.D.
Clinical Associate Professor, University of Miami (retired)
Author of books and articles for educators
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