Review: Resistance

Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I finished reading this book last night, the first word that came to mind was WOW. This historical fiction novel follows Polish Jews who are part of a resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. Chaya is a sixteen-year-old courier; her job is to sneak food and supplies into the ghettos, but she also sneaks people out of the ghetto. Thanks to her looks and language skills, she can easily blend in with Polish Christians, so German soldiers often don't think twice about letting her into the ghettos "to sell scarves."

When Esther joins Chaya's resistance group, Chaya is very unimpressed with her. She can't possibly understand what she will offer their group. Esther is timid and makes lots of mistakes. Eventually, Chaya learns to trust Esther, and they become like sisters. They take their fight to the Warsaw ghetto right as it is about to be heavily attacked by the Nazis. Their mission is to save as many Jews as possible while making the world take notice of their resistance.

This novel accurately depicts the atrocious living conditions in the Jewish ghettos. It is violent without being gory. While it may be difficult for students to stomach, I think Resistance is a necessary read. It seems that history is repeating itself far too often. Students and adults alike need to learn from the past so that there will be hope for a more peaceful future. In her closing, Jennifer A. Nielsen says that "love is the resistance." I hope this book will inspire students not to blindly follow or believe what someone tells them; I think one of the greatest takeaways from this novel is to stand up and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, whether that be because they are too weak, too scared, or too hopeless. There is always hope. There is always a cause or a person worth fighting for. Don't be a sheep "who goes like lambs to the slaughter."

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