A girl imprisoned in Auschwitz works secretly as a librarian in this graphic-novel adaptation of Iturbe's celebrated 2017 work.Based on the real story of Edita Kraus, who as a young teenager worked in a forbidden school within Auschwitz, the book follows Dita, an ordinary, book-loving Jewish Czech girl whose world is turned upside down when the Nazis arrive. Yellow stars and school closures come first, then deportation to Terezín and from there to Auschwitz. Though Auschwitz is an extermination camp, Dita and her family experience something resembling luck: They're sent to BIIb, the family camp, where the Nazis temporarily keep Jews alive so they can perpetuate the lie that prisoners are being treated humanely. There, Dita secretly shepherds the few smuggled books into the hands of teachers and students. The prose, translated from Spanish, is flavorless; the heavy emotional lifting relies on the visuals. While the composition of the art works perfectly in some scenes (Dita's first glimpse of Auschwitz, for example), the images are sometimes too cheery. Characters look almost adorable even when they're starving in Bergen-Belsen, and only a few spreads grapple with the horrific conditions. A historical note provides some context.Accessible but visually too upbeat for the subject, this is best paired with other Holocaust resources. (Graphic novel. 9-12)

Gr 9 Up— Based on Iturbe's novelization of Dita Kraus's experiences during World War II, this graphic novel details Kraus's early life in Czechoslovakia, her love of reading, and the unusual existence of a family camp and classroom (of sorts) for children within Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Kraus and her family arrived in 1942. The first half of the book also establishes the teen's precarious responsibility as keeper of the camp's eight prized but forbidden volumes, and the threats, terror, and trauma of life in the camp where hundreds were sent to the gas chambers daily. Dialogue bubbles and text boxes, along with striking, purely visual panel sequences and full-page images, advance the story. The second half of the book moves at a quicker pace, reducing some events to cursory (and potentially confusing) treatment. The illustrated epilogue, which offers additional information about Adolf Hitler's objectives and a few of the individuals featured in the book, will help answer some questions readers may have. Sepia tones that evoke the era dominate the opening pages, while scenes in shadowy blue gray emphasize the dangerous, clandestine nature of much of the activity at the camp. Red enters as the background color when Nazi soldiers appear or pure panic sets in. Included is an image of a mass grave, and others of naked prisoners being led to the gas chambers. VERDICT Along with memoirs or nonfiction histories, this book may serve Holocaust units, and discussions about the history of restricting access to books, especially where differentiated materials are needed.— Daryl Grabarek