Fashion historian Adlington has fictionalized a little-known aspect of Holocaust history: the existence of a sewing studio at Auschwitz where twenty-three prisoners worked.
Fourteen-year-old Ella has been in Birchwood — a fictional concentration camp based on Auschwitz-Birkenau — for three weeks when she applies for a job at the camp’s Upper Tailoring Studio. She quickly demonstrates her exemplary skills, winning an impromptu competition to sew a dress for one of the guards. Sewing becomes Ella’s way to survive. When she forms an attachment to fellow studio worker Rose, they create an unbreakable bond. This relationship forms much of the narrative’s strength.
While backmatter about the historical facts that inspired the book would have been helpful, the story is fascinating.
Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Barbara Krasner is the author of many books across genres, including fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature. Her recent titles include 37 Days at Sea: Aboard the M.S. St. Louis, 1939, Civilian Casualties in War and Ethel’s Song: Ethel Rosenberg’s Life in Poems. Her book Goldie Takes a Stand! Golda Meir’s First Crusade was a recipient of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award. She holds a Ph.D. in Holocaust and genocide studies from Gratz College, teaches in the Holocaust and genocide studies program at the College of New Jersey, and serves as director of the Mercer County Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Center. She also holds an MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.
