shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us: 800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Book News, Guests | December 14, 2009

Amy Gray: IMG How to Be a Vampire

4 comments By Amy Gray

Oh, hi. I'm Amy Gray. I like smoking, carbs, and words. I live in the (currently) sleek humidity of Melbourne, Australia. When not lying... Continue »
  1. $10.49 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    How to Be a Vampire: A Fangs-On Guide for the Newly Undead

    Amy Gray

The Devil's Arithmetic

by Jane Yolen

The Devil's Arithmetic Cover

ISBN13: 9780140345353
ISBN10: 0140345353
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 1 left in stock at $3.50!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Hannah dreads going to her family's Passover Seder — she's tired of hearing her relatives talk about the past. But when she opens the front door to symbolically welcome the prophet Elijah, she's transported to a Polish village in the year 1942, where she becomes caught up in the tragedy of the time.

Review:

"Readers will come away with a sense of tragic history that both disturbs and compels." Booklist

Synopsis:

Hannah is tired of hearing about the Nazis during the Holocaust, but when she opens the door for Elijah at the Passover Seder, she is transported in time to 1940s Poland, where she is captured and put in a death camp. A girl named Rivka befriends her, teaching her how to fight the dehumanization of the camp and hold onto her identity.

back to top

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Jena, May 27, 2009 (view all comments by Jena)
For as complicated as the Holocaust was, Yolen manages to compress a considerable amount of the horror into these pages meant for readers of 10-12 years of age.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(2 of 2 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
crowyhead, March 27, 2007 (view all comments by crowyhead)
At first I had trouble getting into this novel, since I'm usually impatient with time-travel-esque storylines. Once I got a couple chapters in, though, I was utterly swept up in the story.

12-year-old Hannah Stern is frustrated with her family's insistence on remembering the Holocaust -- she's embarrassed when her grandfather becomes angry and yells in Yiddish at the mention of Nazis, and she doesn't understand why they must spend so much time "dwelling" on it. This changes when she is transported back in time and takes on the life of Chaya, a Jewish girl who is confined to a death camp.

The strength of this novel is its simplicity. Yolen is a skillful storyteller, and she knows that when it comes to events like the Holocaust, the events and experiences speak for themselves. It feels strange to say that I "enjoyed" this book, but the truth is, Yolen tells the truth so well that it allows you to taste the kernels of bravery and beauty within the bitterness of the events described.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(13 of 22 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
BarnBabeB, June 6, 2006 (view all comments by BarnBabeB)
This Book was a great book to read and if you are wondering about what happened in the time of WW2 then you should read this book! When I was reading this book it made me feel upset and I think that none of that should have happened to the jews just because the were different.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(16 of 33 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
View all 3 comments
back to top

Product Details

ISBN:
9780140345353
Author:
Yolen, Jane
Publisher:
Puffin Books
Location:
New York, N.Y., U.S.A. :
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General
Subject:
Jews
Subject:
Poland
Subject:
Ethnic - Other
Subject:
Historical - Holocaust
Subject:
People & Places - Other
Subject:
Time travel
Subject:
Concentration camps
Subject:
Time travel -- Fiction.
Subject:
People & Places - United States - Other
Subject:
Historical - General
Series Volume:
74
Publication Date:
October 1990
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
Children/juvenile
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
170
Dimensions:
7.76x5.03x.47 in. .31 lbs.
Age Level:
10-14
back to top

Other books you might like

  1. $2.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    A Girl Called Boy

    Belinda Hurmence
  2. $16.99 New Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Year's Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teens: First Annual Collection (Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy for Teens)

    Patrick Nielsen Hayden
  3. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Queen's Own Fool

    Jane Yolen and Robert J. Harris
  4. $2.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Ramona and Her Father (Avon Camelot Books)

    Beverly Cleary
  5. $2.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman #5

    Dav Pilkey
  6. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Surviving the Applewhites

    Stephanie S Tolan
back to top

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.