The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die
At the dawn of WWII, a Jewish girl-of-the-streets, Arab, determines she will survive the Nazi occupation. Her motto is, “take care of number one.” She has been living on the streets for a long time—long enough to be betrayed by a boy she trusted and loved. After serving her jail sentence, she returns to Warsaw to pick up where she left off, living a life of petty crime and starting up her own gang of boys. Her biggest trick is dressing and acting like a boy.
But then, the Nazis take over, destroying everything Arab loves. Determined to fly under their radar, she now takes to the streets and sewers in order to steal, bribe and con her way to safety. All is well, except for her little sister, Ruthie, who is six and has run away from home. Dealing black market cigarettes to anyone who will pay up, Arab meets a young man who is working in the resistance, and he needs her help to save as many children as he can. She reluctantly agrees, on the condition that Ruthie is one of those rescued children.
Written in taut, spine-tingling prose with characters you want to know, this book captures the fear… no, the terror of living in a fascist world. Arab is the most unlikely of heroes, but with her grit and gumption, how could she be anything else?
