My Real Name is Hanna By Tara Lynn Masih

My Real Name is Hanna By Tara Lynn Masih.


This is a book of Hanna Slivka and her family’s many struggles during the Nazi occupation of Ukraine. Hanna, fourteen at the time and as the occupation continues, Hanna wonders if she will be able to survive long enough to see her next birthdays. Her family is well respected in their small community, they are able to utilize news from other parts of the country to try and stay ahead of the Gestapo. The book begins with the Silvia’s hiding different people in their barn for usually overnight. Eventually the family feels it a time to go into hiding themselves they find themselves in a cabin in the woods for a short period of time. The eventually realize that the SS are drawing nearer in their searches for any of the remaining Jews within the area. The family finds their way into a dark (mostly uninhabited) cave. With the constant worry of food, and survival necessitates always running on low, the family is always having to leave their hideout, in order to fond what they require to survive.


This book was quick, it’s not quite what I expected, but at the same time that’s not a bad thing by any means. This book gives you hope through every struggle the family faces, always leaving you with the resounding question of who’s not going to survive? Or when do the Gestapo arrive? This book constantly left me wondering what the next page will bring.


I felt slightly mislead when the description I read of the book “will resonate with fans of The Book Thief and Between Shades of Gray”. I feel that this book didn’t have enough time to be able to develop into something similar to those stories. It’s not an attempt to discount what this book has to offer, but I felt like they did not have the similarities as referenced in the synopsis on netgalley or on Goodreads.


The character development throughout the story is enthralling, I enjoyed that the story goes into the relationships that the characters had among themselves and with various individuals throughout the community. Such as Yuri, or the town lamp keeper. Development really comes into play with Alla’s love for Hanna, and how it is almost tangible throughout the story.


This book was an enjoyable quick read I would probably rate it (*)(*)(*)/5 and I would recommend this book to historical fiction readers, for something that’s a coming of age tale.


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