The Year of Goodbyes: a true story of friendship, family, and farewells by Debbie Levy 136 pages

In 1938, Jutta Salzberg loses her happy childhood as Hitler's reign transforms life for Jewish Germans residing in Germany. Levy uses a unique primary source, her mother's poesiealbum (poetry album), her spare verses told through mother's 12 year-old voice and family photos to create a slim book with a powerful punch. This is a thoroughly original treatment that uses actual entries from the poesiealbum with comments that respond to and question some of the sentiments expressed by her mother's young friends. The author's forward that explains her mother's book and the afterward that reveals the author's extensive research chronicling the fates of friends and family members is essential reading. This is an important addition to Holocaust literature written for young people.