A searchable database of books recommended by the CCBC.
More information about CCBC Choices book recommendations
Under a Red Sky: Memoir of a Childhood in Communist Romania
CCBC Review:
A singular memoir begins when Eva (now Haya) is seven years old. Her family lives in Bucharest, Romania, in the 1950s. Eva is the only child in a household of sometimes bickering adults living under the enormous weight of Communism. Fear and doubt are the norm, making the grown-ups’ love for Eva all the more tender as each develops a distinctive relationship with this child who surely symbolizes brightness and hope. Eva discovers her family is Jewish—something that’s never been talked about—when the government gives Jews permission to apply for passports to emigrate to Israel. She becomes fascinated by her religion and is determined to learn more. At the same time, the government promptly fires the Jews who’ve applied to emigrate from their jobs, which puts her family under enormous economic hardship. Haya Leah Molnar’s compelling account of this period in her childhood ends when she and her parents finally arrive in Israel. Her vivid memories, imbued with an adult sensibility, spill onto the page in striking, beautiful prose full of with warmth and liveliness. ©2010 Cooperative Children's Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Formats:
Biography, Autobiography and Memoir
Substantial Narrative Non-Fiction
Subjects:
20th Century
Anti-Semitism
Autobiography/Memoir
Economic Hardship and Poverty
Faith, Spirituality and Religion
History (Nonfiction)
Immigration and Immigrants
Jewish People
Politics and Political Systems
Romanians and Romanian Americans
World History
Diversity subject:
Jewish
Publishers:
Farrar Straus Giroux, Frances Foster Books
Publish Year: 2010
Pages: 302
ISBN: 9780374318406
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Molnar