Book Review: Turned Away

Turned Away: The World War II Diary of Devorah Bernstein by Carol Matas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm not much of a fiction fan. However Scholastic's "Dear. . . " series are always books I can't put down. "Turned Away" was no exception. Because this was from the "Dear Canada" series, I learned things about WWII I never heard as an American. I didn't know Canadian troops were stationed in Hong Kong and the statistics about them through the book were very interesting. Also, I had never heard of "If Day" where they participated in one day that might be what life would be like if the Nazis were to invade Canada. Of course, the story was compelling. Devorah has a Jewish cousin in France. They send packages to her family, and in the midst of Devorah's life there is worry about Sarah, as well as letters Sarah is able to get to Devorah. I am an adult reading this series, and I sometimes think the issues confronted may be a little too complex for younger children. I highly enjoyed this book, and the only thing that I didn't like about it (aside from how it ended) was that a 12 year old kept calling her mother "Mommy". That sounded a little too young for a twelve year old, but then again maybe that was common in 1941 Canada.