Fighter in the Woods

January 1, 2025

Gr 3-7-A gripping and graphic biography of a young Holocaust survivor based on interviews with the subject. This is the true story of Celia Cimmer, a young Jewish teen living in Poland at the start of World War II, who showed incredible bravery and determination in the face of unimaginable brutality and loss. Cimmer was away at school when the war started, and after bombs fell on her school she made her way home only to find that former friends and neighbors have turned against her, the family home has been taken over by the Nazis, and the area has been turned into a Jewish ghetto. Cimmer and her siblings had to choose either to work for the Nazis or join the resistance. Most of Cimmer's family were murdered trying to escape from the ghetto, but Cimmer and her sister survived and made their way to join their two older brothers in the Partisan resistance fighters in the woods. After the war, Cimmer married and emigrated to the U.S., where she eventually agreed to tell her story. A series of nine explanatory text blocks on subjects including antisemitism, the Holocaust, various types of camps, and resistance appear throughout the book, providing critical historical background without disrupting the narrative. Back matter includes an extensive author's note, historical photographs, and previews of other Focus books on the same topic. VERDICT An important addition to any collection, perfect for fans of Tarshis's "I Survived" series who are ready to move on to more complex books.-Sue Morgan

Copyright 2025 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2025
Grades 4-7 A complement to Greene's previous Holocaust narrative, The Girl Who Fought Back (2024), and based on recordings of Holocaust testimonies, this true story describes how Celia Cimmer, a Polish Jewish teenager during WWII, joined partisans to sabotage Nazi forces. Despite the title, Celia's tale intentionally pays scant homage to her time as a partisan fighter. Instead, combining real events and fictionalized dialogue, the author concentrates on the teen's path to resistance after being awoken in 1941 by German bombings. The harrowing path includes being tortured by Nazi soldiers, escaping a Jewish ghetto as family members are killed around her, and hiding on a farm in a small hole covered by straw and manure and exposed to the cold, damp, and rats. Once Celia makes her way to a partisan group, Greene gives brief accounts of the partisans' plots rather than glamorizing their achievements and survival. This notable story of courage concludes with a look at Celia's life in America after the war, an author's note, and archival photographs.

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