Dark Shadows Hover (Holocaust Books for Young Adults)

A young Bosnian-Jewish boy escapes transport to a WWII death camp, joining Tito’s Partisans to fight the Nazi and Axis powers, and faces what no child should ever have to.
This biographical fiction based on the early adolescence of Moris Albahari dives into the little-known events in the former Yugoslavia during World War II. Moris’s harrowing story takes him from the small city of Drvar, Bosnia, escaping transport to a Croatian death camp, and eventually joining Tito’s Partisans. Now, he must face the onslaught of the Nazis and their collaborators.
As a Partisan, Moris hides his Jewish identity fearing reprisals. This adds a layer to the hardships he endures as a liberation fighter in a country that has many factions fighting each other, while trying to defeat the fascist invaders. All the while, he doesn’t know if his family is alive. He feels alone within his fighting unit, except for a few trusted friends. His is a story of loneliness, grief, heartache, inner conflict, and ultimately the jagged edges of resilience.
Moris’s traumatic wartime experience will touch you with its heart-wrenching saga during the most heinous event in human history in a region steeped in its own long-standing history of conflict.