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Pearl Beach, Beth Steiner, Pushkin Children’s

A debut novel which is remarkable, poignant and uplifting. Beth Steiner is not new to writing, she has written poetry for many years, this is her debut full-length book. It too is written in verse, something that made it all the more evocative for me as a reader.

 

Growing up is never something that is easy for any of us. Billie is about to turn 14 and has decided this is the summer, another at Pearl Beach, which will see her growing up. Her family are there every summer, she has a friend there, Andy, who she is excited to see again and she also has her dad’s aunt, Edith. It is Edith and Billie whose connection drives this story, fills this summer break. For it is when she is spending time with Edith that Billie begins to hear the stories of Edith’s youth, her stories of being a Holocaust survivor.

 

This is a story to treasure, based on a true story connected to the author’s own family it is moving and engaging.