Impossible Escape by Steve Sheinkin

Impossible Escape

A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe

Steve Sheinkin

Roaring Brook Press · Print & ebook · August 29, 2023

From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust—one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape.

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Who it’s for
A tightly pressured true story follows an escape shaped by the need to warn the world.
Themes
Holocaust, Survival, Whistleblowing
Pacing
Fast

About this book

From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust—one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape. It is 1944. A teenager named Rudolf (Rudi) Vrba has made up his mind. After barely surviving nearly two years in the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, he knows he must escape. Even if death is more likely.

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Rudi has learned the terrible secret hidden behind the heavily guarded fences of concentration camps across Nazi-occupied Europe: the methodical mass killing of Jewish prisoners. As trains full of people arrive daily, Rudi knows that the murders won’t stop until he reveals the truth to the world—and that each day that passes means more lives are lost. Lives like Rudi’s schoolmate Gerta Sidonová. Gerta’s family fled from Slovakia to Hungary, where they live under assumed names to hide their Jewish identity. But Hungary is beginning to cave under pressure from German Nazis. Her chances of survival become slimmer by the day. The clock is ticking. As Gerta inches closer to capture, Rudi and his friend Alfred Wetzler begin their crucial steps towards an impossible escape. This is the true story of one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world, and how his death-defying escape helped save over 100,000 lives. Don’t miss out on these exciting true stories by Steve Sheinkin, perfect for all historians! ● Impossible Escape: A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe ● Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown ● Born to Fly: The First Women's Air Race Across America ● Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team ● Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War ● The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights ● Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon (A Newbery Honor Book–also available in Graphic Novel!) ● The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery …and more!

Truth Against Time

A tightly pressured true story follows an escape shaped by the need to warn the world.

Come here for

  • A Holocaust history told through two teenagers’ perilous, converging circumstances
  • The urgency of one person trying to make the truth known

Expect

  • A sustained narrative grounded in survival and resistance
  • Grave subject matter, handled through specific human stakes

Where it sits

Holocaust History for Teens97%
Lives in History73%
Wars & Military History for Teens50%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Lives in History
  • European History
  • Holocaust History for Teens
Authors
Steve Sheinkin
Publisher
Roaring Brook Press
Published
August 29, 2023
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Holocaust · Survival · Whistleblowing
Reading lane
Lives in History