A young Jewish girl Enia Field was seven years old when the Nazis invaded Poland. It was the year 1939. She as a spirited girl with a song for every occasion. In the next five years she lost her voice due to losing her mother, father, elder brother and sister’s death. Her neighbors didn’t help her. Why? It is a first hand account of Edina’s fight for survival during World War II. She would survive loss, betrayal, near-execution, and spend two years away from the warmth of the sun―all before the age of eleven. When the war was over, Edina walked barefoot across European borders and finds a home in an Austrian displaced persons camp. She finally crosses the Atlantic to arrive in New York City. She changed her name to Estelle Nadel.

This graphic memoir is rendered in bright colors with expression and emotions. This is an important story as it seems unbelievable to many that there was no Holocaust but there was. It is important that people are aware of what happened in World War 2. The graphic memoir makes it easy to assess what happened. It is tragic and uplifting.

It fascinates me how Holocaust memoirs can be so similar and yet entirely different. We learn something different from each person's story. This is well put together, giving us a complex picture of a family at the start of the war and the gradual changes that the war brought. Lovely and heart breaking.

Estelle was born as Enia in a small Polish town in 1934. Through the courage of Polish neighbors, she and two of her brothers managed to survive the Holocaust in hiding. This hopeful graphic novel brings to life Enia/Estelle's story in a sensitive realistic way so that young readers of today will learn and know to never forget.

The Girl Who Sang follows a young girl and her family as they hide during the Holocaust.
This graphic novel was well-drawn and told a familiar tale of the Holocaust. It was very good but did not contain anything to set it apart from all of the other books about this tragic event. Which is tough- because every individual's story is valid and needed.

The Girl Who Sang is the graphic novel depiction of a Holocaust survivor’s story. Estelle Nadel, who grew up in Poland tells the story of her family. The graphic novel was a bit hard on places but so was the Holocaust and it’s important that our younger generations learn about it so they don’t repeat it. I would recommend this book for 5th grade and older.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion.

It feels like every Holocaust story is a scream against the histories that we are not taught. I used to be able to read them and not think about how the world is now, how it feels like we haven't changed.

Estelle Nadel was once Enia, a girl that helped her mother in the kitchen and made up songs to sing. Her life changes when the Germans invade Poland, and enter her village of Borek. Her father insists that God will protect them, but soon he vanishes after a day at the refinery with mandatory work days, as do her older sister and brother. Soon Enia only has her two older brothers as they hide in a neighbor's attic. They can only wait, and hope for the war to end.

Enia changes and sees much more tragedy than anyone should witness. She knows when to be quiet and not move, while missing her freedom and house. Enia wonders how neighbors and teens can turn in the Jewish people hiding from the Gestapo, but a complete stranger will offer kindness at a crucial time.

I admit the story was painful to read, seeing how much Enia and her brothers lost. But it's a necessary story, as hate continues in the world, and deniers dig their heels in even after losing money in lawsuits. Those that survived the Holocaust are getting older and won't be around forever. The art took my breath away, and it was an effort not to cry. I feel privileged to have read this story.

While there really are no words to describe what Estelle went through, this was a beautifully rendered novel that gives back a voice to the woman who lost hers. Haunting, wonderful, heartbreaking, luminous - all these describe what I experience and found as I turned the pages and became lost in the story of a child who experienced life's worst and emerged scarred but unbroken. Absolutely fantastic and I sincerely hope this wins multiple awards. Ten loving stars!

Good World War 2 graphic novel. A quick read that will engage readers and give a glimpses into life as a person trying to survive and stay alive during WW2.

A powerful and heartbreaking graphic novel of a young Jewish girl hiding in Poland during the Nazi occupation. Told in a beautiful way that celebrates her family life and Jewish traditions before the war, Estelle’s story is sad yet hopeful. She survived the worst evil that humanity could thrust upon a young girl, finding a new home and family thousands of miles away.

I loved how this story is told by Estelle herself, a Holocaust survivor who speaks to school groups. We all need to hear these stories and remember the ones who lost their lives and their families. With antisemitism on the rise again, it is imperative that we all read and share these stories with our kids. I know I won’t forget Estelle’s story and will honor her and all of those who lived through such a horrific time. We must never forget.

This was such a moving and heartrending story and I'm so glad that Estelle chose to tell it. One of the most important things we can do is bear witness to the horrors of the Holocaust, and that is why I think it's so important to read the books of survivors. This graphic novel was very well done. I read this whole book in a sitting and then I sat in a puddle of tears. I will always be amazed at the lengths people will go to survive and protect their loved ones. One of the things I enjoyed most about this story was that it focused not only on surviving the war years but also on what came after. I think it is important that people learn that the antisemitism that led to the Holocaust didn't just stop when the war ended. Poland and other European countries that had participated in the Holocaust were just as dangerous for Jews in the years after.

I also loved that this story shows us that not everyone was willing to turn on the Jews. There were still good people willing to do what was right. That brings me hope.

I was also a girl who sang - singing has always been the thing I can do to make myself feel better. I loved that she was able to use her gift to bring herself and others joy.

I recommend this book for children ages 10+

The memoir of Estelle Nadel, born Enia Feld, a Holocaust survivor. The graphic novel format works really well to bring this story to life and to convey the cramped spaces where Enia and her family were confined. Though obviously very heavy, this story is filled with hope and determination.

I requested this thinking it was a children’s book. I was probably moving too fast and I saw a cute cover and singing and just went for it. It’s definitely something different! This beautiful graphic novel tells the true story of Enia and her family, Jews in wartime Poland. The story of the Holocaust is told through the eyes of a child, as Enia loses so many of her loved ones and spends years in hiding.
This book is not really for younger children. Of course, any book about the Holocaust will have heavy content, but this one contains images of people being killed (ex: Jewish people having been shot by a firing squad, with blood on the wall behind them). I do think that older readers will find that this is a good introduction to understanding the Holocaust without being too gruesome. I think one of the most important takeaways in the story is the impact of those who helped Enia and her family, and those who refused them or actively turned against them for their own self-preservation. Lifting up stories of humans helping other humans in dangerous times is incredibly important. Overall, this memoir is beautifully written and illustrated, and easily accessible for both young adults and older adults alike. We are so fortunate that survivors of this awful moment in history have shared their stories with us, so that we will never forget.

It never ceases to amaze me how some people survived the war and lived to tell their story. I am especially touched by graphic novels and by stories of children during the war, and this one will stay with me.

Thank you to Net Galley for a copy of The Girl Who Sang by Estelle Nadal ,Sammy Stavos and Bethany Strout in exchange for a honest review.This book told in graphic novel form is a very riveting first hand account of Estelle who loved to sing but when the Holocaust came to her doorstep ,she had to stop.Forced to hide with her brother and mother at her neighbor’s house.When her mother is randomly killed, it is just her and her brother.After the war, danger still lurked.so she and her brothers travel to America in search of a new life.The is a first hand account of survival during desperate times.Perfect for elementary school students(3rd grade and over because of some violence).Great book for introducing the Holocaust to younger readers.

The Girl Who Sang is a Holocaust Memoir told through a graphic novel. This book tells the story of Estelle, a 7-year-old girl born to a Jewish family and her older brother. This book shows Estelle go through the holocaust and experience the deaths of so many people. This book shows how that affected her as a person and how she lived life after surviving.
This would be a great book for students to read to learn about the holocaust from a child's perspective in a visual way that also showcases how experiences we have as children can impact even our adult lives. This is a great read for anyone looking to hear another perspective on one of the saddest events in human history.
This book obviously has so much care put into it, from the illustrations to the way Estelle's story is recorded and shared. This is a great example of a nonfiction read as well as a graphic novel.

I loved this, I cried so many times. It’s absolutely tragic, the way Enid had to go from place to place, never truly being with her brothers the way she should. I loved the art, and the timelines and diagrams of people.

In The Girl Who Sang, Estelles' life in Poland before, during, and after the Holocaust is depicted in an inspiring graphic memoir. What a captivating, heart-wrenching memoir. It has me choked up. I have many graphic memoirs in my book collection, but none have moved me like this one.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. It is both gritty and hopeful! While on the outside it may look suitable for middle grade readers it is important to be aware of the violent content. This is a novel about the Holocaust and the main character faces many challenges including the violent loss of multiple family members. This is a must have for all young adult collections. The book is well written and the illustrations perfectly fit the story.

I'm a firm believer that books about events in the past that are significant, especially books which are accessible to all ages, should be available. When I saw that this was not only a memoir but a graphic memoir of a holocaust survivor, I definitely wanted to give it a read. Sadly we have reached a point in time where the number of people who lived through World War II are very few, so it's important that their stories are told and that people continue to learn about those events. Estells/Enia's story is both heartbreaking and uplifting, starting before the war and progressing through her loss. She lost most of her family as so many did, and had to survive through horrible and scary things, relying on people who could have turned on her at any moment. It's also the story of those who did help her and her brothers to survive, those who risked themselves to keep the children as safe as they could. The artwork is beautiful and informative, many details of specific places and customs woven into the story. Since it's a graphic memoir it is accessible and easily read, but full of Estelle's impactful story and should be shared and read for a personal view on the events of the holocaust.

The Girl Who Sang by Estelle Nadel, illustrated by Sammy Savos and Bethany Strout (Roaring Brook Press, January 2024) is a graphic memoir about a very young Jewish girl surviving World War II hiding in barn. I’m always amazed at what humankind can endure and how strong children can be during hard times. The Girl Who Sang emphasized the author’s resilience and the strength she found after she was once again freed from hiding and able to sing in her joy.


Enia (Estelle’s Polish name) was just a preschool child when the war began, and so she did not have the chance to attend school before life changed dramatically in her small town in Poland. She and her brothers end up the only ones from their family to survive the war, and it is only due to the kindness of neighbors who hide them in the attic barn, amazingly hiding their presence from the father of the house for more than a year before he discovers and supports them as well. Following the war, the book travels to New York and eventually to the author’s own adulthood, to show just how far she has come.

The illustrator wonderfully captured the events of the book in graphic novel format, with a clear sense of place that helped the reader recognize the community and the children’s place in it. Although the book dealt with difficult issues and there are bloody scenes depicting some of the events, in general, the color tone and narration remains child-friendly. The illustrator nicely captures Enia’s various emotions and brings the story to life. I loved how, after the war, as Enia (now Estelle) did things familiar to her like cooking the borscht, the outline of her mother smiled on her, an echo of her very early years with her dear mother.

It is hard to imagine being confined to an attic for years. Enia/Estelle’s story is amazing. That said, because life is not neat and tidy, the graphic memoir did lack a little bit of continuity. I felt there could have been more emphasis on Estelle’s singing after the war (as the end note says she did). It was disappointing that she never ends up living with her older brothers again, after there is so much emphasis on how they needed each other. Further, the recovery years after the war seemed rushed through in order to get to that great last story.

There was some resolution in The Girl Who Sang, but as with life, there were still many loose ends at the end. I can’t fault the book for that. That is, unfortunately, what happens when a childhood is spent in such a traumatic situation. People are never quite the same and it can’t be wrapped up with a bow in a true memoir. I’m just glad that even with her trauma, she could still become a girl who sang.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance review copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.