Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust by Neal Shusterman (review)

Reviewed by: Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust by Neal Shusterman Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Shusterman, Neal Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust; illus. by Andrés Vera Martínez. Graphix/Scholastic, 2023 [256p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780545313476 $24.99 Paper ed. ISBN 9780545313483 $14.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781338129403 $14.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8-12 Against the grim backdrop of World War II and the Holocaust, Shusterman offers a graphic novel with five tales of magic and hope, drawing inspiration from Jewish history, folklore, and culture. Sisters in hiding find escape through a magical window, but the eldest is left behind; a golem exacts revenge on the guards of Auschwitz; Baba Yaga helps Jewish resistance fighters hiding in the German woods; the staff of Moses—disguised as a curtain rod—parts the seas to help Jews fleeing Denmark; and, perhaps in the most heartbreaking tale, a gift from a grandmother gives a young girl a glimpse of the family that could have been were it not for the Holocaust. The stories' fantastical elements bring hope to tragic events that surely had little, and they work along with the specificity of the Jewish experience to allow readers to fully contemplate the humanity of the victims without being overwhelmed by the horror of it all. Martínez's art has a retro feel, calling up early comics with plentiful dialogue and onomatopoeia, and though the human figures often feel stiff, the scenes centering on the fantastic are effortlessly dynamic. Between each tale is a brief, informative spread that further explains real-world events and cultural elements that inspired the story. This is an obvious choice for history units but might also spur discussion on how processing tragedy through fiction can lead to greater understanding and empathy. Copyright © 2023 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois