Review: The Child's Eye View of Strange Times
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 3, 2011
Reviewing the Kindle Edition.I love books like this that are written from the point of view of a child growing up in times and places that are historically documented as being 'difficult'.  There is something incredibly affirming in looking at these times in the way that a child does- as normal, as how they just lived with their families, went to school, had childhood friends, school anxieties, and the things that are so important to children, and are so overlooked by adults who are, of course, absorbed in great events.This is just a lovely novel.  It gives you such a sense of who this little girl was and what she thought was so important in her daily life in Communist Romania.  Her best friend, the other children in school are well-drawn, and naturally, she also has a special adult friend, someone more glamorous than Mom who shared a wider perspective on the world with her. The family was poor, but since all the families were poor, the children seem not to notice.  This only becomes obvious to the little girl when she has her heart set on going to a summer camp, an expensive treat that her family can't quite afford.I highly recommend this- it's a wonderful story, beautifully written.