Content Warning: This section of the guide contains depictions of the Holocaust and antisemitism. 

It’s August 10, 1944, in Loda Forest, eastern Poland. Across Europe, Jewish people are being hunted, and 11-year-old Max Rosen is determined to survive. He thought he and his younger sister, Zena, would be safe in the forest, but now they are caught in a bombing attack. German planes roar overhead, dropping bombs that explode with devastating force. Trees are ablaze, and shards of wood and metal are flying in all directions. Soon, “soldiers with machine guns [will] stampede through the forest” (2), hunting people down. Max grips Zena’s hand as they run, but a strong explosion tears them apart, sending Max flying into a ditch. As he looks up, dazed, he sees a massive flaming tree crashing down toward him.

Three days earlier, in the Jewish ghetto of Esties, Poland, Max and Zena walk down a dark, filthy street. They are hungry and desperate: They haven’t eaten since the previous night, and they have no money, but they refuse to give up. Suddenly, two German soldiers appear, and the siblings quickly hide in a gutter. Max would like to hit them and chase them out of the town.