WHAT THE NIGHT SINGS
(YA, Alfred A. Knopf, 2018)
For fans of The Book Thief and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas comes a lushly illustrated novel about a teen Holocaust survivor, who must come to terms with who she is and how to rebuild her life.
After losing her family and everything she knew in the Nazi concentration camps, Gerta is finally liberated, only to find herself completely alone. Without her Papa, her music, or even her true identity, she must move past the task of surviving and onto living her life. In the displaced persons camp where she is staying, Gerta meets Lev, a fellow teen survivor who she just might be falling for, despite her feelings for someone else. With a newfound Jewish identity she never knew she had, and a return to the life of music she thought she lost forever, Gerta must choose how to build a new future.
“A tour de force. This powerful story of love, loss, and survival is not to be missed.” — Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Nightingale
“What the Night Sings is a book from the heart, of the heart, and to the heart. Vesper Stamper’s Gerta will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Her story is one of hope and redemption and life — a blessing to the world.” — Deborah Heiligman, award-winning author of Charles and Emma and Vincent and Theo
A Junior Library Guild Selection
"…will leave readers gasping.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"…exceptionally moving debut...a strong addition to the bookshelf of Holocaust fiction." —Publisher's Weekly, Starred Review
"The narrative is spare but powerful as it depicts the daily horrors of the camps and the struggle to survive, hold on to humanity and, once freed, understand how to live again." —School Library Journal, Starred Review
"...accomplished and tender debut...The delicate play of emotions between the characters, and within Gerta herself, is beautifully etched by Ms. Stamper against a backdrop of unfathomable loss and suffering." -Wall Street Journal
LISTEN TO THE WHAT THE NIGHT SINGS PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY HERE!
What Readers are Saying:
“Your book is so important and I cannot imagine it not existing in the world.”
“I know that this book will forever remain one of my favorites.”
“This is a book that will stay with me forever.”
"Read it to trace your own humanity.”
“This book really crawls inside you and becomes stuck in your soul… Exemplary.”
“What the Night Sings frames everything true and right about humanity against its most vile and heartbreaking moments.”
“This is a radiant and important book…This should become a classic.”
“I am still in tears from reading this wonderful piece of literature.”
“Let's put ourselves in someone else's shoes so we don't repeat history and maybe practice more empathy to the people suffering around us even today.”
“...reading it while keeping global current events in mind serves as a call to action.”
“...this is a book I will re-read many times.”
“I literally couldn't breathe while reading this book!”
“It is a MUST READ, especially for young adults who are on the threshold of becoming citizens of the world.”