By Teddyrose@1
Filed Under My Past Giveaways | Tagged With: Esfir Is Alive by Andrea Simon, Historical Fiction, Holocaust, WWII, YA
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Esfir Is Alive by Andrea Simon
Thanks to Rachel Tarlow Gul of Over the River Public Relations, I am giving away one print copy of Esfir Is Alive by Andrea Simon.
Esfir Manevich is a young Jewish girl who lives in the Polish town of Kobrin in 1936. Facing anti-Semitism in public school, Esfir moves in with her charming aunt who runs a boardinghouse in the bustling city of Brest. Being younger than the other boarders, Esfir struggles to find a place in her new life, all the while worrying about her diminishing role in the family she left behind. As the years pass, Esfir experiences the bombing of her hometown during the German invasion of 1939.
When the Russians overtake the area, Esfir sees many of her socialist relatives and friends become disillusioned by the harsh restrictions. During the German occupation, Esfir and her family are enclosed in a ghetto where they develop heartbreaking methods of survival. In the summer of 1942, shortly before Esfir’s thirteenth birthday, the ghetto is liquidated and the inhabitants are forced onto cattle cars destined for the killing fields and Esfir must face unimaginable horror.
“Never didactic, Simon’s characters—the charismatic Aunt Perl, astute Ida, and unprejudiced Ania—are refreshingly complex, and the prose, whether depicting a beloved doll or coffinlike cattle cars, remains unflinching and precise. Though its scope is ambitious (a span of approximately 16 years), this story, like Esfir herself, is achingly alive. An appended Yiddish glossary and discussion questions further enhance the text.” — Briana Shemroske, Booklist
“[Readers] will stay rooted in the everyday triumphs and growing pains of the narrator’s development from little girl to young lady, all while becoming more familiar with the facets of pre-Holocaust existence not often taught in class.” — School Library Journal
“Based on the true story of the German and Russian occupation of Poland during WWII and the real life of Esfir Manevich, Andrea Simon’s Esfir is Alive is the haunting tale of one girl’s struggle ‘to make sense of senseless things.’” – Foreword Reviews
Andrea Simon is the author of the memoir “Bashert: A Granddaughter’s Holocaust Quest,” as well as several published stories and essays. She is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the winner of the Ernest Hemingway First Novel Contest, two Dortort Creative Writing Awards, the Stark Short Fiction Prize, the Short Story Society Award, and the Authors in the Park Short Story Writing Contest.
She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York where she has taught writing. Also an accomplished photographer, Andrea lives in New York City.
This giveaway is open to worldwide and ends on November 25, 2016 midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
By Teddyrose@1
Filed Under Book Tours, My Past Giveaways | Tagged With: Floating in the Neversink by Andrea Simon, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
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Floating in the Neversink by Andrea Simon
Thanks to Rachel Tarlow Gul of Over The River Public Relations, I am giving away one print copy of ‘Floating in the Neversink’ by Andrea Simon.
In the summer of 1955, nine-year-old Amanda Gerber tearfully leaves her best friend, Francine, and their adventurous life on her block in Brooklyn’s Flatbush. She joins her cantankerous family on the long, hot drive to her grandmother’s home in the Catskill Mountains among the city’s Jews who flock to countless hotels and bungalow colonies in the heyday of the Borscht Belt. In the idyllic mountains, Amanda becomes ensconced in the tumult of her extended family and their friends, often seeking solace in the woods with her beloved cousin Laura.
Through the following summers, interspersed with the heightened drama of her emotionally charged city life, Amanda faces severe tests to her survival mechanisms, including the pain of loss, abuse, and betrayal, while family secrets threaten to disrupt her life even further. A novel-in-stories, Floating in the Neversink is a testament to the power of survival, friendship, and love.
“Her keen observations are those of a Jewish teen coming of age…. This novel too has its dark edges, as Simon explores complexities of friendship and family.” —The New York Jewish Week
“I laughed and cried at these vivid stories of a girl’s Catskills summers and Brooklyn school days as she ages from nine to 15 from 1955-1961. Floating in the Neversink is a joy to read.” –Stephanie Cowell, author Claude and Camille and Marrying Mozart, an American Book Award winner
“I appreciate that the author discusses such problems as mental illness, emotional and physical abuse, loyalty and betrayals, the importance of family, love, and hope.” –Linda’s Book Obsession
Andrea Simon is a writer and photographer based in New York City. For the past several years, she has devoted her efforts to fiction and literary nonfiction, including her published memoir/history, Bashert: A Granddaughter’s Holocaust Quest, now in paperback, and her award-winning historical novel, Esfir Is Alive.
Andrea has published numerous stories and essays and has received prestigious literary honors. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the City College of New York where she has taught writing.
Website: https://www.andreasimon.net/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonandrea19
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Indiebound
This giveaway is for both ‘Floating In the Neversink’ and ‘ Esfir Is Alive’. This giveaway is open the U.S. only and ends on November 8, 2019 midnight pacific time. Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.
By Teddyrose@1
Filed Under Giveaway Winners Galore | Tagged With: Book Giveaway Winners
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Thanks so much to all the authors, publishers, and publicists for all of the awesome giveaways! They are so much fun to host and I know my readers appreciate them!!
Thanks to everyone who entered the following giveaways!
Winners, please reply to the email I sent you today within 48 hours to claim your books. After 2 days you will be disqualified and a new winner will be picked. Rafflecopter picks all winners at random.
The winner is Anne B.
Written In the Ashes by K. Hollan Van Zandt
The winner is Denise D.
Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton
The winner is Renee G.
Brothers Path by Martha Kennedy
The winner is Wendy C.
My Grandfathers Pants by Tegon Maus
The winner is Meredith M.
Onyx Webb, Book Three by Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton
The winner of books 1, 2, & 3 is Anne B.
Dispocalypse by Michael Rothman
The winner is Nadine S.
War Torn: Courage, Love, Resilience by Kenneth E. Miller
The winner is Margie T.
Orphans of the Carnival by Carol Birch
The winner is Jennifer C.
Esfir Is Alive by Andrea Simon
The winner is Terri J.
The winners are Rhonda L., Anne B., & Jennifer C.
Europe: Chained By History: What Force Can Break the Chain? by Larry J. Hilton
The winner is Nadine S.
Dog Training the American Male by L.A. Knight
The winner is Nadine S.
Rebel With A Cause: The Doc Nikaido Story by Bretton Loney
The winner is Carl S.
CONGRATULATIONS!