Running for Shelter

A True Story (Holocaust Books for Young Adults)

Young Adult - Social Issues
174 Pages
Reviewed on 04/11/2023
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Steve Leshin for Readers' Favorite

Running For Shelter by Suzette Sheft is the story of the author’s grandmother as a young girl raised in Vienna, Austria in the 1930s. At first young Inga Eisinger lives a sheltered life. Her mother is Stella, who enjoys fine art, and nice things. Inga’s grandmother is around and has a governess who teaches proper manners and ensures Inga behaves. The young girl enjoys her friends in the exciting city of Vienna. All this comes to a halt when her estranged father suddenly appears on their doorstep. He is in trouble and asks for help from Stella. In the background, there is the Nazi invasion of Austria. Soon Inga witnesses her father being brutally beaten and taken away from the house. She does not understand why. Soon things go from bad to worse. Inga’s house is absent of furniture, the servants are gone, and she must leave Vienna with her mother and go to Switzerland. Overnight her whole world changes and Inga must live in poverty and be torn away from her family. Why? There is a family secret that her mother did not reveal to her.

Running For Shelter is a coming-of-age tale geared toward young adults. Yet it can be appreciated by readers of all ages. Suzette Shef was only age 13 when she began to write Running For Shelter, the true story of her grandmother’s experience during the Holocaust. It is an incredibly well-researched account of a young girl’s life experience during the horrible events taking place when the Nazis invaded most of Europe. It is written in a style that is engrossing and will engage the reader in a powerful and meaningful way. I was impressed with the writing and the way Shef related the story of her grandmother. In a way, it reminded me of Anne Frank's diary. Shef demonstrates the subtle way the Holocaust affected the lives of those not taken directly to the camps, yet they were still victims. Part of the Holocaust Books for Young Adults series, it is an essential and engaging work. A must-read.