the end or something like that by ann dee ellis

Though slowly starving, they make the best of things with their beloved parents, although it’s more difficult once they must share their tiny flat with an unpleasant interfaith couple and their Mischling (half-Jewish) children.

The siblings are close, sharing a sign-based twin language Chaim stutters and communicates primarily with his sister. As she reconciles her feelings for the once popular and beautiful Kim, overweight Emmy also confronts such issues as self-image, bullying, the growing pains of adolescent friendships and first kisses.Ī slow start may deter some, but sophisticated readers who stick with the story will find a thoughtful search for closure and acceptance.Ī Holocaust tale with a thin “Hansel and Gretel” veneer from the author of The Devil’s Arithmetic (1988).Ĭhaim and Gittel, 14-year-old twins, live with their parents in the Lodz ghetto, forced from their comfortable country home by the Nazis. Although the quiet novel is a traditional prose narrative told from Emmy’s perspective, ample white space occasionally gives the story the look and feel of a verse novel. So why can’t she find Kim? Chapters with different typefaces alternate between Emmy’s current, grief-stricken state and events leading up to Kim’s death, most notably Kim’s interest in a supposed medium touring their Las Vegas–area community. Now that the anniversary of Kim’s death approaches, Emmy has been seeing, communicating with and even helping other recently deceased individuals navigate their transitions to death.

Before her death, Kim had made Emmy promise to contact her on important dates. It’s been one year since Emmy’s best friend, Kim, succumbed to her congenital heart disease while they were both in eighth grade. Publication date 2014 Topics Death - Juvenile fiction, Best friends - Juvenile fiction, Friendship - Juvenile fiction, High schools - Juvenile fiction, Schools - Juvenile fiction, Self-esteem - Juvenile fiction, Families - Nevada - Las Vegas - Juvenile fiction, Death - Fiction, Best friends - Fiction, Friendship - Fiction, High schools - Fiction, Schools - Fiction, Self-esteem - Fiction, Family life - Nevada - Las Vegas - Fiction, Best friends, Death, Families, Friendship, High schools, Schools, Self-esteem, Friendship - Fiction, Self-esteem - Fiction, Best friends - Fiction, Families - Fiction, Schools - Fiction, Death - Fiction, High schools - Fiction, Young adult fiction, Las Vegas (Nev.) - Juvenile fiction, Las Vegas (Nev.) - Fiction, Nevada - Las Vegas, Las Vegas (Nev.Emmy sees dead people-but not the one she really wants to see.

The end or something like that by ann dee ellis