About This Book
Reach for this book when your teenager is ready to explore the complex ethics of survival and the human cost of the Holocaust through a lens of art and complicity. It is an essential choice for young readers who are questioning how people maintain their dignity when forced to serve as 'extras' in someone else's propaganda. The story follows Lilo, a young Romani girl imprisoned in a Nazi camp, who is selected to be an extra in a film by Hitler's favorite director, Leni Riefenstahl. While the setting is historical, the emotional core focuses on the burden of choice and the resilience required to look for beauty in a place of horror. Because the book deals with the Porajmos (the Romani genocide), it includes intense themes of systemic racism and peril. It is best suited for mature teens (14 and up) who can handle the moral ambiguity of characters who must cooperate with their captors to stay alive, making it a powerful tool for deep family discussions about justice and memory.
