The Ballerina of Auschwitz: Young Adult Edition of the Choice

A Sydney Taylor Award Notable Young Adult Book

In this "luminous" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) young adult edition of the bestselling, award-winning memoir The Choice, Holocaust survivor and renowned psychologist Dr. Edith Eva Eger shares her harrowing experiences and gives readers the gift of hope and strength.

Edie is a talented dancer and a skilled gymnast with hopes of making the Olympic team. Between her rigorous training and her struggle to find her place in a family where she's the daughter "with brains but no looks," Edie's too busy to dwell on the state of the world. But life in Hungary in 1943 is dangerous for a Jewish girl.

Just as Edie falls in love for the first time, Europe collapses into war, and Edie's family is forced onto a train bound for the Auschwitz concentration camp. Even in those darkest of moments, Edie's beloved, Eric, kindles hope. "I'll never forget your eyes," he tells her through the slats of the cattle car. Auschwitz is horrifying beyond belief, yet through starvation, unthinkable terrors, and daily humiliations like being forced to dance for a Nazi leader, dreams of Eric sustain Edie. Against all odds, Edie and her sister Magda survive, thanks to their sisterhood and sheer grit.

Edie returns home filled with grief and guilt. Survival feels more like a burden than a gift--until Edie recognizes that she has a choice. She can't change the past, but she can choose how to live and even to love again.

Author: Edith Eva Eger
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 10/01/2024
Pages: 192
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 7.40h x 5.60w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781665952552
Audience: Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
School Library Journal 08/01/2024 pg. 118
Booklist 08/01/2024 pg. 51
Kirkus Reviews 09/01/2024

About the Author
Edith Eva Eger is an eminent psychologist and one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors old enough to remember life in the camps. A colleague of Viktor Frankl, Dr. Edith Eger has worked with veterans, military personnel, and victims of physical and mental trauma. She lives in La Jolla, California, and is the author of the bestselling and award-winning books The Choice and The Gift. The Ballerina of Auschwitz, the young adult edition of The Choice, was named a Sydney Taylor Award Notable Young Adult Book. Edie and her daughter, Marianne Engle--a renowned psychologist and food writer who helped develop the recipes in The Gift--encourage you to try the delicious dishes in the book and share your thoughts at LoveEdieandMarianne@Gmail.com.