Written by Tova Friedman
This memoir offers a harrowing yet deeply important account of the Holocaust through the eyes of Tova Friedman, who was just a small child when she survived Auschwitz. Co-written with journalist Malcolm Brabant, the book blends Tova’s personal memories with historical context, allowing readers to witness both the brutality of her experiences and the resilience she carried into her later life.
This book would be best used with high school students and above, either in English classes that study memoirs or in social studies/history classes focusing on World War II, the Holocaust, or human rights. In libraries, it belongs in biography and Holocaust studies sections, and it could be featured in displays on survival, resilience, or Jewish heritage. Educators could also recommend it to students who connect with real-life stories of courage and want to better understand history through lived experience.
The content supports areas such as Holocaust history, ethics, human rights, and resilience. It fills an essential need in collections, as survivor memoirs remain among the most powerful ways for students to engage with Holocaust history. With fewer living survivors able to speak in person, books like this ensure that firsthand testimony will not be lost.
What makes this book notable is its perspective of a child survivor—few memoirs capture the Holocaust through such young eyes. While works like Night by Elie Wiesel or I Will Protect You by Eva Mozes Kor are also essential, Friedman’s story stands out for her ability to recall the war from the vantage point of a little girl who endured starvation, loss, and trauma, yet found the strength to share her truth decades later.
This book offers both a mirror and a window. For Jewish students and descendants of survivors, it can affirm family history and identity. For other readers, it provides a window into the devastating impact of prejudice, hatred, and dehumanization, and it serves as a call to empathy, vigilance, and justice.
I would strongly recommend that school, public, and academic libraries add The Daughter of Auschwitz to their collections. It is not only a testimony of survival but also an urgent reminder of why Holocaust education must continue—to honor those who were lost, to amplify those who survived, and to prevent history from being forgotten or repeated.
Reviewed by Julianne Gidney, Instructional Coach, Monroe Elementary
Review shared in September 2025
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: Grades 6-12
The Daughter of Auschwitz: The Girl Who Lived to Tell Her Story
Written by Tova Friedman
Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
193 pages
Release Date: April 8, 2025
ISBN: 9780063381568
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
