The Blood Years

"This book is many things: an examination of love and duty, a revelatory account of a Holocaust experience many won’t know, and a wrenching coming-of-age story. A moving glimpse into a past that is an all-too-possible vision of our future.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Arnold confronts tough subjects via unflinching depictions of war and compassionate renderings of intense familial drama. Searing." — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Arnold’s gripping novel of sisterhood and survival amid both ­Soviet and Nazi occupation illuminates a little-explored part of the Holocaust in ­Romania. A must-read.” — School Library Journal (starred review) "Extraordinary. This beautifully written novel juxtaposes passages of transcendent insight with terrible loss. An excellent choice for readers of Monica Hesse and Ruta Sepetys, and a first purchase for all teen collections." — Booklist (starred review) "Arnold’s compelling and well-researched narrative is deeply personal, respectful, and redemptive; through story, she bears witness. Her depiction of Rieke’s experiences allows readers to truly feel how the horrors of war give the character many reasons to hate as well as to discover her enormous capacity to love." — Horn Book (starred review) "Each page of this extra­or­di­nary sto­ry teems with nerve-tin­gling, edge-of-your-seat anx­i­ety. A riv­et­ing addi­tion to the Holocaust-lit­er­a­ture canon." — Jewish Book Council “The Blood Years gives us tragically underrepresented history viewed through a lens of love. Devastating and beautiful.” — Ruta Sepetys, New York Times-bestselling author of I Must Betray You "Ferocious and delicate, brilliant and emotional, The Blood Years is a finely wrought portrait of love and betrayal and what it costs to survive the unimaginable." — Nina LaCour, Michael L. Printz Award-winning author of We Are Okay "Once you meet Reike, you won’t ever forget her. Elana K. Arnold entwines history irresistibly with fiction to tell a story of great magnitude and emotional impact, centered on the bravery of a Jewish teenager in Nazi-occupied Romania and on universally human questions of romantic love, moral compromise and family loyalty." — E. Lockhart, New York Times-bestselling author of We Were Liars ?"A captivating, harrowing, uplifting story of a Romanian-Jewish teenager’s struggle not just to survive but also to live. By the time you reach the final page, each person in Rieke's family will feel like a member of your own. Emotionally stirring and ethically complex, this is Elana K. Arnold’s finest work to date.” — Dashka Slater, Stonewall Book Award-winning author of The 57 Bus