My Real Name is Hanna

“Tara Masih’s lovely, lyrical My Real Name is Hanna made me feel like I was reading a part of my parents’ story that I’d neglected to write. Filled with breathtaking you-are-there historical detail, filigreed with touches of Jewish and Ukrainian folklore, Masih’s tale of a young Jewish girl hiding out in the caves and forests of the Ukraine is a worthy addition to the canon of Holocaust literature for young readers. As fine, delicate, and artful as a painted pysanka egg.”–Helen Maryles Shankman, They Were Like Family to Me, finalist for The 2016 Story Prize

“It’s said the Holocaust defies imagination. Tara L. Masih defies that notion. My Real Name is Hanna is a powerful, revelatory leap of imagination, taking readers on a journey with 14-year-old Hanna from the slowly enveloping horror of the Holocaust, to the literal and spiritual depths of being buried alive, and finally a salvation of ineffable joy and sadness—emerging from a premature grave into sunlight like a defiant young phoenix. An unforgettable odyssey.”–Greg Dawson, Hiding in the Spotlight: A Musical Prodigy’s Story of Survival

“My Real name is Hanna is a beautifully told and deeply moving novel. Masih is to be commended for shining light on a little-known piece of Ukrainian history and for portraying a Jewish family determined to survive the Second World War. This novel is about the stories that surround and sustain us in the darkest times—from the histories in the trees and in the ground beneath us to the words that feed us.”–New York Times Bestselling Author Tilar J. Mazzeo, Irena’s Children, a New York Post Best Book of 2016

“From the very first lines, this is a beautiful, compelling story. I was moved again and again by Hanna’s courage. It takes a strong imagination and a great heart to bring to life a Jewish family’s struggle to survive in such a dark time as World War II. In bringing light to the caves of memory, Tara Masih gives us the redeeming power of storytelling in this extraordinary story.”–PEN/Hemingway Award winner Bobbie Ann Mason, The Girl in the Blue Beret and In Country

“My Real Name is Hanna is a stirring story of survival, resilience, and love. Masih breathes life into the smallest of details, and gives us a powerful look into a world not often explored.” –Crystal Chan, Bird, shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, winner of the 2015 Burr/Worzalla Award

“A gripping story of courage and endurance in the face of Nazi terror. Tara Masih draws her readers into the lives of a Ukrainian Jewish family, into the persecution and unbelievable hardship suffered during the German occupation of their homeland. My Real Name is Hanna is a book that lives with you long after you have turned the final page.”–Diney Costeloe, Bestselling Author of The Girl with No Name and The Throwaway Children