Reviewed by Wyatt 12th Grade – I was captivated by the raw emotion and powerful storytelling which made me love this book. Impossible Escape is a true story about one of the most famous whistleblowers in the world and his death-defying escape that helped save over 100,000 lives during the Holocaust. With the book going into the holocaust and World War II, it helps develop the historical narrative and war literature. I liked how the characters used what they had and how they helped others even though they were also dealing with their own issues and I like the author’s take on all the violence and how he expressed it. Impossible Escape contains a lot of stuff with violence, persecution, and the holocaust which may be potential triggers for readers.
Reviewed by Jaden 12th grade – Sheinkin skillfully balances Rudi’s story with factual information on the evolution of World War II and the Holocaust. A subplot follows Gerta Sidonová, Rudi’s schoolmate and future wife, during this time frame; the juxtaposition adds depth, texture, and context. It’s an oddly sentimental and touching epilogue. He knows he has to get out of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, where he spent over two years living on the edge. even as death becomes more probable. Behind the carefully guarded walls of concentration camps throughout Nazi-occupied Europe was a dreadful truth that Rudi had discovered: the deliberate mass murder of Jewish detainees. The young adult narrative nonfiction written by Steve Sheinkin Impossible Escape tells the tale of a young real-life hero while delving into issues of Jewish history and wartime tragedy. This is a compelling story because of Sheinkin’s painstaking research, which strikes a balance between the acute horror of the camps and the bigger events of the war’s geopolitical developments. Unbelievably gripping, unbelievably tragic, unbelievably inspirational. Every person should be obliged to read Impossible Escape.
Reviewed by Andrew 9th grade – I learned a lot about Auschwitz that I did not know before. Very informative. Rudi was a Slovakian Jew in WW2. He got captured and eventually went to Auschwitz where he planned to escape and tell the world about Auschwitz and the gas chambers and the mass murder. He eventually escaped after many tries and he and his friend told the world about what was happening. The reality of the story really makes you want to find out how it ends. You forget that the book is nonfiction because of how interesting it is. I liked how I learned more about what happened at Auschwitz. It was a good read and I learned a lot. The switching between the POVs was a little confusing and Rudi’s story was more interesting. I was fine reading it but it is a tough topic. They tell in detail how the gas chambers worked.
