Book Review: What the Night Sings

"What the Night Sings," by Vesper Stamper, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut YA Award in 2019.  In addition to being the author, Vesper produced the illustrations for this novel, adding to the feel that this isn't just a book, but a work of art.

It isn't a happy tale as we follow Gerta and her father into Auschwitz and another camp during the Holocaust. It's heartbreaking. But this isn't about the Holocaust, but what comes after, because Gerta is freed.

What happens after you leave a concentration camp? How did Holocaust survivors re-enter society after such terrible treatment?  It's a question I haven't seen before in literature, and this book is a lovely, if not painful, exploration.

My local library says this is YA fiction, and Gerta is a teenager, but the story feels very adult-like with romance and marriage a central theme.