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Holocaust Museums and Stolen Secrets

Great news! The United States Holocaust Museum has told me that they’ve reviewed and approved Stolen Secrets for their museum shop. Since then, three more Holocaust museums have informed me that they are also considering my book. I am so happy, because I feel there is great synergy between the message of Stolen Secrets and the ambitions of the museums to reach teens.

As anyone who has read my author’s note will see, it’s very important to me that we keep the tragedy of the Holocaust, and history in general for that matter, as alive to kids as we can. My generation was touched by the many interviews and personal accounts of Holocaust victims in newspapers, radio shows, and on the Internet. But kids today will find less and less of that as firsthand witnesses of this horrendous tragedy pass on. Meanwhile, hate groups are only growing stronger and more active.

I believe that society has an obligation to make sure that teens understand the world before their birth to prevent history from repeating. I am so excited to partner up with these outstanding museums to progress our common vision!

Birthday Donation Day!!!

Today is a big birthday for me. I hope you will read this whole, too long post. IF you were considering buying my book that comes out on September 19th, Stolen Secrets, I would love it if you would write a review of any length on Goodreads (anytime) and on Amazon (on or after it comes out) when you finish reading it. Honest reviews mean so much to authors. As a review from VOYA pointed out, because my mystery surrounds Anne Frank, teen readers may need to be hand-sold the novel, “but once they pick it up they will not be disappointed.”

There’s a scene in my book involving a hate group’s appearance in San Francisco. At this moment, a struggle is going on with the decision to allow a hate group to protest on a family beach here. These groups are everywhere—in every state, in every city.

Because I am happy to have the fortune to reach this decade marker, I am donating $5 per book pre-ordered in the next 48 hours to the Southern Poverty Law Center, whose mission is to fight hate and bigotry and to seek justice for the most vulnerable members of our society. My family stands behind their mission of equality. Please let me know that you did this in the comments so I can count you. Love you all!

The Number One Reason I Wrote Stolen Secrets

A lot of people have asked me what inspired the idea behind Stolen Secrets. One day, I read about the “revisionists” and how they promote that the Holocaust never happened. Often, these people claim that specific aspects didn’t occur, such as Nazi-operated gas chambers. Most educated people laugh at them. Still, it occurred to me that our firsthand witnesses to the atrocities are slowly passing away, and that can allow for a dangerous environment. (Thank you to every organization out there that has recorded the stories of Holocaust victims.) Unfortunately, after the last witness is gone, the revisionists will continue to spin their lies to future generations. While this is what inspired the book, Stolen Secrets went in tangental directions, such as exploring the aftermath of the concentration camps and its impact on future generations. I think it’s safe to say that a tree grew from this seed of an idea!

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