Barbara Reichman is a young jewish girl growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust. When she was just finishing school and returning home, Nazis invaded their home and city and began to send off her friends and family. Barbara is a passionnant fighter for her people’s rights and was a part of a Zionism activist group before the Nazis invaded. Now they are in control, and Barbara must decide what she will do.

Barbara lives in rural Poland, her family runs and owns a kosher meat store and are well off financially. She cares greatly about school and is very intelligent for her age. When she reaches eighteen she goes to college and loves it. But soon she has to head back to her hometown because of the Nazi  discrimination and mistreatment of jews in her school. When she arrives back home, her family greets her with joy, but that joy does not last long for the Nazis invade and turn their lives to hell. She is soon separated from her family, her friends and her lover from down the road, she then must decide if she will try to find the people she loves or run from the people that she hates.

“Claiming my Place” by Planaria Price is a great book for a less graphic look at the truth of the Holocaust, but do be warned that there are scenes within the book that will grab and pull at your heart and may make you just close the book itself. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what the lives of jewish people were like during the Holocaust because the auther is the main character and gives a well written first person point of view. If you are a very caring person, this is a great book for you to read because you will be able to feel the pain and have sympathy for the author and wish her well and hope she makes it out in the end. This book will make you spend hours going over each and every page and keep you sitting on the edge of your seat when you read about Helen and her fight against one of the most evil heartless villains in history.