Hannah Stern

Hannah Stern, also known in the novel as Chaya Abramowicz, is its central character. Hannah is almost thirteen when the story begins and lives with her family in New Rochelle, New York. Several members of her family suffered at the hands of the Nazis during World War II, and this still has a big impact on their lives, and on those of others in the family, including Hannah. For her, being raised as a Jew appears to be at least as much about recalling the traumas of the past as it is about the religion's other teachings and traditions. Remembering what happened is essential to her grandparents, but is uninteresting to young Hannah at the start of the story. Only after she travels in time back to a concentration camp in 1942 does she learn the importance of remembering. For the most part, Hannah is a typical preteen...