We Are On Our Own (O. T. #4 of 10)

This is the second graphic novel I've used for the Orbis Terrarum 2009 challenge and it was so good. Miriam Katin is from Hungary and this book is about her experiences as a Jew living in Hungary during the Nazi regime. In the story, Katin is only a child and her father is away fighting in the army. Her mother fakes her own death and that of her child to escape Budapest when the German army invades. What follows is a story of survival - of incredible hardship, of both cruelty and kindness. Some of the illustrations flash forward to a grown up Katin trying to reconcile her faith with her experiences. It is a powerful World War II memoir and the illustrations were amazing.