Imagine a little girl -- maybe five -- who has everything. She is healthy, she's beautiful, and it's her birthday today. She has a magnificent party dress, awesome decorations, and a huge decorated cake. Also, all of her loving friends and family are there to wish her a happy birthday. She is like a princess, a graceful being. She's living in her own little castle with everything she could ever dream of. This little girl, Janina, just so happens to be a Jew, and, though no one knows it yet, WWII is just beginning.
Janina is about a year older now, and she is moving with her family into the ghetto. She doesn't understand what's going on at all. She is used to living in her castle, with her parents at her feet every step of the way. Now she is moving into a trashed house that has no life, colorless walls, and smells like feet. Janina starts throwing a hissy fit because she doesn't have any food, and she is very hungry. She's not starving, but she understandably has a little bit more of an appetite because of the lack of food. Since WWII was well underway all of the Jews have moved to the ghetto and have a lack of resources so technically, she shouldn't be complaining. Even though she does this at least everyday.
Toward the end of the book she almost morphed into Misha. She became stronger, tougher, but she would always miss life the way it used to be. Before everything changed. Back when she could play with her dolls in her room knowing her parents were safe downstairs, chatting over a cup of coffee. Now things will never be the same for her. There is no more room for castles or princesses in this world, and she knows it.
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