Roots and Branches

She grew up the youngest of three children in a middle class Jewish family, just like many others. But since the Nazi occupation of Budapest, Hungary, seventeen-year-old Eva Szabo's world has been turned upside down.

Now her best friend has left for Switzerland, her brother Paul is making waves in the resistance movement, and her older sister is forced to abandon a promising musical career. In the face of all this upheaval, Eva feels she has no outlet to express her true emotions-which, as local bombings intensify, are growing more tumultuous by the day.

Determined to protect his younger sister from the ravages of war, Paul secures a job for Eva in the rural countryside, caring for the children of his friend Zoltan. As she leaves behind the only home she has ever known, Eva faces new challenges and finds new purpose in her life-as she discovers important lessons about love, empathy, and understanding.

Based on actual events, this semi-autobiographical work of fiction paints a compelling picture of the life-altering choices and moral dilemmas faced by those at war.