Review: Natan Sharansky: Freedom Fighter for Soviet Jews
Natan Sharansky: Freedom Fighter for Soviet Jews by Blake Hoena, illustrated by Daniele Dickmann Kar-Ben Publishing (imprint of Lerner) Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Shirley Reva Vernick Buy at Bookshop.org This graphic novel biography tells the story of Soviet “refusenik" and human rights activist Natan Sharansky. Through narration, dialogue and illustration, the book follows Sharansky’s youth in the Ukraine, his activism on behalf of Jewish refuseniks, his detention in Soviet prison/labor camps, and his ultimate immigration to Israel. In addition to portraying Sharansky as the hero among Soviet Jews, the book rightfully highlights the roles of his wife, international Jewish activists, and world leaders in paving the way for his and other Soviet Jews’ release. A short afterword summarizes Sharansky’s human rights work in Israel since his arrival in 1986. This is a fast-paced and suspenseful story about the dangers of totalitarianism and the imperative of free sp