White Hatter releases junior high novel

When We Were Shadows is a junior high school novel written by Janet Wees, a White Hatter. The novel is part of the Holocaust Remembrance Series for Young Readers published by Second Story Press. Based on a true story, it tells of a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis in Holland during WWII and the resistance fighters who risked their own lives to save others.   

The novel was recently nominated for the Red Maple Non-Fiction Award with the Forest of Reading, sponsored by the Ontario Library Association. It was chosen as one of three finalists in its category and subsequently was named Honour Book  #1 (second place) in Toronto. The novel has also been shortlisted for the 2020 Rocky Mountain Book Award.

Here's a review: “Instead of dwelling on the atrocities of the Holocaust, experts recommend the introduction of books on acceptance, courage and loyalty, exactly what transpires in the When We Were Shadows," says Carmelita Cechetto-Shea, Library Consultant, Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board.

Janet has been a White Hatter for almost six years. The book is now for sale at Indigo/Chapters and Owl’s Nest bookstores.