Morris (The Tattooist of Auschwitz) follows the real-life Meller sisters, who all survived imprisonment at Auschwitz-Birkenau and a winter death march during WWII, in her extraordinary latest. In 1942 Slovakia, Livi Meller, 15, is rounded up with other teens for what is described by the Nazis as "work detail." Livi's sister Magda, 17, is protected by her doctor, who admits Magda to the hospital for a slight fever. Cibi, 19, returns from a training camp in the forest for future immigrants to Israel to accompany Livi. But Cibi and Livi are taken to Auschwitz, where they endure more than two years of near starvation, abuse from SS guards, and manual work that includes loading bricks into carts and rummaging through prisoners' belongings for valuables. In 1944, Magda is also sent to Auschwitz, where she is reunited with her sisters; when the war ends, the sisters wander through Germany before returning to find squatters in their home and glaring anti-Semitism. After a harrowing journey to Israel in 1948, the narrative continues with their new life as survivors, as they build families while often struggling with emotional wounds. Morris skillfully chronicles the lives of the sisters from childhood to old age, balancing fictional invention with extensive research and immersion into the Mellers' lives. Readers will be greatly inspired by this story of resilience. (Oct.)

The finale of Morris's "Tattooist of Auschwitz" trilogy (after Cilka's Journey) follows three Slovakian Jewish sisters who survive the Nazi genocide of Jews and are strengthened by a promise made to their father. Having been separated from each other and the rest of their family during the Slovak State's deportation of Jews, eldest sister Cibi, middle sister Magda, and youngest sister Livi end up together in Auschwitz and endure its terrible conditions and ever-present threat of death. Against all odds, the sisters survive and immigrate to Israel after the end of World War II. There they make new lives for themselves while keeping their promise to their father, contending with secrets they've kept from one another, and communicating the horrors of the Holocaust to their descendants. Based on a real family, Morris's novel delves into Auschwitz's daily routines and violence without romanticism. VERDICT Readers of historical and World War II fiction will be gripped by the conclusion to Morris's trilogy.--Pamela O'Sullivan, SUNY Coll. at Brockport Lib.