I'll keep you close by Jeska Verstegen

World War II is long over in Europe, but for Jesje (Jeska) the memory lingers in her family and their responses to life. Jesje is 11 years old and a dreamer. Her mother survived the war, but her life is still impacted by the fears and trauma that being of Jewish heritage caused. Jesje’s grandmother (Bomma) is in a nursing home and her memories have become scattered, but she calls Jesje a name that she has not heard before. At the same time, Jesje’s teacher has begun reading a book about World War II, and then Jesje also reads The Diary of Anne Frank. Slowly Jesje starts to put pieces together of her family experience to help her to understand her mother and grandmother. But through it all, Jesje is just a girl who likes to play, who needs to know where she fits in the world and who has a family story that is interesting and sad. The scars of the past need an explanation.

This is lightly written, a gentle naive journey into the horrors of the Jewish experience for many families, even for the survivors. There is a child-like skip and hop through the discovery of Jesje’s family history, with friendship and school issues woven into the tale. It is a lightly poignant telling of a real story of family pain. The author Jeska Verstegen is telling the story of her own family: her grandfather was a Jewish-Dutch publisher who lost his life under the Nazi regime. Her grandmother survived by hiding. Her mother, a small child at the time, was significantly impacted by the need to be circumspect. This book will be a discovery journey for young readers aged 11+. Its naivete will perhaps make it an entry level opportunity to discover something about the Jewish experience during and after World War II.

[NB: The name of the central character Jesje is sometimes interchanged  with Jeska within the story.]

Themes: World War II, Jewish war history, Family, Trauma.

Carolyn Hull