Risking Exposure by Jeanne Moran

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Obtained from: Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours

Read: April 29, 2015

Munich, Germany, 1938. The Nazis are in power and war is on the horizon. The law makes fourteen-year-old Sophie Adler a member of Hitler Youth; her talent makes her an amateur photographer. Then she contracts polio. During her long hospitalization, her Youth leader supplies her with film. Photographs she takes of fellow polio patients are turned into propaganda, mocking people with disabilities. Sophie realizes her new disability has changed her status. She's now an outsider, a target of Nazi scorn and possible persecution. Her only weapon is her camera. Will she find the courage to separate from the crowd, photograph the full truth, and risk exposure?

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Risking Exposure by Jeanne Moran was a no brainer for me. I’m a sucker for WWII fiction and barely glanced at the blurb before accepting the novel for review. Naturally I was a little thrown when I sat down to actually read the book, but I was ultimately quite pleased with the narrative. 

Sophie is a remarkably memorable character. I’m not typically drawn to adolescents, but I enjoyed the unique perspective of Moran’s heroine and how Moran utilized Sophie’s youth in the context of the story.  I also liked the broader message of the piece. Moran really delves into the persecution of the disabled community and treats her work as a platform to educate readers on atrocities committed in Nazi Germany. 

Risking Exposure is a young adult piece, but I think easily appreciated by readers of all ages. Definitely something I’d recommend down the road. 

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Papa had taken photos of Jews, showing how they’d become targets. I’d add photos of cripples. They, I mean we, were targets too. The people of England and all the people in the world needed to know. One mistake of sharing your canteen with a sick girl, one illness, one injury, even for a German citizen or former Youth member, and we were written off as useless, same as the Party’s other targets.

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