After The War

Brief Summary

• "After The War" By: Carol Matas is a book set after WWII.
• The main character, fifteen year old Ruth returns to her hometown in Poland after being released from a concentration camp only to find both her house and her family are gone. A man approaches her and asks her to travel toward freedom in Palestine with him and other Jewish refugees.

Setting

• The setting of "After The War" is shortly after World War II. The main character Ruth has just been released from one of Adolf Hitler's concentration camps.
• Ruth returns to her hometown in Poland. All alone, she then meets up with other refugees.The majority of the novel highlights their travel to freedom in Palestine.

Conflict

• The main conflict in "After The War" would be internal conflict.
• Fifteen year old Ruth has just been released from a concentration camp and returns to her hometown to learn that her home and family are gone.
• Ruth is very conflicted with guilt that she may be the only one in her family that survived.

Theme

• The main theme of "After The War" is hope and determination. Although Ruth and the other young refugees face multiple attacks on their journey to freedom they are determined to get to Palestine for a better life.

Conclusion

• The novel "After The War" by Carol Matas is written for anyone who enjoys reading about history, especially focusing on the holocaust, concentration camps and World War II.
• The novel would be appropriate for anyone over twelve who has an interest in history. I would recommend this novel to others.