“How brave are you, little Annemarie?” (75; Ch 9) This was the response of Uncle Henrik when asked by the protagonist, Annemarie about their nonexistent Great-aunt Birtie. This was in the novel titled Number the Stars, written by Lois Lowry. In Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars, the presence of war and the ruling of the German soldiers or Nazis in the story made it a historical fiction. This young-adult historical-fiction novel is mostly about the life in Denmark—specifically in Copenhagen. In addition, it is also about the attitude of Nazis toward the Jewish people and the unity of the Danish people over the course of the war.

Number the Stars is about a young girl who lives in Copenhagen during the war between Denmark and Germany. The story focuses on bravery during hard times. This young girl was brave enough to do something that she does not usually do. Also, this story is about friendship. The young girl, Annemarie, risked her life just to save her friend from German Soldiers.

The novel took place in Copenhagen and Gilleleje in Denmark where the Nazis had started to conquer the country. It was set in 1943, when the World War II was happening. As for the setting, it is significant because the novel is about the life during the war. Needless to say, the circumstances during that time were hard; people were starving and dying. In this novel, Lowry presented the character in an indirect way—the author reveals what the character is like by the way he or she talks, act, and think. The protagonist, Annemarie Johansen is a dynamic character because she changes—as the story progresses—due to her actions and experiences. Lowry narrates the novel in third person omniscient in order to reveal the thoughts of Annemarie. The tone of the novel is serious and is told from the point of view of the ten-year old Annemarie. Another dynamic character is Ellen Rosen, Annemarie’s best friend. However, Lowry did not clearly state the feelings and thoughts of Ellen, but through Annemarie’s observations, we knew that Ellen changes throughout the story. For the other characters—Ellen’s family, Peter Nielsen, Uncle Henrik, and Annemarie’s family—I see them as static characters because nothing happened to them; they did not grow or develop throughout the novel.

At first, I am not really sure how I feel about this novel, but as the story progresses, I found it interesting. Through this novel, I have gained so much life lessons. Also, my knowledge about history was enhanced a bit. I would probably recommend this novel to my friends and to young readers out there, who wants to know more about bravery. I was captivated by this novel and I really enjoyed it a lot.