In My Hands: Summary and book reviews of In My Hands by Irene Gut Opdyke, plus links to an excerpt from In My Hands and a biography of Irene Gut Opdyke.

"You must understand that I did not become a resistance fighter, a smuggler of Jews, a defier of the SS and the Nazis all at once. One's first steps are always small: I had begun by hiding food under a fence." Through this intimate and compelling memoir, we are witness to the growth of a hero. Irene Gut was just a girl when the war began: seventeen, a Polish patriot, a student nurse, a good Catholic girl. As the war progressed, the soldiers of two countries stripped her of all she loved -- her family, her home, her innocence -- but the degradations only strengthened her will. She began to fight back. Irene was forced to work for the German Army, but her blond hair, her blue eyes, and her youth bought her the relatively safe job of waitress in an officers' dining room. She would use this Aryan mask as both a shield and a sword: She picked up snatches of conversation along with the Nazis' dirty dishes and passed the information to Jews in the ghetto. She raided the German Warenhaus for food and blankets. She smuggled people from the work camp into the forest. And, when she was made the housekeeper of a Nazi major, she successfully hid twelve Jews in the basement of his home until the Germans' defeat. This young woman was determined to deliver her friends from evil. It was as simple and as impossible as that.

Media Reviews

Kirkus Reviews Opdyke opens her story with her parents' first meeting in 1921, closes with a 1949 invitation to emigrate to the US, and in between straightforwardly, with restrained passion, lays out a strong tale of innocence burned away by repeated atrocity, of courage fueled by anger and opportunity. (Biography. 13-15)   School Library Journal Gr 7 Up-An amazing, courageous, uplifting autobiography (Knopf) about a brave teenager who was not afraid to get involved. Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish national, although homesick and separated from her own family, found herself in the right place during World War II to help at least 12 Jews survive the Nazi occupation.   Publishers Weekly Even among WWII memoirs--a genre studded with extraordinary stories--this autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style. Opdyke, born in 1922 to a Polish Catholic family, was a 17-year-old nursing student when Germany invaded her country in 1939..... Readers will be riveted--and no one can fail to be inspired by Opdyke's courage. Ages 10-up.   Publishers Weekly Even among WWII memoirs--a genre studded with extraordinary stories--this autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style. Opdyke, born in 1922 to a Polish Catholic family, was a 17-year-old nursing student when Germany invaded her country in 1939..... Readers will be riveted--and no one can fail to be inspired by Opdyke's courage. Ages 10-up.   School Library Journal Gr 7 Up-An amazing, courageous, uplifting autobiography (Knopf) about a brave teenager who was not afraid to get involved. Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish national, although homesick and separated from her own family, found herself in the right place during World War II to help at least 12 Jews survive the Nazi occupation.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Lexie
Forced yet Enjoyed
For my summer reading this year for going into 11th grade I was forced to read this book. At first I was SO not looking forward to it. It seems that when you are forced to read a book you never enjoy it. However, that is not how I felt here. I...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Zach
AWESOME!
We are reading this book for our literature circles in our ELA class. Very striking story, really makes you feel you are in the war yourself!

Rated of 5 by ihavealife
I love this book!
I am in 9th grade and after reading this book, I have noticed that everyone can make a difference. I think that everyone should read this book and rethink the Holocaust and what it did to everyone. It made me think that everything can be reached...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Apryl C. Flint
In my Hands
This happens to be one of my favorite books to read. Although I don't recomend it to 7th graders, I highly recomend it to 9th graders and older. If you are interested in biographies, especially during WWII, then this is definitely the book for you.

Rated of 5 by Kim
Amazing
This wonderful book tells the story of a girl growing up in a horrible period in time. Filled with action and a touching story, anyone would enjoy reading this book. Irene is truly a hero. Five Stars.

Rated of 5 by Andrea Thomas
Irene gut opdyke
I read this book for my 11th grade class and I absolutely adored it. The struggles and loss she deal with has made me realize that tomorrow is never promised to anyone. I think it is amazing and should be read by anyone that wants an experience of...   Read More

...35 More Reader Reviews

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• Adult-YA Crossover
  
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