There are two breeds of YA crossovers; most pick up adult fans who have an appreciation for teen fare, but far fewer are truly ageless. The latter describes Gavriel Savit's debut novel, which should be read by anyone and everyone old enough to cook dinner unsupervised. The story is deceptively simple: Young Anna is left alone in Krakow in 1939 after her father is taken by the Germans. An impossibly mysterious, charismatic man takes her in and they try to survive the war as nomads. But Savit ingeniously uses this simple plot as a canvas to paint unforgettable images and some heart-fluttering metaphors, which only intensify in their resonance as the war grows more hellish. It is relentlessly affecting and crushingly beautiful. You will never forget this book.