It's like a personal account. It alternates between the lives of the mother and daughter and has one part of what happens to the father. I also think the there are an awful lot of things done on the Holocaust (although I think it's kind of tough to over do such a horrific part of history), but this one is somehow different. I felt like I was a part of what was happening in their lives as I typed it. And it was a darn good thing I was typing it at school while my student teacher was there or I would have been a mess! lol