About the Book: In a single dramatic night, thirteen‑year‑old Max Spiegelman’s life diverges into two very different paths. In one reality, he wakes amid a fire in his parents’ shop just in time to escape—but loses them, suffers disfigurement, and ends up adopted by an Aryan family who erase his Jewish identity. In the other, he wakes again at the same moment to save his parents and escapes without harm, remaining Jewish in 1930s Austria. Across both timelines, Max is burdened by visions of what might have been—and in each world, he shares a love with a hauntingly beautiful, grey‑eyed girl who connects both versions of his fate.