Deep Sea

Stephie's parents are in a concentration camp. A girl tells Stephie that her brother was shot; she also tells her that some camps are death camps and have lethal gas. Stephie's foster father worries about hitting a mine while fishing. Men are found dead in a submarine after they hit a mine. Germans shoot other boats down. Stephie slaps her sister in anger. Her foster parents lost a child before she came to live with them. A major character discovers her mother's dead and learns that her father has been transported to a worse camp.

Stephie recounts her kiss with a former crush. She kisses another boy, who quickly gets handsy with her, pushing her beyond what she wants to do. She overhears her friend having sex in the next room. A 16-year-old girl is pressured into taking racy photos and into having sex with the photographer. A teen girl gets pregnant. Adult women skinny-dip together.

A boy calls Stephie a "Jewish slut" and tells her to "go to hell." An angry shopkeeper calls Stephie's younger sister a "little Jew brat."

Stephie takes a sip of alcohol when she and Vera are with some boys; the boys drink more than one drink. Stephie goes to a bar to find a girl she knows who works there; a man there asks if he can buy her a beer.

Parents need to know that Annika Thor's Deep Sea is the third in a series (following A Faraway Island and The Lily Pond) about Stephie, a Jewish girl living in Sweden during World War II while her parents are in a concentration camp. A girl she knows tells her that some Jews are sent to death camps where lethal gas is used. Stephie's foster father worries about hitting a mine while fishing. Men are found dead in a submarine after they hit a mine. Germans shoot other boats down. A major character discovers her mother is dead and learns that her father has been transported to a worse camp. Stephie kisses a boy, who quickly gets overly physical with her, pushing her beyond what she wants to do. She overhears her friend having sex in the next room. A 16-year-old girl is pressured into taking racy photos and into having sex with the photographer. A teen girl gets pregnant. A boy calls Stephie a "Jewish slut," telling her to "go to hell"; a shopkeeper calls Stephie's younger sister a "little Jew brat." Stephie takes a sip of alcohol when she and Vera are with some boys; the boys drink more than one drink. Parents and teachers can use Deep Sea and the other series installments to talk about the Holocaust and World War II and what happened to Jewish children and families in Europe.