Thirteen-year-old Jakob’s family has hidden their true identity as Jews and are living as Catholics in Budapest during WWII. One day, in a burst of loyalty, Jakob decides to reveal that he is Jewish, a choice that will put his whole family in danger.

Jakob hopes his best friend Ivan, a Christian with a high-ranking military father, will help keep his family safe, but he comes to believe that Ivan has abandoned them. Sent as a prisoner to Auschwitz, Jakob is kept alive by his passion for revenge against Ivan. When Jakob is finally freed, he discovers that Ivan too made a choice that fateful day, a choice that changes everything Jakob thought was true.

The Choice is inspired by the experiences of Kathy Clark’s father during the Holocaust.