Fact vs. Opinion

I read a great book called "Broken Song".  It is a story about a boy named Reuven Bloom, that lived in Russia around 1897. He suffered many hardships because he was Jewish. His family was murdered and only his baby sister survived with him. At 15 years old he had to care for his sister alone, and try to escape from the persecution. While Reuven is a fictional character, the things that he suffered really did happen to the Jews in Russia. The book's author, Kathryn Lasky's grandparents had a similar story to that of Reuven. I learned that the "opinion" of most Russians during that time period was that "Jews were a lower life form." But the fact is Reuven and his family were regular people like the rest of Russia.