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Summary
Summary
This bestselling and award-winning novel about a teenage girl in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam speaks powerfully to the realities of grief, heartbreak, and bravery, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Ruta Sepetys.
Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, her nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the Germans invaded. She likes to think of her illegal work as a small act of rebellion.
On a routine delivery, a client asks Hanneke for help. Expecting to hear that Mrs. Janssen wants meat or kerosene, Hanneke is shocked by the older woman's frantic plea to find a person-- a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, who has vanished without a trace from a secret room. Hanneke initially wants nothing to do with such dangerous work, but is ultimately drawn into a web of mysteries and stunning revelations that lead her into the heart of the resistance, open her eyes to the horrors of the Nazi war machine, and compel her to take desperate action.
Beautifully written, intricately plotted, and meticulously researched, Girl in the Blue Coat is an extraordinary novel about courage, grief, and love in impossible times.
Author Notes
Monica Hesse is the bestselling author of Girl in the Blue Coat and American Fire , as well as a journalist with The Washington Post . She lives outside Washington, D.C. with her husband and their dog.
Reviews (6)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In 1943 in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Hanneke tries to survive by selling black market items. One of her customers secretly asks for her help in finding a Jewish girl she had been hiding who had mysteriously disappeared. In searching for clues, she gets involved with the Resistance movement, risking her life to find the missing girl and defy the Nazis. Narrator Payne has a clear, youthful voice well-suited to Hanneke, conveying both her inner strength and her tension and fear in dangerous situations, as well as her mourning for her boyfriend who died in the war. She does equally well voicing other characters, including an authentic German accent for the soldiers who repeatedly stop and question Hanneke. The suspenseful and moving story will keep listeners riveted. Ages 12-up. A Little, Brown hardcover. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
In 1943 Amsterdam, Hanneke nurses a broken heart--her boyfriend has died in the war--while delivering black market goods (foodstuffs, cigarettes, etc.) to her neighbors. One customer, Mrs. Janssen, implores Hanneke to find a missing girl whom the woman had been sheltering, leading to an engaging mystery that shakes Hanneke from her emotional stupor. An author's note includes useful information about the Dutch Resistance. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Amsterdam, 1943: in the wake of the German occupation of Holland, 18-year-old Hanneke has begun trafficking in the illegal black market, finding scarce goods like food and alcohol to sell. But she is taken aback when a customer implores her to find a person instead a missing Jewish girl in a blue coat. Hanneke's reluctant decision to help sets in motion a chain of events that dramatically changes her life and the lives of others and raises the question, should she find the missing girl, what then? Hesse, a Washington Post journalist, does a fine job of reportage in this affecting novel. Her characters come alive, and what one of them says about photographs that they make everything so current, just like real life could describe the book itself, which is adept at verisimilitude, creating a closely observed setting that skillfully combines reality with fiction. Speaking of fiction, Hesse's pacing infuses her story with thriller suspense, enriching the narrative with dramatic surprises both small and large. As one character muses, Nothing in this war is what it seems. Ultimately, Hesse takes her readers behind a misleading surface to discover the lurking truths.--Cart, Michael Copyright 2016 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-In Nazi-occupied Holland, Hanneke seems like an ordinary girl working at a funeral parlor to help support her family during wartime. But her Aryan features and charming smile allow her to work as a courier on the black market smuggling cigarettes, meat, and other unavailable items to paying customers. While Hanneke is not a member of the Dutch resistance, her actions are a direct result of the loss of Bas, her boyfriend. Lying about his age, he enlisted and died on the frontlines during the German invasion. When one of her best customers asks for her assistance in finding a Jewish girl she was hiding, Hanneke is stunned. But soon after, she is drawn into the mysterious disappearance of the girl in the blue coat. What she uncovers as she searches for answers leads her on a journey of self-discovery, self-realization, and redemption. Hesse crafts a thought-provoking and gripping historical novel. The themes of love, betrayal, heroism, social responsibility, and atonement are beautifully intertwined with well-developed characters and a compelling story line. Thoroughly researched, this work brings history alive in a clear and concise way that rings true. VERDICT A must-read for fans of historical fiction, especially stories set during World War II.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A political features writer at the Washington Post turns to teen fiction and delivers the goods. World War II Amsterdam, the world of Anne Frank: because most readers know it through that lens, it's imagined as a claustrophobic, invisible world. Hesse's debut novel turns the story around: "Aryan poster girl" Hanneke spends her days cycling through her occupied city, using the ration cards of the dead to play the black market for her undertaker boss. Hanneke knows things are bad, but her own guilty griefher boyfriend died in the futile fight against the Nazis, and Hanneke blames herself for pushing him to fightblinds her. When one of her clients asks her to find a missing Jewish girl, 15 and vanished from Mrs. Janssen's hidden room, Hanneke stumbles into a pocket of the resistance and begins to understand the depths of the horror facing her country and the immensity of the Nazi evil. Hesse's impeccable research meshes almost seamlessly with Hanneke's present-tense narration, bringing the time and place to life. Rich in content and emotion, this is a first-rate companion to the historical tales of the onderduikers, the hidden Jews of Holland, and a compelling read despite its mildly rose-tinted resolution. Shelve this one beside resistance tales like Elizabeth Wein's Code Name Verity (2012) and read next to a box of tissues. (Historical fiction. 12 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Hesse's debut is set in 1943 Amsterdam. Hanneke, a Christian teenager whose boyfriend was killed fighting the -Nazis, delivers black market goods to paying customers. When Mrs. Janssen, one of Hanneke's customers, asks her to find a Jewish girl who has disappeared from the secret room in Mrs. Janssen's house, Hanneke agrees and reluctantly joins the Dutch resistance. Narrator Natalya Payne does an excellent job bringing the diverse personalities to life. Her Dutch and German accents are easily recognizable, and her voice work makes each character immediately identifiable. Although the characters are teens and the novel is marketed as a YA selection, adults will find the story gripping. VERDICT Recommended for adult and teen collections. ["The themes of love, betrayal, heroism, social responsibility, and atonement are beautifully intertwined with well-developed characters and a compelling story line": LJ 2/1/16 review of the Little, Brown hc.]-Ilka Gordon, Beachwood City Schs., OH © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
