Sophie's Secret War: A Second World War Girl's Diary, 1939-1940

My Story: Girls

by Jill Atkins

In 1939, the start of the Second World War, Sophie becomes a messenger for a Resistance group in Northern France. But as the German invaders overwhelm the British forces on the French coast, Sophie finds herself more deeply involved with the Resistance - in a dangerous plan to save a young Scottish soldier...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Middle Grade, Childrens, War, Diary, World War II

160 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

Reviews

[Shaawanah]

Its a brave girl's diary

[Evie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars: Good
I have read a lot of books set in WW2 but I have never read one about someone living in France. This book is exciting and original. Definitely recommend.

[Sadaf Hussain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story starts in June 1939 at the start of the Second World War. The book is written in the form of a diary belonging to a thirteen year old girl called Sophie Ridel. When she starts her story she is an average teenage girl who plays with her friends and squabbles with her elder brother Sebastien whom she hates! However, life is changing fast for Sophie and her family and “it’s all the fault of a man called Adolf Hitler. I don’t know much about him except that he lives in Germany and everyone says he’s doing some dreadful things. I don’t like the sound of Adolf Hitler”.
Sophie’s life starts to change when Hitler invades Poland and Great Britain and France are forced to enter the war. Although Sophie’s father, much to her relief, is too old to join the army her Uncle Thierry joins the navy and has to leave. As the war progresses Sophie and her brother Sebastien join a secret group and Sophie finds herself in the role of messenger for a Resistance group. Their efforts forge Sophie and her brother into a far closer relationship.
As the book progresses we get to read about the war through the eyes of Sophie. “As I came to the brow of the hill and looked down on the road I saw a long column of women and children and old people. There seemed to be hundreds of them. Some were dragging handcarts piled high with their belongings, but most of them had nothing but what they were carrying. Some were limping and I could hear children crying. They all looked so miserable that I wanted to cry, too.” This paragraph from the story is one example of how Sophie felt about the misery that war entailed for ordinary citizens.
The plot thickens when Sophie becomes further involved with the Resistance in a dangerous plan to help a young Scottish Soldier escape from the clutches of the Germans. Sophie meets Angus before he is captured by the Germans and when he manages to escape she helps him recover from his injuries by nursing him back to health. Despite the best efforts of George Dubois to sabotage their efforts the group is successful and the story ends with a letter from Angus thanking Sophie for all her help and informing her that he has reached Spain safely.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was recommended to me by my daughter who is aged 10 and she also loved it. It’s interesting to read about the war through the eyes of a young girl. Atkins is able to write with empathy and conviction. The book would be ideal for students learning about the Second World War as many events leading to and during the war are described accurately. It makes for a more fun read than a simple historical book. I also think the book would be good to use if one were to discuss the impact of war with students. The plight of the refugees streaming in from Poland is comparable to the refugee crises that we are now seeing. It can be related to present day.
The book is part of a series of imaginative first hand accounts. More of the books can be recommended to students that particularly enjoy this book.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book except that it did not have an epoilogue and so not I feel really sad because I don't know what happened to her at the end, I wanted to make sure once the war was over that Sophie and Angus got married and the Yvette would marry her brother at the end.

[Joey Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good book, I enjoyed this so much. I didn’t know what to expect when starting to read it but soon found myself devouring this story.

Sophie Ridel an average teenage girl at the start of the story soon finds what truly matters to her and her people and will stop at nothing to help them all. As the war rages on, getting closer and closer as the Germans start invading France; She becomes part of a secret resistance group carrying secret messages to and from contacts, hiding from the invading Germans. She risks her life multiple times being in the danger zones of where the Germans have taken over. She also falls for a Scotsman who started off working near her land to fight back against the Germans but as he is injured and on the run she takes a huge risk with her resistance group to ensure he is safe and healthy again. Never once letting the enemy win against them, fighting for and with her people to resist the Germans.

I honestly loved her courage and bravery throughout the story, I adored how she learnt that true evil can come in a form she never expected but that it just made her more determined to fight instead of it making her weak. She is such an amazing character that selflessly helped and gave all she had to make her world better and safer again, never letting the Germans win no matter how fearsome or scary they were.

I am so impressed by this story, I honestly would have loved a bit more to it as intended kinda abruptly but I seriously still enjoyed what I was reading. I’m happy that I loved this one and that again I have learnt something new about this era.

[Alice Hannah Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

ON MY GOODNESS!!!!! THE BEST MY STORY BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!!! (And I've read quite a lot!!!) Coolio annoying that It ends on a cliffhanger though I wanna know what happens to Sophie and Yvette and Sebastian and Patrice and Olivier!!!!!!!! They don't catch the baddie either it disappointed me a bit. But overlooking that it was amazing and when the bombs fell I was tingling cos I thought; "They've killed Yvette! They've killed Sophie's grandma!!!!!" But thankfully both of them survive 😅😅😅😅 A brilliant account of life during the French invasion in WW2 . For life in England at that time Read Blitz by Vince Cross, tho it's not as good as this.

[Tessie Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Já tyto příběhy prostě miluju! Každý z nich je podle skutečných událostí a k tomu ho vždycky vypráví nějaká sympatická postava. Sophie jsem si zamilovala i Anguse ovšem. ;D Taky mě rozesmálo její spříznění se slepicemi, ale i tak mi bylo líto, jak to s nimi během války dopadlo. Doba byla zlá a hodně nebezpečná, jak zde Sophie popisuje, a rozhodně jsem ráda, že jsem ji nezažila, i když né všichni měli takové štěstí, že je válka nezměnila. Tuto knížku rozhodně doporučuji, není to žádná nudná dějepisná knížka, ale deník, který si tak tajně mohlo vést spousta lidí za války.

[Liana · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about a girl who lives during World War Two. She has so much to dread as her hometown is now under the power of the German. There's a man called Adolf hitler who starts an army. He's horrid. A scary but great book. 🙂

[Sky_23 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Again this was a fun read, a lot has happened but I finished it in one sitting. The writing style was fun and I liked how Sophie explained everything. It wasn't a story with a lot of depth but it was still fun to read.

[Meghan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sophie’s sense of self-importance is inflated at times, and doesn’t always think with her head. Especially as a fourteen-year-old, romance is the last thing she needs, but she gets hung up on crushes.

[Alice English · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good book especially liked it as it is in a diary style.

[Mousmi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 Stars.

[Jessie Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book. Nice to read.

[Shatra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of second world war in the eyes of a teenage girl. Pretty interesting.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good story that shows the beginning of WW2 - this time for a young girls in the resistance.

[Lauren Ingoldby · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another must read in the My Story series. French girl Sophie Ridel lives with her brother Sebastien,Papa & Mama near a farm and train track. Her life is soon turned upside down as the Germans invade and 1939 marks the start of WW2. This was a really finely written book. It intrigued me from the very first page. It made me laugh and it made me really think about things Sophie said. Georges Dubois was a traitor to France admiring the Germans and I can't believe Sophie used to like him. Sophie soon falls in love with a Scottish solider Angus Brown with dark hair and blue eyes who she first meets outside her house. She saves his life when he escaped from being a prisoner of war with Yvette her best friend. Yvette was a true friend. She put all her families life in danger looking after Angus especially when George's was snooping around. This was yet another book that opened my eyes to war this time in France. Sophie speaks a little English. When she rescues Angus she goes with Olivier her brothers best friend and her brother and Yvette. On the way back they are stopped by a German solider on a motorcycle. Hidden under the straw of the cart is Angus. The German asks them about the straw and why it's not in a pile Sophie quickly comes up with an excuse: "I smiled and lowered my eyes. Then I tried to look highly embarrassed, pointed at Olivier and said that he was my boyfriend. Yvette caught on. She pointed at Sebastien and told the German that they were in love. I don't know how she managed it, but she actually blushed! Both the boys looked stunned for a second then they nudged each other abs grinned sheepishly at the solider. The German looked from one to another of us. I could see the cogs of his brain working it all out. Two boys, two girls, the girls clothes covered in bits of straw, one of the girls blushing, the other one seeming shy, the boys looking pleased with themselves... He was coming to the conclusion I had hoped for - that we had all been rolling in the straw! After a moment, a slow smile replaced the frown on the Germans face." That part made me smile. Laugh to the German goes away and she finds out that Yvette actually does like her brother and he might like her too. Towards the end of the book you can tell Sophie likes Angus and he likes her. But he leaves but he does write to her. I hope the author wrote a sequel because I wanna find out what happens in the future to them and Yvette & Sebastien. The photos,historical note and timeline are all very interesting abs descriptive as usual. Sophie says she and the French will keep on fighting for freedom until the war is over. Even though the Germans have taken over France they haven't won the war. I really want to visit the places mentioned in this book. I do someday! Sara :)

[Nicole John]

I decided to read this book, because I was interested in the German war and decided to read a book about it. I liked how it was from her side of the story as she wrote in her diary, but I disliked it because it wasn't much of an ending. The character "Sophie", was the main character and she was the one who was writing in the diary. She seemed brave, to have to go through all these things even though she is young. This book made me think deeply about how it would've been to be in the war. How, like having your loved ones having to go to war. And having airplanes going through bombing your country. It would've been horrible. A quote "The German soldier who was giving orders marched over to us. He halted very stiffly clicking his heels together and saluting. I took quickly several steps back." This quote made me think, how it would've been to have German Soldiers invade your country and how scared everyone would've been. Overall this book was great to read. I recommend to read this, since it was great and it made you feel how it would've been like in the German war.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really one of the better My Story installments, sadly! Though not one of the worst either. Sophie just didn't have a very engaging or unique voice, she was a bit of a cardboard cut-out. For being a French girl in 1940, she sounded remarkably like many of the other British girls in this series! Still, it was interesting to at least have something set in a different country. I'd have liked more historical detail as well, more story than just the saving of Angus. (The Scottish soldier is called Angus, his friend is Jock. Seriously!)

Also it would have been nice to know a little bit more about how the spy network worked, but then I guess this was Sophie's diary and she didn't know either.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The German soldier who was giving orders marched over to us. He halted very stiffly clicking his heels together and saluting. I took quickly several steps back.” That is a quote from My Story the Secret War by Jill Alkins. The book is fantastic. It takes place in France 1939. The main characters are Sophie, Sedation, MR. Mason, and Mama. I really liked the setting in WW2 because I had a Grandfather who served in WW2. If you like action this is the book for you. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I really liked this book I hope you like it too.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knížky z edice Můj příběh jsou skvělé pro čtenáře zhruba ve věku 10 let. Poutavým způsobem jim přiblíží některé z nejsilnějších historických okamžiků/dob, zároveň ale nejsou příliš brutální a kruté. A upřímně - to je právě ta dobrá věc. Protože jistě, mnoha lidem se mohlo stát něco horšího než právě nám, ale to neznamená, že nemůžeme mít i přesto silný příběh. Zvlášť pro mladé lidi je toto důležité vědět.

[Ayla]

This book says everything about the war and how some people can go out of their way to risk there lives for others . this book I would recommend to anyone as it teaches you so much and you understand how fortunate you really are . The war was a sad time and Sophie helps it get better with her true caring skills. So if you see this book in the library please pick it up and give it a try.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really interesting perspective of a young girl living in France when the Germans attacked. I thourally enjoyed it, mostly because it is really intreeging in the way that she deals with the situations she is put into and it also makes me think how i would of reacted :D

[Ana]

To try to do my best

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

A YA novel about the Resistance in France during World War II. If you are really interested in this topic, read the excellent memoir by Lucie Aubrac titled: "Outwitting the Gestapo".

[Haylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

the way that the book recreates the take overs, and the bombings and the fighting as the germans invade france are amasing

[Renaissance · Rating 3 out of 5]

First book I have read from the my story series. disappointed that there wasn't an epilogue. Liked how the girl matured through the book and how the intenseness built onwards in it.

[Jen]

another interesting read
Im learning things I didnt know

[Aranee Balendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great look into the past

[Tanvi Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I found this book interesting and informative. I liked how the story was based on one character point of view.(French perspective) I did want it to have a Germans perspective on the war.