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Shay L

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Shay L is currently reading

Girl in the Blue Coat

by Monica Hesse (Goodreads Author)

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Reading for the 2nd time

read in December 2024

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Shay L said: " Not everything is always as it seems to be. The only thing is can it be figured out before it's too late. Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse starts with a smart Dutch girl named Hanneke. Her main problem, providing for her family during World War Not everything is always as it seems to be. The only thing is can it be figured out before it's too late. Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse starts with a smart Dutch girl named Hanneke. Her main problem, providing for her family during World War II. Hanneke and her family are lucky with blond hair, the right last name. In other words, they're safe or at least not a target. In order to provide for her stressed mother and half paralyzed father, Hanneke works an illegal black market job called war profiteering. She wants to keep on a low radar till one of her clients, Mrs. Janssen, asks for help. Mrs. Janssen had been hiding a Jewish girl named Mirjam Roodvelt. Everything was fine until Mirjam ran away with no warning wearing her blue coat. Why would a Jewish girl run away from the only place in which she is safe? Where did she go? Those were the questions Hanneke intended to answer. Hanneke, already at so much risk, joins a resistance with an old friend. After helping the resistance, Hanneke asks for a favor, to help find Mirjam. Mirjam was caught in a round up and sent into a transport. After so many questions, Hanneke finally finds a key detail that explains the actions and consequences that Mirjam unfairly faced and just why the case of the Girl in the Blue Coat is so complicated.

The Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse is a good read for younger to teen readers offering a slight filter on the horrible events that happened during World War II. I find the book to be action packed, fast paced, and full of twists. If that's what you typically go for then I highly recommend the only downside is that it can be hard to follow if you don’t choose to keep up with it. The plot of the book is introduced in the beginning and followed through towards the end. The initial question does get answered and for the most part wrapped up in the end. I found the ending to be a tiny bit rushed and packed in. I wish that Hanneke followed up with other characters and shared her findings. In my opinion the book could use more deescalating because some of the characters' ends were cut short. After certain parts of the book characters weren’t seen or brought up again. The characters in the book were well developed and interesting as well as unique. My favorite part of the book is in the beginning Hanneke doesn’t truly know what's going on in the outside world since Germany took over the Dutch press. Slowly she realizes the weight of the situation. The book has historically accurate dates and location however I think certain parts of the book are exaggerated to create more action with characters getting away with things that should’ve been otherwise impossible. At one point the characters try to get away with stopping a Nazi transport. I highly recommend this book for historical fiction readers, giving it a four out of five stars. ...more "

Dec 12, 2024 06:18AM · see review