GIRL IN THE BLUE COAT BY MONICA HESSE
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Source: Novl in return for an honest review
“Maybe we can’t barter our feelings away, trading good deeds for bad ones and expecting to become whole.”
― Monica Hesse, Girl in the Blue Coat
Synopsis:
Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days finding and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, 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 German army invaded. Her illegal work keeps her family afloat, and Hanneke also likes to think of it as a small act of rebellion against the Nazis.
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 a dangerous task but is ultimately drawn into a web of mysteries and stunning revelations—where the only way out is through.
Beautifully written, intricately plotted, and meticulously researched, Girl in the Blue Coat is an extraordinary, unforgettable story of bravery, grief, and love in impossible times.
I feel like I should give it some more time before I write this review. I am still unsure of the rating I want to give this book. First off I waited way to long to read this book that is for sure. I was sent an ARC of this book by Novl for review last year and put off reading for some reason. I’ve been on a historical fiction kick.
Girl in the Blue Coat is a YA Historical Fiction novel based during the German occupation in the Netherlands during WWII. This book is full of heartbreak, mystery, loss and the underground of the war. The beautifully written book was not at all what I expected it to be and I found it to be a great moving story.
The characters are well developed and complex in each their own way. I enjoyed seeing the revelations that each character came to throughout the novel and relationships that were created. Hanneke has been through a lot already since the start of the occupation living with the guilt of her actions and the stress of providing for her family. She grows so much throughout the story . The complexity of the characters and their struggles and fight drive forward the novel.
I am not sure what else to say about this book because it was a quick read although filled with a lot of emotions. I did enjoy this story, but felt like it had a few slight flaws for me that could not make it an amazing 5 star read. There were times when I felt like the story dragged and was a little repetitive. I needed a driving force to the story that was lacking, but the characters and their development did make up for some of that.
Overall this book explains the darkness of human nature and the flaws that each of us carry with us but also the bravery and strength that can come in the most unlikely of times. This book is perfect for historical fiction lovers especially those who enjoy delving into the WWII era stories. It is full of surprises and mystery and completely threw me when I thought I knew where it was going.
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♣ Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
♠ Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
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