Intriguing, disturbing, and historically compelling, best for older YA readers.
Atwood’s YA historical novel follows two young Belgian women who defied occupying German forces, the first during World War I and the second during World War II.
It is May of 1942, and the Germans are occupying Belgium for the second time in fewer than three decades. Julienne Gobert and her father, Maurice, are leaving their small town of L’ Elpe and moving to Brussels to live with Maurice’s sister, Cecile. (Life has become sad since the recent tragic death of Julienne’s mother.) When they arrive in Brussels, Cecile greets her brother with warm enthusiasm. She is colder toward her niece, reflecting, Julienne thinks, the acrimonious relationship Cecile had with Julienne’s French-born mother. The next day, while Julienne is working in Cecile’s grocery shop, she helps an elderly Jewish woman and her granddaughter, who are being harassed by a Nazi officer. By coming to the Jewish women’s aid, Julienne incurs Cecile’s wrath. That evening, walking through Brussels, Julienne comes upon a statue of Gabrielle Petit, a resistance heroine from World War I (“the shopgirl who died for Belgium”). She will learn that she has a profound connection with Gabrielle, a real-life historical figure whose heroics (she bravely defied the Germans until she was caught and executed) were the inspiration for Atwood’s novel. Like Gabrielle, Julienne gradually and courageously immerses herself in the Belgian resistance against the Nazi occupiers. Atwood’s narrative deftly alternates between the women’s parallel tales, toggling back and forth between the two World Wars while sprinkling breadcrumbs of connections between the two. (A vibrant cast of significant secondary characters from Gabrielle’s story—survivors of the first war—reappears in Julienne’s saga to support her in her mission.) The novel is packed with chilling historical details about German atrocities against civilians, Belgian Nazi sympathizers, and the valiant acts of the resistors as they waited for the Allies to turn the tide. Scenes of adventure, frightening close calls, and great losses keep the fluidly scribed pages turning.
Intriguing, disturbing, and historically compelling, best for older YA readers.Pub Date: May 8, 2025
ISBN: 9798218650889
Page Count: 278
Publisher: SmallPub
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told.
The 17-year-old son of a troubled rock star is determined to find his own way in life and love.
On the verge of adulthood, Blade Morrison wants to leave his father’s bad-boy reputation for drug-and-alcohol–induced antics and his sister’s edgy lifestyle behind. The death of his mother 10 years ago left them all without an anchor. Named for the black superhero, Blade shares his family’s connection to music but resents the paparazzi that prevent him from having an open relationship with the girl that he loves. However, there is one secret even Blade is unaware of, and when his sister reveals the truth of his heritage during a bitter fight, Blade is stunned. When he finally gains some measure of equilibrium, he decides to investigate, embarking on a search that will lead him to a small, remote village in Ghana. Along the way, he meets people with a sense of purpose, especially Joy, a young Ghanaian who helps him despite her suspicions of Americans. This rich novel in verse is full of the music that forms its core. In addition to Alexander and co-author Hess’ skilled use of language, references to classic rock songs abound. Secondary characters add texture to the story: does his girlfriend have real feelings for Blade? Is there more to his father than his inability to stay clean and sober? At the center is Blade, fully realized and achingly real in his pain and confusion.
A contemporary hero’s journey, brilliantly told. (Verse fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-310-76183-9
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Blink
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
PERSPECTIVES
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.
In this YA graphic novel, an alienated Métis girl learns about her people’s Canadian history.
Métis teenager Echo Desjardins finds herself living in a home away from her mother, attending a new school, and feeling completely lonely as a result. She daydreams in class and wanders the halls listening to a playlist of her mother’s old CDs. At home, she shuts herself up in her room. But when her history teacher begins to lecture about the Pemmican Wars of early 1800s Saskatchewan, Echo finds herself swept back to that time. She sees the Métis people following the bison with their mobile hunting camp, turning the animals’ meat into pemmican, which they sell to the Northwest Company in order to buy supplies for the winter. Echo meets a young girl named Marie, who introduces Echo to the rhythms of Métis life. She finally understands what her Métis heritage actually means. But the joys are short-lived, as conflicts between the Métis and their rivals in the Hudson Bay Company come to a bloody head. The tragic history of her people will help explain the difficulties of the Métis in Echo’s own time, including those of her mother and the teen herself. Accompanied by dazzling art by Henderson (A Blanket of Butterflies, 2017, etc.) and colorist Yaciuk (Fire Starters, 2016, etc.), this tale is a brilliant bit of time travel. Readers are swept back to 19th-century Saskatchewan as fully as Echo herself. Vermette’s (The Break, 2017, etc.) dialogue is sparse, offering a mostly visual, deeply contemplative juxtaposition of the present and the past. Echo’s eventual encounter with her mother (whose fate has been kept from readers up to that point) offers a powerful moment of connection that is both unexpected and affecting. “Are you…proud to be Métis?” Echo asks her, forcing her mother to admit, sheepishly: “I don’t really know much about it.” With this series opener, the author provides a bit more insight into what that means.
A sparse, beautifully drawn story about a teen discovering her heritage.Pub Date: March 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-55379-678-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: HighWater Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 28, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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