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Searching... Dayton Public Library | FIC VANDE VELDE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Lisette Beaucaire was angry when her parents sent her away from Paris that September day in 1940. And although she knew that with the Nazis occupying the city she'd be safer at her Aunt Josephine's farm in the Dordogne valley, Lisette resented her "exile." She'd miss her friends and the excitement of being thirteen and starting a new school. Instead she'd have nothing to do but amuse her little cousin Cecile. That's what Lisette thought, but she soon found out that she wasn't the only visitor at the farmhouse. And then she encountered Gerard, a visitor from a long time ago, who proved to be a valiant ally at a crucial moment for the people who lived in the farmhouse.
Author Notes
Vivian Vande Velde (born 1951, Rochester, New York) is an American author who writes books primarily aimed at children and young adults. She currently resides in Rochester, New York. Her novels and short story collections usually contain elements of horror, fantasy, and humor. Her book Never Trust a Dead Man (1999) received the 2000 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8-This well-written novel combines two periods in French history-the 1940s and the early 1300s. Lisette Beaucaire, 13, is sent to live in the country with her aunt, since food is scarce in Paris, which is overrun by German soldiers. Although she dreads spending time with her bratty cousin Cecile, Lisette is even more dismayed to discover that her aunt is hiding Jewish and gypsy children from the Nazis. As Lisette and the children practice what to do if the Nazis arrive unexpectedly, she begins to understand the seriousness of the situation. Then she encounters the ghost of Gerard, a young knight who died in 1314. At first he is merely a spirit but gradually he becomes solid and real-and a friend. In an exciting climax, Gerard helps Lisette save the younger children from the Nazis. The conclusion leads readers to ponder the future of the characters. The plot moves briskly and Vande Velde does a good job of creating the war-time atmosphere of fear and suspicion. Lisette is a sympathetic and believable character. However, the comparison between the persecution of the Jews and gypsies by Hitler and the Knights Templar (Gerard's order) by King Philip IV is a bit of a stretch and may not be the best example to help readers understand the Holocaust. (Among other things, the Knights Templar, a powerful group of monks known for fighting in the Crusades, was not particularly tolerant of Jews or other "infidels.") Still, this fast-paced adventure raises some interesting issues.-Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Thirteen-year-old Lisette feels unwanted when her parents send her to the French countryside to live with her aunt, her cousin, and five other refugee children during World War II. But when she encounters a ghost, curiosity replaces homesickness. The fantasy incorporates a good amount of humor, and the climax, in which the ghost helps Lisette hide Jewish and Gypsy children, is filled appropriately with tension. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In a highly readable novel, Vande Velde (Smart Dog, p. 1294, etc.) daringly combines a fantasy with her tale of a young girl during the French Resistance in WWII. For Lisette's 13th birthday in September of 1940, her parents send her from Paris to stay with her Aunt Josephine in the country. Lisette discovers that not only will she be sharing a room with her dreadful cousin Cecile, but that her aunt harbors five Jewish and gypsy children. When Lisette tries to get away, from the attentions and needs of the others, especially Cecile, she meets Gerard, a 14th-century ghost in the woods. Aunt Josephine is called away and it is up to Lisette to hide the children when the soldiers come. Gerard makes their escape possible, and provides the evidence that convinces the Germans to leave. Vande Velde describes all of this clearly from Lisette's perspective, so readers see how the children have been drilled to hide as a kind of game; how groceries are purchased, to keep secret the number of people being fed; how ubiquitous the presence of the Nazis, even in the countryside. Gerard's presence is beautifully handled; he becomes more substantial and more comprehensible the longer Lisette speaks to him, and he has a deeply interesting history of his own. (bibliography) (Fiction. 10-14)
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-9. The author of numerous fantasies (most recently The Changeling Prince [1998]) and fairy tale adaptations (Tales from the Brothers Grimm and Sisters Weird [1995]) tries a more realistic setting in her latest offering. Parisian 13-year-old Lizette is sent to live with her aunt in German-occupied rural France in the fall of 1940. There she meets Gerard, the ghost of a fourteenth-century Templar knight, who was murdered by King Phillip IV in 1314. As she learns more about Gerard and the evils of his time, she comes to understand the true dangers of the Nazi occupation, and the importance of helping her aunt hide several Jewish and Gypsy children. Velde's melding of fantasy with historical fiction is generally successful, and her comments about the similarities between these two historical periods are well taken. Less convincing are the characters' motivations: Why does Aunt Josephine risk everything to take in five orphaned children? Why does Gerard, whose apparitional form has appeared to villagers for generations, suddenly become a live human being again after meeting Lizette? Despite these flaws, the narrative flows well and should appeal to readers, especially fans of Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic (1988). (Reviewed October 1, 1998)0395900123Kay Weisman