Girl in the Blue Coat may be a young adult novel, but it's one that asks all of us, "What would you do?" Taking place in the Netherlands in 1943, it's the story of Hanneke, a young woman selling black market goods. Yes, her employer and family profit off the sales, but it's Hanneke's own form of resistance against the Nazis who have invaded her country and destroyed the two relationships most important to her. But when one of Hanneke's clients asks her for help with a hidden Jewish girl, Hanneke's eyes are opened to the atrocities happening around her and how much courage she really has.
At the end of the book, the author provides some historical context for this work of fiction, which I really appreciated.
And, of course, what's most fascinating about the book is that even though it's fiction, these thing really happened in Amsterdam, and there were people like the fictional characters running, hiding (including one we all know - Anne Frank), rescuing, betraying.
This would be such a fantastic young adult (or adult) book club book.
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