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For Jews in Nazi-occupied Paris, every day brings new dangers. So when Odette's father is thrown into a work camp and the Nazis suspect her mother of helping the Resistance, Odette is sent to the French countryside until it is safe to return. On the surface, Odette leads the life of a regular girl, going to school, doing chores, even attending Catholic masses with other children. But inside, she is burning with secrets for the life she left behind, and the identity she must hide at all costs. Yet when the war ends, the cost of keeping secrets takes an unexpected toll: can Odette return to Paris as a Jew, or has she changed too much? Inspired by the life of the real Odette Meyer, this moving free-verse novel is a story of triumph over adversity.
"This is an excellent choice for young readers looking for historical fiction, fiction in verse, Holocaust fiction, or an engaging story of survival and courage. Ages 11 to 15." - VOYA
"Macdonald used the real Odette's auto-biography as the basis for this book, and her free-verse narrative is charming and effective. Although Odette's age is never given, her youthful perspective and the overall nonspecificity about the war, make the book best suited to readers on the younger end of the target audience. Ages 10–14" - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. Based on the real Odette Meyers (née Melspajz), this thoughtful, affecting piece makes an ideal Holocaust introduction for readers unready for death-camp scenes." - Kirkus
This information about Odette's Secrets was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Maryann Macdonald has always loved to read and write. She has written 25 children's books of her own, and now lives in New York City.
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