This book checks a lot of boxes for me...OBOB book this season; check! Historical fiction (my favorite genre!); check! A good love story, but not in the traditional sense; check! I finished the book but can't stop thinking about the story and the characters; check!
I haven't read any of author Hesse's other books, but I sure will! Girl in the Blue Coat is the story of Hanneke, a teen girl living in Amsterdam at the start of World War 2. Germany has invaded Holland and Jews are being rounded up and sent off to concentration camps. Hanneke has grown her own black market business, providing goods for people around town because the Nazis have taken control of every aspect of life, including necessities like food and clothing. Hanneke uses the people she knows to find wanted items and get them to those who are in need. In this way she helps her family survive, but it's a very dangerous business...if she gets caught, she would likely be killed. In the midst of this part of the story, Hanneke is asked to find a person, something she has never done before. She quickly learns of others who are secretly helping Jews escape right out from under the noses of the invaders. Even more risky than her usual "job".
This book has romance, danger, intrigue, history, friendship, family - all as elements of a well-written, high intensity book. Without having read anything else by Hesse, she is definitely one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my fave books of the year! Along the lines of Rita Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, Hesse is the real deal in historical fiction. You need to read this! 5 paws!
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