Courage & Defiance

You know I am a fan of well-crafted, thought-provoking nonfiction of all kinds.  I love when a title leaves me with questions - things to mull over later.  I strongly believe that the best nonfiction leaves you wanting more, that the reader will then take the bibliography or resource list and continue to learn.  When I was offered the chance to review Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs and Survivors in World War II Denmark, I knew that Deborah Hopkinson would have written a book that would make me think.  I had already read and loved many of her previous titles, including most recently Titanic: Voices from the Disaster.   What I didn't know when I accepted this assignment was that I would cry, cheer and sit in awe of the people contained within its pages.

The story Hopkinson tells is about the small island nation of Denmark.  When Germany came marching into Denmark on April 6, 1940, the country of Denmark did nothing.  The.  Not y quickly realized that their military could not resist the much larger German military, and their best hope was to surrender.  Amazingly, while the Danish government thought this was the safest plan of action, its people did not agree.  Hopkinson writes "But it began that first day, when ordinary citizens woke up to a changed world.  It began with anger, disbelief, and determination.  And it began with individuals asking themselves a difficult, almost impossible question: what can one person - or even a few together - do to make a difference against a powerful invading force?" (p. 22-23)

To me, the answer to the question is continually surprising.  Not because one or two people wanted to make a difference, or even hoped they could, but because so many Danish citizens stood up against the Germans.  They fought back in clever ways, risking their lives to do what was right.  For instance, Tommy Sneum, who was a pilot and lived by a German-occupied air force base.  A German soldier accidentally gave Tommy information about an early-warning system that the Germans were using to watch for Allied planes at the base.  Sneum risked his life repeatedly to get this system documented and the information to the Allies.  This included such inconceivable tasks as reconstructing an airplane in a farmer's barn to fly it across the ocean to England to deliver the intelligence.  And since they couldn't risk landing the single-engine plane anywhere the Germans might discover them, Tommy and his co-pilot would have to refuel in midair.

Tommy's story is just one of the incredibly daring stories Hopkinson has documented here.  And what is incredible to me about these stories is that these aren't necessarily the stories of generals in the Danish military or government officials scheming to save their countrymen.  These are the stories of people like you and me.  Many of the stories involve young people who easily see the injustice and fight back.  Niels Skov begins his sabotage by blowing up German cars on the street.  It may have seemed small, but it was something.

Hopkinson follows several people throughout the war, retelling their efforts at collecting information, performing feats of sabotage, and basically doing everything possible to slow the Germans down.  One truly amazing story begins on October 1, 1943, the day the Germans came to round up all of the Danish Jews.  There were 7700 Jews in Denmark, and it would take the bravery of many people to get as many of them as possible to safety.  Reading this story was one of the times tears came to my eyes - the entire country showed courage and defiance in accomplishing this miracle.  They protected their Jewish neighbors and friends and got more than 7200 of them to Sweden safely.  That is a jaw-dropping number.

Even for those of us who are familiar with the history of World War II, there is something new to learn here.  I mentioned earlier that this book left me with additional questions. Hopkinson's book inspired me to learn more.  In her prologue, she advises "Courage & Defiance is an introduction to a multifaceted, complex story, and there are many aspects I have not addressed." (p. 1)  For example, I wanted to learn more about how 7200 Jews were able to move into hiding without attracting attention from German soldiers on very short notice.  I want to know more about the governmental response.  A good piece of nonfiction gets the reader wondering, and then it provides the reader with strong resources to continue their exploration of the subject.

The back matter in this book is, of course, complete and extraordinary.  There are pages o selected resources (including a section of books of special interest to young readers), online resources, source notes, information on the Danish language, and more.  My only minor complaint is that while I read the book, I kept wishing for a map of Denmark to be able to better visualize some of the action.  I did find one, but it was in the back matter, so I didn't find it until I was finished with the book.  That might be a lesson for those of you who are teachers - encourage your students to explore the back matter first, to get a feeling for what information they will be exposed to in the heart of the book.


These stories give hope in the face of one of the greatest evils our world has known.  People all over Denmark stood up and did something, even if it was small.  Hopkinson's retelling is suspenseful and readable.  I couldn't put it down and can't wait to share it with others.  Thanks again to Deborah Hopkinson for appearing.  For other stops on the Courage & Defiance blog tour, please check http://deborahhopkinson.com/

 

 

Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark. Deborah Hopkinson.  Scholastic Press, 2015.

sent by the author for review

Flight of the Maidens

I don't usually review my grown-up reads on this blog, but since it's for the 48 Hour Book Challenge, I will.  I finished this book last night.  It was recommended in the May/June 2010 Horn Book by someone who has loved it, and it sounded interesting to me, so I thought I would give it a try.  It is about three young women, who are friends in England after WWII.  They are all on their way to college, and this book takes place in the summer before they leave Yorkshire.  Each of the girls - Una, Hetty and Liselotte - have a very different experience.  One finds love, one finds herself, and one solves the mystery of her family.  While they each have different experiences, there is a lot for them to learn about life outside their sheltered village.  I didn't love this book, but then I don't love books about World War II anyways.  There is a lot of pain in this book,and angst, and while I think Gardam handles it well, it just didn't connect with me very much.  It took me an abnormally long time to read (maybe it's been in my To Be Read pile for more than a year?) which definitely says something.

The Flight of the Maidens - Jane Gardam.  Penguin, 2000.

from my personal collection

The Romeo and Juliet Code

Maybe you haven’t noticed it, but I do not really like historical fiction.  Go ahead and flip back through my blog posts if you like; I’ll wait here.  See?  These are the books that I like best,  and while there are a couple of picture books with historical themes, there is no typical historical fiction.  And I’m really uninterested in reading historical fiction about World War II – I’ve read plenty, and unless I’ve heard enough buzz, I just won’t make the effort.  So you know that if I’m recommending historical fiction about World War II to you, it has to be pretty good.

Felicity arrives in Boothbay, Maine in May of 1941.  Her mother, Winnie, and her father, Danny, stay long enough to say goodbye, then leave Felicity to get to know her father’s family alone.  They are on their way back to London, where their work is, and leaving Felicity in the United States, where they believe she will be safe.  Britain has already been in the war for some time, so Felicity has grown used to deprivation, bombings, and dark, cold nights without electricity.  She arrives in Maine to find a family she’s never met, a seaside house that no one ever visits, and more secrets than even she can untangle.

Felicity is eleven years old, and her aunt Miami calls her an “odd duck”.  She is grown-up enough to have never called her mother and father anything but their first names (she often refers to them as “my Winnie” or “my Danny”) but still young enough to carry around a stuffed bear, Wink.  She is old enough to stay by herself late into the night in London when her parents are working, but young enough not to wonder why they are always so late, need language coaches for their jobs, or have abandoned her in Maine without even a forwarding address.

But it is obvious that Winnie and Danny are not the only people keeping secrets from Felicity.  Felicity’s uncle, Gideon, was visibly angry with Danny when they left Felicity, and neither Uncle Gideon or Felicity’s grandmother (called The Gram) will talk to Winnie.  Felicity doesn’t intend to eavesdrop , but she hears Uncle Gideon and The Gram talking about someone who is sick, hidden away somewhere in the house, named Captain Derek.  And Uncle Gideon often tries to connect with Felicity, even though she is sure she should stay angry with him after his behavior with Winnie and Danny.

I’m not going to ruin any of the mysteries  in this book by talking about them here.  There are many mysteries contained within these pages.  This story is told through Felicity’s point of view, and it is extremely limited at first.  Felicity believes what she is told, even when it doesn’t fit with what she has observed or overheard.  It takes a long time for her curiosity to kick in, and for her to start to wonder what is really going on in her family, both in Maine and abroad.  But once her curiosity begins, Felicity begins to investigate, to question and to rethin k what she’s seen and heard in the past.

I want to say something about the combination of the title and the cover.  The title refers to a code that Felicity must solve, not necessarily something romantic or tragic.  I think that the entangled boy/girl feet on the cover and the names Romeo and Juliet might make young readers believe there is more romance inside than there actually is.  There is no kissing, hand-holding or even entangled legs within – while Felicity does like someone, it is mostly unrequited, and I think the cover’s misconception might steer readers away who might otherwise have been attracted to its mystery, adventure and historical fiction combination.

I wonder if there are going to be inevitable comparisons to last year’s Newbery-winning Moon Over Manifest.  Both books include family secrets, and combine a mystery with historical fiction.  However, I feel that this book is much stronger than Moon Over Manifest.  I couldn’t get invested in the dual storyline of Manifest.  Here, within two chapters, I had put off all my naptime plans to sit down and finish this novel.  Felicity’s family is full of entertaining quirks which make them warm and exciting to be around.  While Felicity does look back, it is handled in conventional flashbacks to her time in Britain, and not in the more unwieldy dual storylines.  It helps Felicity piece together the solutions to her mysteries as she looks back and remembers details that seemed unimportant at the time.

One other thing I love about this book is that it isn’t tied up in a neat little bow at the end.  I actually liked that Felicity’s parents hadn’t come for her yet by the end of the novel, and in fact much of the mystery surrounding them hasn’t been solved.  But Felicity is in a safe, welcome place and that makes the ending happy still.  I hope this post has made you want to seek out this book and investigate its mysteries for yourself.  It’s well worth it.  Then comment here and let me know what you thought.

The Romeo and Juliet Code.  Phoebe Stone.  Arthur A. Levine Books: Scholastic, 2011.

Borrowed from Lewis & Clark library