For Freedom

Publishers Weekly

Based on a true story, Bradley's (Ruthie's Gift) gripping, high-stakes adventure about a French girl who joins the Resistance during WW II offers insight into a young spy's sacrifices and bravery. When the Germans begin to occupy France, 13-year-old Suzanne, who narrates, focuses more on her dreams of singing professionally than on the war she thinks could never hurt her. She tries to follow her pragmatic father's repeated admonition, "Obey the rules and no one gets hurt." But her views change when a bombing leaves her best friend mute from trauma, German soldiers seize her family's home and she realizes "sometimes people disappeared." Family relationships and the intensely personal price of war prove more strongly sketched than Suzanne's love of music, even though it is the travel occasioned by Suzanne's growing success in the opera that makes her useful to the Resistance. Bradley effectively portrays the initial allure when the family doctor recruits Suzanne, then 16, as "number twenty-two" (names would be too dangerous to use), and then gradually tarnishes that glamour to reveal the heavy burden, isolation and imminent danger. While one or two touches seem forced (particularly when Suzanne is betrayed), the details and the tone have the ring of authenticity. A highly compelling look at the covert battle for freedom. Ages 10-14. (May) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Suzanne is 13 years old when she and a friend witness a bomb drop in their hometown of Cherbourg, France. Based on a true WWII story, it unfolds from the time Suzanne is 13 until the end of the war when she is just 18 years old. Suzanne's family was not Jewish so this is not a book of the Holocaust. Instead, it is a story of what war does to a country and how deep pride in one's nation can run. It is also about standing up for what is right and being willing to risk your life for the cause. Suzanne is a fledgling opera singer whose mobility makes her useful to the French Resistance. Suzanne becomes a spy and risks her life delivering messages that ultimately culminate in the D-Day invasion. The story is a wonderful, true-life adventure that features a smart and very brave young girl. It is a nice addition to WWII literature and a marvelous read. 2003, Delacorte Press, Ages 10 to 14.
— Joan Kindig, Ph.D.

KLIATT

Bradley has written fiction based closely on the life of Suzanne David Hall, who shared her stories with the author. The novel begins in 1940 when Suzanne is 13 and it ends when the Allies liberate her town of Cherbourg, France in June 1944. Suzanne is studying to be an opera singer, and as soon as she finishes school when she is 15, she starts working in the local opera company, singing the leading roles. She naturally has a lot of appointments around town and in nearby towns, and her doctor recruits her as a spy, carrying messages in the midst of the Nazi occupation. She knows that if she is caught, she will be killed. The strength and discipline she needs for her career help her in the work as a spy. Details of her family life under the occupation, her singing career, the solace she finds in music during utmost stress—these details make the story a reality for the reader. Therefore, the fear she experiences working as a spy, the lies she must tell to her family and friends to cover her activities, and the suspense inherent in the story make this a thrilling reading experience. We are filled with admiration for Suzanne's strength and commitment. Frequent French expressions and details from the operas and their arias make this novel even more exotic for American YAs. The town of Cherbourg is laid out in the readers' minds—from the first scenes of Germans bombing the beach at the time of the British troops retreating in 1940 to the liberation of the town on D-Day. In an epilogue, we learn that Suzanne married an American soldier at the end of 1945 and immigrated to America, where she raised her family in Tennessee. A powerful story. KLIATT Codes: JS*—Exceptional book, recommended forjunior and senior high school students. 2003, Random House, Delacorte, 181p.,
— Claire Rosser

VOYA

A member of the local opera company in Cherbourg, France, Suzanne is sixteen years old when she becomes a spy for the French Resistance. Only her voice teacher and the local doctor who recruited her for the task know that she is passing messages that will aid the Allies of World War II. As the war progresses and as she becomes more adept at hiding and delivering the messages, the danger of discovery increases. Finally arrested for questioning, Suzanne finds herself free the next day, June 6, 1944, as the Germans rush to defend themselves against the D-Day invasion. Centering on Suzanne's life from the age of thirteen to seventeen and her relationships with friends and family, this riveting adventure, based on a true story, is peppered with memorable teen characters who bring events to life. Indelible images-beaches littered with broken bodies after bombing runs; houses stripped of furniture and valuables, defaced by German troops; the struggle to subsist on rationed food-and the teens' reactions to the horrible events make occupied France come alive for readers. Characters' voices resonate with the struggle to deal with the war's effects on their lives and futures. Suzanne's resolve to work against the Nazi invaders comes after she and her family suffer abuse at their hands. Her resolve and courage should strike a chord with teens who understand how difficult, yet how empowering, it is to help in changing things for the better. This novel is historical fiction with sure appeal for young adults. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High,defined as grades 10 to 12). 2003, Delacorte, 102p,
— Chris Carlson

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8-Life for Suzanne David, a 13-year-old French schoolgirl and music apprentice, dramatically changes in May, 1940, when she and her best friend witness the brutal death of a neighbor when a bomb drops directly in front of them. Soon the Germans take over Cherbourg, and the Davids are forced from their home into poverty. Then Suzanne is given the opportunity to help the Allies. Bravely, she risks her life, family, and singing career in order to spy for the Resistance. The pace of this suspenseful novel, told in first person and based on a true story, moves swiftly into action within the first chapter, showing the young heroine as strong, courageous, and clever. Filled, but not laden, with the events of the war, and peppered with French language and the culture of music, this novel will appeal to readers who enjoy history and espionage.-Kimberly Monaghan, Vernon Area Public Library, IL Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Suzanne David’s father always said, "Obey the rules and no one gets hurt." But when their French town of Cherbourg is bombed, her neighbor is killed, the Nazis take over, and her family is turned out of their house, whose rules does she obey? When one of the few black families in Cherbourg disappears, Suzanne says to her Papa, "I thought Hitler only hated Jews. I didn’t know he hated black people too." "Now you do," he replies. It is this growing awareness, step by step, that leads to Suzanne’s involvement in the French Resistance, becoming number 22, and relaying messages essential to the planning of the D-Day invasion. Based on Bradley’s interviews with the real Suzanne, this is an exciting account of a girl’s coming of age in a scary time. The historical context is neatly woven into the story, so readers will learn about Dunkirk, the fall of Paris, Vichy France, Charles de Gaulle, and D-Day. A terrific companion to Gregory Maguire’s The Good Liar, but for an older audience. (Fiction. 10-14)