No One Must Know

Chosen for inclusion in the reading list for the 2006 Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Award


It is 1957 and Alexandra’s immigrant family is living the North American dream. Her father is a respected doctor, and she has a warm circle of good friends from church, from girl guides, and from school. Perhaps her mother is nervous and a bit odd – she seems incapable of leaving the house alone – and there is never any talk of the life they left behind in Hungary, but every family has its quirks.

Alexandra’s world is turned upside down when she discovers a secret that her parents have kept. They are not Catholic, as Alexandra believes. They are Jewish. Alexandra’s view of her parents, of her friends, and of the society in which she lives is turned upside down by her discovery. Who is she and where does she really belong?

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8-When a cute blond boy saves Alexandra from being hit by a football at the beach, she has no idea that he will unlock secrets in her family that have been successfully hidden for years. She is disappointed when he heads off to the Jewish section, but it's 1960 in Canada, and that's the way things are. Alexandra and Jacob meet up again when school starts and begin dating, much to the dismay of her parents. They emigrated from Hungary long ago, but aren't willing to talk much of the past, or why they disapprove so much of Jacob. Alexandra begins piecing together clues bit by bit, but the whole truth finally comes out when a childhood friend of her mother appears unexpectedly, and Alexandra, raised Catholic, learns that her family is Jewish. The foreshadowing in this story allows readers to reach the truth long before Alexandra does, but her initial na vet and later anguish ring completely true for a maturing young girl. Even the cover art of a girl with her hands over her eyes connects delicately on several layers as the story progresses and Alexandra grows up. A gentle and moving introduction to the enduring legacy of the Holocaust.-Paula J. LaRue, Van Wert City Schools, OH Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Born in Hungary, Eva Wiseman came to Canada with her family when she was a girl. She began writing at a young age and showed an early passion for journalism – she interviewed teen movie stars Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon for The Winnipeg Free Press when she herself was a teenager. Her first young adult novel, A Place Not Home, was a finalist for numerous literary awards across North America and was named to the New York Public Library’s annual Best Books for the Teen Age list. Her second novel, My Canary Yellow Star, was equally successful. Eva Wiseman is the mother of two grown children. She lives in Winnipeg with her husband.