Girl in the Blue Coat ~ Reviewed by Elizabeth Barnes

"When things come to an end in a way you didn't expect, in a way you never could have imagined, do they really come to an end? Does it mean you should keep searching, for better answers, for one's that don't keep you up at night? Or does it mean its time to make peace?" 









Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days finding and delivering sought-after black market goods to paying customers, nights hiding the true nature of her work from her concerned parents, and every waking moment mourning her boyfriend, who was killed on the Dutch front lines when the German army invaded. Her illegal work keeps her family afloat, and Hanneke also likes to think of it as a small act of rebellion against the Nazis. 

On a routine delivery, a client asks Hanneke for help. Expecting to hear that Mrs. Jansen wants meat or kerosene, Hanneke is shocked by the older woman's frantic plea to find a person: a Jewish teenager Mrs. Jansen had been hiding, who has vanished without trace from a secret room. Hanneke initially wants nothing to do with such a dangerous task but is ultimately drawn into a web of mysteries and stunning revelations - where the only way out is through. 

"The Girl in the Blue Coat" is undoubtedly the best fictional account of life during the Nazi occupation during WWII, since "The Book Thief". Its a moving story about bravery, grief, and love in impossible times. 

I would highly reccomend this book for anyone interested in History. 

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars.