Author Interview: Maryann Macdonald, author of Odette's Secrets

The Jewish holiday, Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins on Monday night, April 28.  In honor of the millions who perished, as well as those who survived, I wanted to share with my readers an interview with author Maryann Macdonald of Odette's Secrets (reviewed here at the Fourth Musketeer last month).  This novel tells the story of a young French girl who was hidden during the Nazi occupation, and thus survived the Holocaust.  Thanks so much, Maryann, for visiting my blog today.

Q:  There are so many books, even for young readers, that deal with World War II, particularly the European side of the conflict.  Yet there are still so many stories to tell, with more books coming out every year.  Please tell us how you discovered the true story of Odette, and why you considered it important to tell her story to young readers.  

A:   When I learned that 86% of French Jewish children survived the Holocaust by going into hiding, I was astonished.  How had these children managed to reinvent themselves so successfully, I wondered?  And how had it affected them?  Then, by chance, I found "Doors to Madame Marie," a memoir by Odette Meyers at the American Library in Paris.  I was so touched by Odette's story of her experience as a hidden child in France.  I especially loved her description of the struggles she went through with all the necessary deception that was required to stay successfully hidden, and the affect this had on her developing identity.  I had never seen a book that told this particular story about WWII, and I wanted to create a children's book about it for today's readers.  Although Odette had passed away some years earlier, I learned that her son Daniel was alive and living in Paris.  I called him and we met.  He told me he that his mother had often told her story in schools, churches and synagogues, and he was sure that she would want it to live on.  So I began the process of trying to recreate Odette's story for today's young readers.  

Right above the door is Odette's Paris apartment

Odette and Mama (photographer and family later deported)

Q:   Why did you decide to tell this particular story in free verse, rather than a more conventional prose style?

A:  My first draft of Odette's Secrets was in third person.  I wanted the story to be as accurate as possible, but I felt this version was too dry.  Then I remembered that Odette loved poetry, and even thought its beauty helped her to survive her ordeal.  She grew up to become a professor of literature, and wrote poetry of her own.  So I set about telling Odette's story in first person, in blank verse, to access more accurately Odette's childhood voice.  I wanted the book to seem as though Odette herself was telling her story to children.  This turned the book into fiction, but nearly every single recorded detail is true.

Odette's godmother, Madame Marie

Q:  Many of your many prior books for young people are picture books rather than novels.  Did you ever consider telling Odette's story in a picture book format?

A:  I have written many picture books, but also one other middle grade novel and quite a few chapter books.  My latest effort is a young adult novel.  At first I thought Odette's Secrets might be a picture book, but there was just too much story to tell.  It is now slotted in for 10-14 year-old's, but I have heard from readers as young as 8.  One of my oldest readers was himself a hidden child.  He wrote to me to say he thought I had captured the experience quite accurately.  

Q: In the current publishing climate, with the wild success of the Wimpy Kid series, dystopian novels like Hunger Games, and the continued popularity of fantasy series in the Harry Potter style, do you have any advice on how librarians, parents, and teachers can encourage children to explore historical fiction like Odette's Secrets?

A:  I have developed a teacher's guide for "Odette's Secrets," which is downloadable on my website, www.maryannmacdonald.com.  It offers many ways to draw readers into the book.    Obviously, linking the story with the history curriculum, with Holocaust Remembrance Day, and with National Poetry Month might help.  Not every book suits every reader, but Odette's Secrets has found many appreciative readers.  Fans of this genre can discover other great WWII books I've enjoyed, from picture books on up, on the "Odette's Secrets" FB page.  

Q:  Can you share with us five children's books that made a big impact on you as a young person?

A:  Like so many young girls of my time,  I fell in love with the Little House Books, especially "Little House on the Prairie."  Now that I think of it, that series has some similarities with Odette's Secrets:  adventure, family closeness, life-threatening danger.  I read every book in our local library on pioneer life, too.  But I also loved books about England, especially "The Secret Garden," "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," and "Mary Poppins."  I think my love of English children's literature was partly responsible for the fact that when I grew up, I went to live in England for 23 years.  And again, like so many girls of yesterday and today, I loved Nancy Drew.  My granddaughter loves her, too.

Q:  What books are currently on your nightstand?  (or in your e-reader, if you prefer your books in that format?)

A:  I just read "The Hare with the Amber Eyes" with my book group.  I enjoyed that in paperback, but I LOVE my Kindle, too, and take it everywhere.  Now I live in New York City, so I get a lot of reading done on the subway, so take my Kindle everywhere in my handbag.  I'm reading "The Unlikely Pilgrimmage of Harold Fry" by British writer Rachel Joyce on it right now.   I also listen to books on my I-Pod while walking in Central Park and while cooking.  My latest cooking favorite is "The Hobbit" by Tolkein and my latest walking favorite is "City of Thieves," by David Benioff, about the siege of Leningrad.  Background reading gets fitted in at the library and just before bedtime.

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Book Review: Odette's Secrets, by Maryann Macdonald (Bloomsbury, 2013)

Recommended for ages 9-14.

Please note:  The Fourth Musketeer will feature an interview with Odette's Secrets author Maryann Macdonald on April 25.  

World War II seems to supply authors, whether those for children or adults, with an inexhaustible supply of true stories for inspiration.  Author Maryann Macdonald turns to historical fiction in her new novel, Odette's Secrets, about a young Jewish girl in Paris during the Nazi Occupation.  Odette's story is told in spare free verse; we meet her Polish-Jewish parents who have immigrated to Paris with their only daughter Odette.  Odette is beloved by her gentile godmother, the concierge at her building, and has a comfortable existence until her father joins the French military, is taken prisoner by the Germans, and conditions began to worsen considerably for the Jewish population of Paris.  Soon the round-ups of foreign-born Jews begin, destined to be shipped off to the East.  Odette's mother, realizing the danger, makes a plan for her daughter and the daughters of other friends to go stay with family friends in the Vendee, outside of Nazi-occupied France, where she will be in safely in the countryside with plenty to eat.

There's one wrinkle--Odette must forget that she's a Jew.  She must blend in perfectly with the village children, learn how to cross herself, say Catholic prayers, attend mass, eat pork, in other words, do nothing that could distinguish her from other children in the village.  She becomes very good at keeping secrets--even from her closest friends.  But when her mother flees Paris to join her, suspicion follows them just the same.  Can they stay safe?  And what will happen after the war ends?  Will her father and other relatives find them back in Paris?

This is a moving, small novel that can be read quickly but delves into real issues of prejudice, bravery, and how ordinary children can survive in dangerous and extraordinary times  This novel is inspired by the life of the real Odette Myers, a story the author discovered while doing research in a Paris library; she was helped in this project by Odette's son, Daniel, who shared family photos and experiences.  Highly recommended.  

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Book Review: Paris-Chien: Adventures of an Ex-Pat Dog, by Jackie Clark Mancuso (La Librairie Parisienne, 2013)

Recommended for ages 4 and up.

Picture books about dogs are a dime a dozen, but picture books about dogs in Paris--ooh, la, la, that's a smaller group.  I remember on my first trip to Paris, many many years ago, being flabbergasted that dogs were everywhere--including in restaurants, where they were treated with great respect.  But what would it be like to be an American dog in Paris?

In Paris-Chien (a pun on the French word parisien--OK, it took me a few minutes to get that one, and you have to pronounce Paris in French--par-ee--for it to work!), we meet Hudson, an adorable Norwich terrier who has recently moved to Paris with his American owner.  However, adjusting to a new culture is apparently as difficult for dogs as for people--Hudson didn't realize that French dogs spoke French rather than "dog"!  But no worries, his owner enrolls him in French language classes, taught by Madame Vera--a French poodle.  Soon Hudson is as happy as a clam--or maybe a baguette or croissant--in his new home, and even has a French girlfriend!

This is a delightful book that is sure to please dog lovers and Francophiles alike.  The book is peppered with French phrases, which are translated in a "petit dictionnaire" in the back (although there is no phonetic translation, so the author seems to assume that the readers will already know a little French).  Children and adults alike will enjoy the "fish out of water" story of Hudson adjusting to Paris, told with a gentle sense of humor.  The gouache artwork is particularly charming, and the color palette and flat, stylized technique evoke 20th century French artists such as Matisse.

Author Jackie Clark Mancuso was inspired to write this book by her own experiences as an ex-pat in Paris.  Hudson is a real dog, and you can learn more about him on his Facebook page.

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Book Review: Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris, by Marissa Moss (Sourcebooks, 2012)

Recommended for ages 9-14.

Author-illustrator Marissa Moss has two excellent new historical fiction novels for young people out this fall:  Mira's Diary: Lost in Paris and A Soldier's Secret.  Today I will be reviewing the first of these, and a review of the Civil War historical thriller A Soldier's Secret will be coming next week in my blog.

In Mira's Diary, Moss creates a time travel story melding the exciting artistic world of 19th century Paris with the shocking political intrigue and anti-Semitism of the infamous Dreyfus affair.  Although the Dreyfus affair is well known to those interested in French history, it's certainly not a topic most young people in the U.S. will be at all familiar with, and I applaud Moss for choosing to set her story around this important tale of corruption and scapegoats.

Our story begins when young Mira receives a strange postcard of a gargoyle from Notre Dame in Paris from her mother, who has been missing without any explanation for many months.  Not only is the black and white postcard very old-fashioned looking, so is the faded French stamp.  And "who sends postcards anymore?," wonders Mira.

With the postcard their only clue, Mira, her father, and her 16-year old brother take off to Paris, hoping to find her mother.  They check into a quaint hotel in the Marais, Paris' historic Jewish quarter, before going off to explore the famous cathedral.  Mira can't help looking everywhere for her mother, but it's not until she touches a gargoyle on the top gallery of the cathedral that she realizes she's been looking in the wrong century!  Magically transported to April, 1881, Mira not only befriends a good-looking young man who turns out to be an assistant to the famous French artist Degas, she also finds herself embroiled in the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal that involved the French army and virulent anti-Semitism in the French military and society at large.  Mira spots her mother several times, and receives several mysterious and secret notes from her.  It's clear that her mother is in danger, and Mira must step up to try to keep Dreyfus, a Jewish army officer, from being unjustly punished as a traitor.

This novel manages to mix very serious topics such as prejudice and anti-Semitism with an up-close look at late 19th century Parisian artistic life, letting us visit Giverny, Montmartre, the Impressionists Exhibition, and Parisian salons populated by famous artists such as Degas, Monet, Seurat, and Mary Cassatt.  Moss even throws in a hint of romance between Mira and Degas' handsome young assistant Claude.  Although readers will learn a lot about history and art through this book, they will also be entertained by the suspenseful story featuring a likable heroine who finds herself in a difficult--and certainly unusual--situation.

In the manner of her Amelia's Notebook series and her historical journals, Moss gives this new book the feel of a real journal or diary, from the cover with its mock journal binding to the charming small pencil sketches distributed liberally throughout the novel and the endpapers decorated with Mira's notes to herself, a map of France, and French vocabulary.

An extensive author's note provides a detailed explanation of the complexities of the Dreyfus affair (geared for tween readers) and the military corruption and anti-Semitism it exposed in 19th century Paris.  Moss also provides brief notes on Paris in the late 19th century, the impressionist art movement, and author Emile Zola, who wrote the famous "J'accuse" newspaper article in favor of Dreyfus.   A bibliography lists other resources and books consulted by the author.

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Book Review: The Time-Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette, by Bianca Turetsky (Poppy/Little Brown, 2012)

Recommended for ages 10 to 14.

In the second in her series about a fashion-obsessed middle-schooler who time travels by trying on vintage clothing, Bianca Turetsky turns to the court of Marie Antoinette, who was truly a fashionista before the word was coined.  Louise, our heroine, is once again invited to a vintage sale by the Traveling Fashionista, the same store she visited when she mysteriously time-travelled to the Titanic's maiden--and only--voyage.

Louise's father, an attorney, has recently lost her job, and now Louise can't go on her French class trip to Paris.  But no worries--Louise is about to have a much more exciting adventure than a class trip.  When Louise visits Marla and Glenda's mysterious vintage shop, which is located on a street that doesn't appear on any maps, she tries on a delicate blue satin ball gown, a genuine Rose Bertin.  Although the designer's name means nothing to Louise, Rose Bertin was dressmaker to Marie Antoinette, and as soon as Louise tries on the gown, she is magically transported to Versailles.  There she becomes Gabrielle, the Duchesse de Polignac, and the dear friend of a pretty blonde teenager that Louise soon figures out is the doomed Marie Antoinette.  Can Louise open Marie Antoinette's eyes to the suffering of the French people, and maybe save her life in the bargain?  And will she be able to get back to the 21st century in her magic dress?

I loved the premise of this book, since my #1 time-travel destination would be to the court of Marie Antoinette, but I could not help but be disappointed in many aspects of the execution.  Marie Antoinette was indeed the "Queen of Fashion" (see the excellent biography by historian Caroline Weber, Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette wore to the Revolution), and in that sense a trip to her court is a perfect match for this fashionista series.  But I was troubled how Turetsky plays fast and loose with historical timetables, which bothers me in historical fiction, particularly for kids, where they might not know the historical facts.  For example, although no date is given, Louise remarks that Marie Antoinette is not much older than she is, so we can assume it takes place around 1770 --the year she marries the heir to the French throne, Louise-Auguste.  Turetsky repeatedly refers to Marie Antoinette's husband as Louis XVI, although he didn't take on that title until the death of his grandfather, Louise XV, in 1774.  She also has Louise turn into the Duchesse de Polignac, a very close friend of Marie Antoinette, but one whom she didn't even meet until 1775.  Also, Marie Antoinette is depicted as being unpopular with the French people, a development that happened much later in her reign.  And when they visit Marie Antoinette's dressmaker, they come home with boxes full of clothes, which were all made to order in those days.  Perhaps some of these details are cleared up by the author in a "Historical References" section, which did not appear in my advance copy, but I think if the author wanted to include some of these characters and events that take place closer to the French Revolution, she ought to have set the story a bit later, to keep the historical timeline more accurate, even if that would have made Louise and Marie Antoinette not quite so close in age.

An element of the book that I very much admired are the abundant fashion illustrations, done by fashion illustrator Sandra Suy.  They will be in full-color in the final version, although I had to make do with black and white in my advance copy.  The style reminded me very much of the vintage Barbie illustrations from the late 1950's and early 1960's, and fit very well with the Rococo style of the 18th century clothes.

Despite my criticism of the historical misrepresentations in this book, I do think that tween girls will enjoy this time travel adventure.  For those tweens who want to learn more about the endlessly fascinating Marie Antoinette, I would recommend the recent book by Carolyn Meyer, The Bad Queen:  Rules and Instructions for Marie Antoinette, a perfect match for that age group.

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Book Review: The Queen's Lover: A Novel, by Francine Du Plessix Gray (Penguin, 2012)

For ages 14 and up


I have long been fascinated by Marie Antoinette and her family, an interest dating back to when I was around 12 years old.  I was therefore really looking forward to reading this new novel about Count Fersen, who was perhaps the secret love of Marie Antoinette's life and the architect of the failed escape plan to Varennes, after which the royal family was captured and imprisoned in Paris. However, I found this entire novel a huge disappointment.  The story is told in the first person by Fersen himself, as a sort of memoir, with other parts narrated by his sister when it was inconvenient to have Fersen himself narrate.  

The novel added little to my knowledge or understanding of these important historical figures.  Moreover, I didn't feel the author captured any real chemistry between Fersen and Marie Antoinette.  There are some very racy sex scenes with the two of them which frankly I found very distasteful--it gave me a feeling of being a voyeur at the scene which rather than being titillating seemed simply tacky. In addition, Fersen comes across as a very unpleasant person--it was hard to even empathize when he himself is beaten to death by an anti-royalist crowd in Sweden some years later. The book was clearly carefully researched, with the author using primary sources, but the way the author incorporated actual parts of letters written by Fersen and others made the book very awkward--was she trying to write a novel, a biography, or a history book? It seems like she couldn't decide, and it's a messy melange that doesn't work well. If you want to read about Marie Antoinette, check out instead Abundance, by Sena Jeter Naslund, a much better novel, or Queen of Fashion, an excellent nonfiction biography by historian Caroline Weber.

Marie Antoinette, by court painter Vigee-LeBrun

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Book Review: The Academie, by Susanne Dunlap (Bloomsbury, 2012)

Recommended for ages 12 and up.


Susanne Dunlap is a favorite author of mine for YA historical fiction with a romantic flair, books that will realistically appeal much more to girls than to boys.  This is her fourth YA title (she has also written historical fiction aimed more at adults) and the first set in France.

In this new novel, Eliza, the young daughter of future U.S. President James Monroe, is in France with her mother, where she is left behind in a chic boarding school just outside the city that's run by a former courtier to Marie Antoinette, Madame Campan.  The school is attended by France's finest young ladies, including Caroline Bonaparte, the youngest sister of the up-and-coming French general, as well as Hortense Beauharnais, the daughter of Napoleon's wife, Josephine.  The book is set in the turbulent year 1799, the year in which Napoleon overthrew the French Directory and took power for himself as First Counsel, leading of course to his eventually crowning himself Emperor (although not in the course of this novel).

The book alternates between four different narrators:  Eliza, Hortense, Caroline, and Madeleine, the mixed-race--and of course entirely unsuitable--daughter of a cruel, drug-addicted Paris actress. Eliza quickly picks up on the bad blood between Hortense and Caroline at school, wondering what role she will play in the school's hierarchy of students.  All the girls seem much more concerned with their love lives than any studying, not too surprising since their primary curriculum seems to be learning how to talk prettily to young gentlemen, including the lads from the nearby boys' school who sometimes visit for training exercises.  But the school's far from boring.  There seems to be plenty of intrigue, with Caroline whisking innocent young Eliza off to a clandestine party in Paris when they're supposed to be asleep in bed.  All the girls develop crushes on the wrong sort of man--Hortense on a music teacher, Caroline on a general that her brother doesn't want her involved with, and both Eliza and Madeleine, the actress' daughter, on Hortense's handsome brother, Eugene.  Will anyone wind up with the man of their dreams?  You'll have to read on to the shocking ending to find out.

And in the middle of all of this romantic drama, there's a political drama behind the scenes, a possible coup, one that the girls are determined to witness, even dressing up as soldiers to sneak off and see what's going on.  Not to mention Eliza's trying to come to terms with her racial attitudes from growing up with slaves on a Southern plantation.

Although I greatly enjoyed The Academie, I can't say it's my favorite of Dunlap's novels.  I found it occasionally confusing switching back and forth between the different narratives, and I found it hard to suspend my disbelief at some of the girls' dangerous antics, which seemed a bit far fetched for young girls in this setting.

An author's note explains that while all three of her main characters (Eliza, Hortense, and Caroline) indeed attended the same boarding school, they were probably not all three there at the same time and the author admits to taking some liberties with the actual timeline in structuring her story.  Nonetheless, the real Eliza and Hortense remained friends and Eliza even intended Napoleon's coronation as emperor in 1804.  And the rivalry between Napoleon's family and Josephine and her children is a well-established historical fact.

This novel is set at a time period we don't see portrayed much in historical fiction--after the French Revolution, but before Napoleon fully takes power.  For that reason alone, I would recommend this book.  I think young people, particularly girls, will enjoy the romance and political intrigue that Dunlap skillfully portrays in this school setting so different from today.

Tweens and teens wanting to learn more about the real Napoleon might enjoy the lavishly illustrated
Napoleon:  The Story of the Little Corporal, by Robert Burleigh (Abrams, 2007)

Teens might also enjoy Betsy and the Emperor, by Staton Rabin (Margaret K. McElderry, 2004), which tells the story of a young girl who gets to know the famous man while he is a prisoner on St. Helena.

HARD TO BELIEVE, BUT TRUE:  I was stunned to read in the LA Times (see link below) recently that there are plans afoot in France to make a Disneyland-like theme park based on Napoleon, complete with snowy battle re-enactments and a ride on Napoleon's hat. What will be next?  An amusement park with a pretend guillotine where you get your head cut off and then reattached???

• You: Struggling France reembraces Napoleon (latimes.com)

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Book Review: Boys of Wartime: Michael at the Invasion of France 1943, by Laurie Calkhoven (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2012)

Recommended for ages 8-12.


Release date:  February 16, 2012


Check out my interview with author Laurie Calkhoven on February 16!


Twelve-year old Michael, a half-American, half-French boy living in Paris, has to grow up quickly when the Nazis invade France in this fast-moving historical fiction novel about World War II.  His brother's been captured and is in a German POW camp, and his father is in England, leaving Michael the man of the house for his mother and little sister.

Despite having to deal with hunger and the intense cold, Michael is determined to fight the Nazis in whatever way possible, and soon is a member of the French resistance.  Michael's assignment is dangerous but important--helping to guide Allied pilots to safe houses so that they can escape and continue to fly missions against Hitler.  But when the Gestapo discovers their cell of resistance fighters, will Michael be able to get his American flier and his family to safety?

This is the third in Calkhoven's excellent historical series Boys of Wartime (the first two novels were set during the Revolutionary War and the Civil War).  Told in the first person, the suspenseful story grabs the reader from the start, and I found the novel difficult to put down.  Michael is a well-rounded character, filled with doubts about his ability to live up to his father's expectations, yet brave and quick on his feet.  The narrative is peppered with telling details of the difficulties of life for ordinary Frenchmen under the Germans, from having to sleep in the Metro station because it was marginally warmer underground to breeding rabbits in the bathtub to have additional food to eat and to trade on the black market.

The author provides a prologue setting the scene for the story, providing easy-to-understand background on the beginnings of World War II and Hitler's Blitzkrieg.  A historical note at the conclusion provides further information on resistance groups, the role of children in the French Resistance, a timeline of the war, a glossary of unfamiliar words, suggestions for further reading about World War II, and brief biographies of some of the historical figures who are mentioned in the novel, such as Charles de Gaulle and Marechal Petain.

While there are many novels for young people about World War II, Calkhoven concentrates on a different angle--the rescue of American and allied airmen who were shot down in German-occupied airmen.  This was a subject I had never read about, and it made a very appealing narrative for young readers, full of danger, suspense, villains and heroes.  I would highly recommend this novel for collections for elementary school students and even for middle school.  The book, while clearly aimed at boys, would appeal to young girls as well who are looking for a story with plenty of action and adventure.



Disclosure:  Review copy provided by publisher.

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