Book Review: Odette's Secrets

The next Young Hoosier Book Club book is Odette's Secrets--a quick read, but a ton of information from the point of view of a French girl amidst WWII.

Odette's Secrets

by Maryann MacDonald

Odette is a little Jewish girl from Paris, France during the beginning of the German Occupation in the 1940s.  As a little girl, Odette does not quite understand why everyone hates the Jews, but she finds solace with her godmother Madame Marie who teaches her to sew as her neighbors destroy her Jewish friends’ stores.  When Odette’s father leaves to join the French army, and is subsequently captured, she and her mother are devastated.  In order to help fight against the Nazis that captured her husband, Odette’s mother joins the underground resistance and sends Odette to a small country village to try to pass as a Christian.  There, a woman teaches Odette and other Jewish children how to make the Catholic cross sign and recite Catholic prayers to convince the locals they are not Jewish.  But when Odette’s mother is found out in Paris, she must flee to the village, and risk being found out by the villagers.  Together, Odette and her mother fight for their freedom and their secrets that have kept them safe until the war is over.

This story is told in short, almost poetic chapters for each event in Odette's life.  She narrates her struggle to understand what it means to be a Jew in France--not a story we often hear. Another child trying to wrap their heads around why everyone around her suddenly hates her and wants her dead.

This book does not delve too deeply into WWII and what happened in France, as the story has the aura of this young girl--the story is told in a stream of consciousness voice, thus the reader only knows and sees what Odette knows and sees. However, because of this, the author is able to reach a younger group of people to relate the atrocities of WWII.  If you struggle with reading and like information about WWII, this is your book.  If you like historical fiction, you'll love this quick read.  I'm 28 and I thought this book was amazing--so check it out!