Overview

Based on the true story of two World War II heroines who risked everything to save Jewish children from the Gestapo by hiding them throughout Belgium. Belgium, 1942 Young schoolteacher Andrée Geulen secretly defies the Nazis in Belgium, who are forcing Jews to wear a yellow Star of David. Andrée is not Jewish, but she feels a maternal connection to her students, who are living in constant fear, and decides to take action. No child should have to suffer under such persecution. But what can one woman do against an entire army? Ida Sterno is a Jewish woman who works with a clandestine resistance group tasked with hiding children from the Gestapo. She recruits Andrée because her Aryan appearance can provide crucial security measures for their efforts. Andrée agrees to join and begins work immediately by adopting a code name: Claude Fournier. Together, Andrée and Ida work tirelessly to move Jewish children from their families and smuggle them to safety through the secret channels established by the Committee for the Defense of Jews. As each child is hidden, Andrée commits to memory their true name and history. Someday, she vows, she will help reunite as many of these families as she can. But with the Gestapo closing in along with the traitorous Fat Jacques, who has turned from ally to enemy and is threatening to identify any Jew he meets, Andrée and Ida must work against increasingly impossible odds to save as many children as possible and keep them safely hidden--even if it might cost them their own lives.

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9781639932344

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Reviews

"""The two protagonists of this novel, Andr�e and Ida, were real women [and] their work and the Committee for the Defense of Jews helped almost 3,000 Belgian Jewish children to survive the Nazi occupation of WWII. Well worth reading.""-- ""Historical Novel Society"" (5/3/2024 12:00:00 AM) ""A heartwarming display of humanity in the bleakest of times, written from the perspective of the social workers who arranged for hundreds of Jewish children to be separated from their parents in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis. The story makes for an emotional but ultimately uplifting read.""-- ""Booklist"" ""I was one of the hidden children saved by the Belgian resistance. Andr�e Geulen and Ida Sterno are Rebecca Connolly's heroes, but they were also my saving team who risked everything to intervene. This magnificent book is not to be missed.""--Professor Shaul Harel, author of ""A Child without a Shadow"""

"""A heartwarming display of humanity in the bleakest of times, written from the perspective of the social workers who arranged for hundreds of Jewish children to be separated from their parents in an attempt to keep them out of the hands of the Nazis. The story makes for an emotional but ultimately uplifting read.""-- ""Booklist"" ""I was one of the hidden children saved by the Belgian resistance. Andrée Geulen and Ida Sterno are Rebecca Connolly's heroes, but they were also my saving team who risked everything to intervene. This magnificent book is not to be missed.""--Professor Shaul Harel, author of ""A Child without a Shadow"""

Author Information

Rebecca Connolly is the author of more than two dozen novels. She calls herself a Midwest girl, having lived in Ohio and Indiana. She's always been a bookworm, and her grandma would send her books almost every month so she would never run out. Bookfairs were her carnival, and libraries are her happy place. She received a master's degree from West Virginia University. While doing research for this book, she discovered information about her own family history, including the fates of several unknown family members who perished in the concentration camps of World War II. Rebecca's best-selling historical novel A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was ""highly recommended"" by the Historical Novel Society. Learn more about Rebecca and her books at rebeccaconnolly.com.

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