Violins of Autumn

Gr 8 Up—American teen Betty Sweeney has lied about her age, been trained by the British SOE espionage agency, and parachuted into Nazi-occupied France to act as a courier for the Resistance. Sound unbelievable? It is. "Adele" (Betty's undercover name) and her British counterpart, "Denise," a radio operator and sharp shooter, make their way to a nearby farmhouse that doubles as a safe house for Resistance fighters. Almost immediately they encounter a downed American fighter pilot—also a teenager—and the three head toward Paris. Separated along the way, Adele outwits Nazi soldiers and is befriended by an elderly French doctor. Both the young farmer from the safe house and the American pilot become love interests. She and Denise vacillate between giddy schoolgirl feelings about boys, fashion, and champagne, and the cold-blooded determination required to shoot an enemy point blank. This juxtaposition makes for a confusing and head-shaking read. After completing a highly dangerous mission, Adele and Pierre share a passionate kiss and embrace before they have even reached safety. And within hours of a near-death weeks-long torture session, the rescued Adele is visited by Denise and, noticing her visitor, says, "Is that a new skirt?" Both characters are by turns naive and inexperienced and elite-level assassins, a stretch that many readers may not be able to swallow. The little bit of history provided does not give readers any real sense of the French Resistance experience, largely because the protagonists are more caricature than characters. For a moving read about France during World War II, suggest Tatiana de Rosnay's Sarah's Key (St. Martin's Pr., 2007) or Carla Jablonski's graphic novel Resistance: Book 1 (Roaring Brook, 2010).—Karen Elliott, Grafton High School, WI