[REVIEW] Girl in the Blue Coat

title: Girl in the Blue Coat
author: Monica Hesse
genre: young adult, historical fiction
publish: April 5, 2016 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
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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. Janssen wants meat or kerosene, Hanneke is shocked by the older woman’s frantic plea to find a person: a Jewish teenager Mrs. Janssen had been hiding, who has vanished without a 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. 

Beautifully written, intricately plotted, and meticulously researched, Girl in the Blue Coat is an extraordinary, unforgettable story of bravery, grief, and love in impossible times.

a beautiful story of love, friendship, and bravery during war times

Girl in the Blue Coat was an auto-buy for me simply because: (1) it's historical fiction (because I HAVE to read ALL the historical books out there. lol.), (2) it's set in WWII (it may be the most widely written historical period but there are still too much we do not know about it!!), (3) that cover is too bEAUTIFUL (GAH! I just know I need this in my shelf the moment I saw it!!)!!

Finding this girl is not who I am anymore. That action is soft; I am practical. That action is hopeful; I am not. The world is crazy; I can't change it. -p37

Girl in the Blue Coat is a mystery novel. Henneke is tasked to search for Mirjam Roodveldt, a Jewish girl. A JEWISH GIRL DURING THE WWII!! Worse part is that she has never, NEVER, seen this girl in her entire life. Yet I guess that's the interesting aspect of this novel -- Henneke will look for a girl she doesn't know. I like how she tries to get to know Mirjam and where she might have gone to.

But then, Girl in the Blue Coat didn't just focus on the mystery. It successfully brought me to 1943, Amsterdam. There were vivid descriptions. There were actual situations of people -- Jews and non-Jews were talked about. I like the details incorporated in this novel like the small resistance group and the hidden photography.

When things come to an end in a way you don't expect, in a way you never could have imagined, do they really come to an end? -p289

The very intriguing mystery of the novel took an interesting turn for me. I basically went from *nod, nod*: that's sad, to ohMYGOD THAT'S JUST... UGH... GOSH! The twist just never occur to me because I did not expect Girl in the Blue Coat to be the type of novel to carry a twist. However, I love the turn of events. It gave me the pain that I was looking for in historical fictions. Admittedly though, I did not shed a tear for this novel.

Henneke is also a well developed character. I like how she came from someone simply trying to survive to someone who'd travels miles to find things out. World War II is such a terrible setting and Henneke while scared was able to find the strength to get to the bottom of Mirjam's mystery.

OVERALL, Girl in the Blue Coat is a beautifully written historical fiction. It involves a mystery that kept me intrigued and cast that I enjoyed reading and an ending that left a mark in me long after I read the final words (yup, even after the author's notes! that revelation/ending made me super sad!!).

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