- German girl living in Amsterdam with her parents during WWII discovers a secret within the walls of their borrowed home
- convo:
- girl is shamed in front of party as a Christmas tradition–and then beaten by Santa with a switch that actually hurts her
- girl is confronted with harsh realities of inhumane Nazi treatment of others and must undo a lot of her training as a prior Hitler Youth
- various racial issues are mentioned
- girl sees cattle train car pass stuffed full of people
- euthansia is implied
- the mother has an affair happening occasionally throughout the whole book, and everyone knows it
- mentions the girl’s younger brother died before the story
- a soldier forces a girl onto his lap and to kiss him on the lips
- a boy is beaten every night by his father and many helplessly hear his screams; he eventually shows the scars to his friend
- drinking and drunkenness occurs
- many references to gods & myths
- girl believes her ring has magic powers and is superstitious about it occasionally throughout
- girl witnesses a young mother being beaten for walking with her stroller outside the Jewish Ghetto
- skewed teaching of Scripture, but brief scene
- multiple jokes & teases about a girl having a boyfriend
- a servant threatens girl that she’ll slit her throat if she tells a certain secret
- girl finds a book on magic and learns about voodoo dolls being real
- mentions many executions, including of children
- a beloved friend is shot when he flings his body in front of an innocent boy
- 17-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl romantically kiss twice
- language: x4 G*d, x1 “you always were a devil” said in jest, x1 hell, x4 stupid
Type: historical fiction novel
Ages: 13+
Author: Hilda Van Stockum
There certainly is a pain one feels when you begin to realize all you were taught is, in fact, very wrong. Janna (pronounced Yah-nah) deals with a lot of confusion and mental anguish as she begins to see the humanity of Jews and other people not exactly like her. On top of all that is her mother’s affair, a growing number of secrets to keep (including some originating with the Dutch Resistance), and other various things going on inside the huge house they occupy with another family. What makes it even more interesting is that Janna’s tale is based on some actual stories related to Stockum by her Dutch relatives.
So, the list of conversation points above is long, yes. But I would not be opposed to giving this to teenagers. Readers as young as 13 are extremely capable of harder conversations that stem from the evil and/or moral issues presented in this book. Please note that it may not have been the “best” way of presenting a particular theme, and that opinion will vary by family, but life is full of imperfect people. As far as WWII historical fiction novels, this one touches on a lot of aspects without the horrific components being too detailed. That said, it may be best to read this as a family (if all are old enough) or as a group of some sort.
Definitely weigh the pros and cons for your own family and whether reading the book would provide fruitful conversation. The writing itself is well-written and is a compelling read.
Hope this helps!