96 pages 3 hours read

Monica Hesse

Girl in the Blue Coat

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016

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Introduction

Girl in the Blue Coat

  • Genre: Fiction; YA historical mystery
  • Originally Published: 2016
  • Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 720L; grades 7-12
  • Structure/Length: 34 chapters; approx. 321 pages; approx. 9 hours, 42 minutes on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Teenager Hanneke Bakker considers her work running black market goods in 1943 Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to be a small act of resistance. Once drawn into a mystery surrounding a missing Jewish girl, however, Hanneke must find the courage to take action when small acts of resistance are not enough.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: War; Nazi occupation; Holocaust

Monica Hesse, Author

  • Bio: Originally from Normal, Illinois; now lives in Maryland; American novelist and journalist; columnist for the Washington Post, where her topics include gender and society; winner of the Society for Feature Journalism's Narrative Storytelling Award
  • Other Works: The War Outside (2018); They Went Left (2020)
  • Awards: Junior Library Guild Selection (2016); Edgars Award Winner (2017); Indies Choice Book Honor Award (2017)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Transformations During Wartime
  • The Conflict of Love and Friendship
  • The Difficulty of Interpretation
  • Resistance

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

  • Develop an understanding of the historical context concerning the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during WWII that largely shape the plot and character motivations throughout Girl in the Blue Coat.