Odette's Secrets by Maryann Macdonald (review)

In this free-verse novel, Macdonald imagines the thoughts of Odette Meyers, a real girl who survived the Holocaust by leaving her home in Paris when she was eight and posing as a Catholic in the French countryside. Beginning in Paris, the story is full of little-girl insights and perspectives on the rapid changes taking place in Odette's neighborhood as hatred of the Jews invades Paris along with the Nazis. Her father joins the army and is quickly taken prisoner, while her mother begins work with the Resistance. Their landlord, Odette's beloved godmother, hides Odette and her mother when soldiers come to take them away, and eight-year-old Odette is sent into the countryside. There she grows to love not only country life but also Catholicism. In fact, she is almost disappointed when her mother comes to join her, and Odette must hide her affection for the teachings and traditions of the church and its loving, protecting God and his saints. Their return to Paris entails a question for Odette: is she still Jewish, and does she want to be? Macdonald harvests the mundane and everyday for her poetic imagery and imbues these things with the significance of history, identity, and healing for Odette, effectively maintaining a believably childlike perspective throughout. She also subtly forecasts Odette's adult life as a poet and professor active in the survivor community by showcasing incidents that highlight Odette's compassion and her sensitivity to the healing effects of poetry. Include this book in the Holocaust curriculum, and young readers will be able to readily identify with Odette's concerns and fears as they come to understand the larger contexts. An author's note, timeline, and pictures of Odette and others who featured in the book are included.