89 pages • 2 hours read
Monica HesseGirl in the Blue Coat
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2016A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
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.
