The Belgian Girls
About the book
I have just been condemned to death. I will be shot tomorrow. Long live the King. Long live Belgium. When the Germans overrun Brussels during the First World War, Gabrielle is infuriated to see her newfound happiness shattered. It isn't long before she is faced with an impossible choice. Three decades later, shy and bookish Julienne moves to Brussels with her widowed father at the height of the Nazi occupation and is horrified to witness the city's callous treatment of Jews. In this dual timeline novel inspired by the life of Belgian spy Gabrielle Petit, two very different young women must discover their inner strength to become the heroes their city needs. And when loyalties are tested and decades-old secrets are revealed, their legacies will become entwined forever. Written by historian and storyteller Kathryn J. Atwood, The Belgian Girls is a tale of hope, forgiveness, and the healing power of friendship.
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About the author
Kathryn has written multiple young adult collective biographies on women and war for the Chicago Review Press. Her first book, Women Heroes of World War II, gets all the attention, but Booklist gave Kathryn's book on the Pacific Theater of WWII a starred review and likened each chapter to "a cliff-hanger screenplay." And Courageous Women of the Vietnam War was honored with one of those awards that to unfocused eyes sort of resembles the Newbery Medal. The Belgian Girls, which Kirkus claims is "intriguing, disturbing, and historically compelling," was born of Kathryn's admiration for the European resisters of both world wars, especially Gabrielle Petit, a young Belgian woman who worked for British Intelligence during World War I. Kathryn has been seen on Chicago's WGN TV, "America: Fact vs. Fiction," and the Acorn TV series, "Deception: WWII"; heard on the BBC World Service's "History Hour" program and BBC America; published in The Historian and War, Literature & the Arts; and featured as a guest speaker at dozens of historical societies and libraries, including the Harold Washington Library in Chicago, the First Division Museum at Cantigny Park, and the Atlanta History Center.
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