A Coming Evil

by Vivian Vande Velde

Overview

Lisette Beaucaire was angry when her parents sent her away from Paris that September day in 1940. And although she knew that with the Nazis occupying the city she'd be safer at her Aunt Josephine's farm in the Dordogne valley, Lisette resented her "exile." She'd miss her friends and the excitement of being thirteen and starting a new school. Instead she'd have nothing to do but amuse her little cousin Cecile. That's what Lisette thought, but she soon found out that she wasn't the only visitor at the farmhouse. And then she encountered Gerard, a visitor from a long time ago, who proved to be a valiant ally at a crucial moment for the people who lived in the farmhouse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618747818
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/03/2007
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Vivian Vande Velde has written many books for teen and middle grade readers, including Heir Apparent, User Unfriendly, All Hallow's Eve: 13 Stories, Three Good Deeds, Now You See It ..., and the Edgar Award–winning Never Trust a Dead Man. She lives in Rochester, New York. Visit her website at www.vivianvandevelde.com.

Editorial Reviews

"This well-written . . . fast-paced adventure raises some interesting issues." —School Library Journal

School Library Journal

"Velde's melding of fantasy with historical fiction is generally successful, and her comments about the similarities between these two historical periods are well taken." —Booklist Booklist, ALA —

From the Publisher

Gr 5-8-This well-written novel combines two periods in French history-the 1940s and the early 1300s. Lisette Beaucaire, 13, is sent to live in the country with her aunt, since food is scarce in Paris, which is overrun by German soldiers. Although she dreads spending time with her bratty cousin Cecile, Lisette is even more dismayed to discover that her aunt is hiding Jewish and gypsy children from the Nazis. As Lisette and the children practice what to do if the Nazis arrive unexpectedly, she begins to understand the seriousness of the situation. Then she encounters the ghost of Gerard, a young knight who died in 1314. At first he is merely a spirit but gradually he becomes solid and real-and a friend. In an exciting climax, Gerard helps Lisette save the younger children from the Nazis. The conclusion leads readers to ponder the future of the characters. The plot moves briskly and Vande Velde does a good job of creating the war-time atmosphere of fear and suspicion. Lisette is a sympathetic and believable character. However, the comparison between the persecution of the Jews and gypsies by Hitler and the Knights Templar (Gerard's order) by King Philip IV is a bit of a stretch and may not be the best example to help readers understand the Holocaust. (Among other things, the Knights Templar, a powerful group of monks known for fighting in the Crusades, was not particularly tolerant of Jews or other "infidels.") Still, this fast-paced adventure raises some interesting issues.-Cyrisse Jaffee, formerly at Newton Public Schools, MA

School Library Journal