Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)

This graphic novel (adapted from a novel by Billet and inspired by her mother's life) follows teenage Rachel Cohen from one place to another in WWII France. By changing her name to Catherine Colin and hiding her Jewish identity, she is able to live at schools and an orphanage as well as with families throughout the occupied and free zones, moving whenever Nazi suspicion encroaches--and always documenting her experiences with her Rolleiflex camera. Though the story covers Rachel/Catherine's adolescence, the smoothly translated text is clear enough, and gentle enough in its explanations of the Holocaust, to be comprehensible to readers younger than the character. Themes of self-expression--Catherine's photography is a rare constant in a life overwhelmed by change--will likely resonate with a wide variety of readers. The back matter is pitched to explain this story's context to young people with little or no background knowledge about WWII or the Holocaust, though readers familiar with the basics may learn something new about this specific setting. Fauvel's borderless, color-saturated panels shift in palette by location, with red-and-black darkroom scenes standing out, particularly against the black-and-white photos produced in them.

School Library Journal (Sun Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2019)

Gr 7 Up-Billet has crafted a pictorial paean to the everyday heroes of Vichy France, as seen through the eyesand camera lensof a Jewish teen. Rachel Cohen's story begins in 1942 at the Sèvres Children's Home outside Paris, where students separated from their parents direct their own education. As Nazi deportations increase, the school's Jewish residents must flee. Rachel assumes a new identityCatherine Colinand hides in plain sight. Aided by those she meets on her journey, "Catherine" travels from Sèvres to a monastery in Riom, a family farm in Limoges, an orphanage in the Pyrenees, and a second small farm before finally returning to a liberated Paris in the hope of reuniting with her parents. Along the way, her beloved Rolleiflex camera documents her story one snapshot at a time. Adapted from a novel based on Billet's mother's wartime experiences, this tale vividly renders a period that might seem removed to younger readers. Almost every panelespecially those inspired by real photographscould stand alone as a work of art. From the subtle motion lines and detailed facial expressions to intricately composed scenes and dramatic backdrops, Fauvel's ink and watercolor illustrations are masterly. This brief book will leave readers wishing they could spend more time among the torrent of settings and characters. VERDICT A remarkable tribute to the generosity, compassion, and courage of ordinary people who endanger themselves to do right, as well as those who capture glimpses of light in the darkness.Steven Thompson, Sadie Pope Dowdell Library, South Amboy, NJ

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Billet-s emotive historical graphic novel portrays a Jewish girl forced to hide her identity during the Nazi occupation of France. When Rachel Cohen-s school outside Paris becomes unsafe, the aspiring photographer changes her name to Catherine Colin and forsakes any expression of her Jewish identity. Before being whisked away by the French resistance, Catherine-s teacher asks her to take pictures of the war (-We-ll need these testimonies-). After, she lives an itinerant life, traveling from a Catholic boarding school in Saint-Eustache to a peasant farm near Limoges and later to an orphanage in the Pyrenees. Though fear and trauma haunt the country, Catherine encounters the selflessness and sacrifice of strangers, becoming a selfless and generous young woman in the process. Fauvel-s earth-toned illustrations