Bluebird by Sharon Cameron – a German teen comes to post-war NYC on a revenge mission

Title: Bluebird
Author: Sharon Cameron
Publication: Scholastic, hardcover, 2021
Genre: YA historical fiction
Setting: WWII II Germany, Post WWII America

Description: Arriving in New York from Germany in 1946 with her friend Brigit under her wing, seventeen-year-old Eva has a deadly mission. Both girls have experienced trauma: Brigit was raped by Russian soldiers and has not recovered; Eva blames herself for not protecting the older girl.  Reaching America now that their families are gone and they are friendless is almost a miracle. Although she and Brigit are taken in by a group of friendly Quakers, Eva is afraid to make friends or trust anyone, particularly Jake, an attractive Jewish student who would surely despise her if he knew who she really was. Eva knows that her papers are false and she has only been allowed to enter the country because the mysterious strangers who masterminded her immigration are sure she will lead them to a notorious Nazi. She is determined to find the Nazi first, no matter what it takes, and that is what has driven her for months. As Eva gets closer to her goal, she starts to remember long-buried secrets about her past which terrify her and make her wonder if she is as tainted as the man who haunts her dreams.

My Impression: Bluebird was this month’s choice for the de Grummond Book Group and I was surprised to find it was a YA novel set during WWII as it seems to me most of the books they choose are issue books. However, it was a great choice as Eva is a complex character and the story was dramatic and compelling, with well-depicted characters (including some minor ones such as Jake’s mother). It is told in flashbacks from Eva’s new life in New York to the events in Germany as the war was ending when, for the first time, someone explained to her what was really happening in concentration camps. Once awakened from childhood, she cannot return to ignorance but the path forward she sees is potentially disastrous as well as heartbreaking. The story was suspenseful to the point of nerve-racking and had unexpected twists. There were two things I especially appreciated, if I can describe them without spoilers: that Jake’s reaction to Eva’s past is as complicated as one would expect and that Brigit’s recovery reveals an unappealing but authentic person.  No whitewashing in either situation.

Fans of Code Name Verity (my favorite book of 2012) will enjoy this emotional story, although it seems less plausible and there were some aspects to the plot I found confusing. Some of Eva’s jaunting around New York seems impossible for someone who does not know the area and she found her Nazi much too easily. Still, my only real quibble about the book was the use of “like” instead of “as” which was very jarring, especially given that Eva has been practicing her English but is not familiar with Americanisms. I blame the editor, not the author, however. I’ll say this fulfills my “Coming of Age” category for Book Bingo and it is also my eighth book for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge hosted by The Intrepid Reader.

Source: Library