Julia Billet

Representation: Jewish characters
Trigger warnings: War themes, World War II, death of parents mentioned, displacement, antisemitism
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.

What a surprise. I never heard of this author before but I saw her novel in the library. Unfortunately, I missed out on this one for the first time, but not the second. I thought Catherine's War would be a quick read, and I was right, but it defied my expectations. When I picked it up, read and finished Catherine's War, it was pleasantly enjoyable.

It starts with the first character I see, Rachel Cohen, living in a children's home outside Paris, where she has a hobby: photography. Despite the circumstances, the opening pages had nothing catastrophic happening. Everything looks hedonistic and perfect until Rachel alongside others had to escape to another place besides the children's home. All the antisemitism makes life harder for Rachel who found a school she could go to but here's the catch: Rachel must change her name to Catherine to avoid suspicion. The mood quickly changed from hopeful to sombre for the middle section of Catherine's War, but there's a positive note in the conclusion, which I liked. I thought Catherine's War would be a depressing read like another story I've read but shockingly, it isn't.… (meer)

French Jew Rachel Cohen lives in a children's home near Paris, but as WWII progresses, she is moved from one place to another, out of the Occupied Zone into Free France and, after liberation, back to Paris to look for her parents and to try to reconnect with people she'd been close to during the war. Throughout, she'd taken black-and-white photographs with a Rolleiflex, and after the war, she has a photography show.

Back matter includes a map of French (1942), photographs from the Sevres Children's Home, a note to the reader, and questions from readers. The story of Rachel-turned-Catherine was based on Julia's mother's life.… (meer)

Based on the award-winning author, Julia Billet’s, own mother’s experiences in France during World War II, Catherine’s War, is a historical graphic novel that deals with many serious situations. Although the illustrations include maps and photographs, they have a comic book like quality that helps to keep the story flowing and interesting. Billet’s mother’s wartime stories help the reader discover a young girl’s coming of age and how that young girl uses her camera to deal with the hardships she faced in her beloved France.… (meer)