A Picture of Hope (Tolsma)

A Picture of Hope is a WWII story set in France.  Many, if not most WWII stories that deal with people being persecuted, deal with Jewish people. This story, although it mentioned the Jews, focused more on special needs individuals whose caregivers were working to keep them hidden from the Nazis. The special needs individuals in this case were mongoloid children. The author includes a note in the beginning of the novel telling why she chose to use this terminology, vs. something that might seem more politically correct these days.  I appreciated that she made this choice ... this was the terminology that was in use during that time period and there was no time when it seemed disrespectful. There were many times during this novel that I really got irritated with the female main character, but I think the author intended for us to get irritated at her, and in the end it did all work out!  All in all, a good WWII novel with a different twist.

A Picture of Hope can be found in print and as an audiobook in Hoopla.