Greater Than Angels

Matas (Daniel's Story) again returns to the Holocaust as the setting for this sturdy if earthbound work. Her topic this time is the tiny French village of Le Chambon, famous for offering help to all of the approximately 2500 Jews who sought refuge there during WWII. Matas's heroine, young Anna Hirsch, remains plucky when she, her mother, aunt and elderly grandmother are deported from their home in Germany in 1940 and sent to France (she tells jokes on the train). They are sent to the detention camp at Gurs; Anna, unbowed by the wretched conditions, helps arrange concerts, learns some French and has theological debates with her friends. The story picks up when Anna is sent to Le Chambon and the emphasis shifts from Anna's indomitable spirit to well-researched descriptions of the villagers' resistance, under the leadership of the pastors Andr Trocm and Eduoard Theis. Anna, too, becomes involved with the resistance, helping deliver false identification papers. Suspense grows as Anna and a younger girl hide in the woods after news of an impending raid reaches Le Chambon, and the danger culminates in an attempt to lead the younger girl and a boy into Switzerland. Although Matas neglects to explain what happened to Trocm and Theis after her story ends (Milton Meltzer's book Rescue will prove a useful companion), she offers an inspiring and memorable lesson in courage. Ages 12-up. (Apr.)