Maw Books Blog

I picked up Sirens and Spies by Janet Taylor Lisle from the library for several reasons. One, it looked like a really fast read, thus bringing me closer to my 52 Books in 52 Weeks goal in Juvenile/Middle Grade Fiction. Two, it was on a display table at the library (because I now longer browse with two little boys in tow), and three, because that display was part of the library’s Just One Book program where they encourage everybody to read the same book. That book was The Book Thief (my review here) and Sirens and Spies was in the display simply because of the similar subject matter. So I thought why not.

Many decades after World War II, two American sisters, Elsie and Mary, are taking violin lessons from Miss Fitch, a beautiful French women whom they love and adore. Once in a while, Miss Fitch will make a comment in passing, such as “A friend I had who died during the war . . . ” When pressed, Miss Fitch would change the subject.

Elsie was fascinated that somebody she knew was a part of “history” and wanted to know more. Her curiosity leads her to the library where she reads all the books she can get her hands on. And then she finds it. A photograph of a much younger Miss Fitch at the war’s end being punished for collaborating with the Germans. Elsie is horrified that Miss Fitch is a traitor. But when the two sisters press Miss Fitch for answers they learn a much different story and learn what life was like for a French citizen during World War II.

Sirens and Spies wasn’t the best book I’ve read about WWII but it was the least depressing one that I’ve read. It took us on a journey of discovery and we learned that everybody has a fascinating story in their past if we are just willing to listen.