From Booklist
Gr. 6^-10. Friedman broke new ground with her collective biography The Other Victims (1990) about non-Jews persecuted by the Nazis. Now she focuses on one young German woman, Cato Bontjes van Beek, who was executed in 1943 for her anti-Nazi resistance. Drawing on Cato's diaries and letters, and on interviews with surviving family and friends, Friedman describes Cato's happy childhood in a home filled with love, art, music, and liberal ideas. Cato's personal story is always part of the politics of the time. Her family helps to hide Jews; she refuses to join the Hitler Youth; she joins an underground movement; she and her boyfriend are charged with treason and, after months of fruitless appeals, they are executed. Despite the personal quotes, Cato remains a somewhat distant figure, almost saintlike, but young people will be greatly moved by her story of courage and compelling moral choice. Clearly designed for classroom use, the book is spaciously designed and includes a glossary, a chronology, a bibliography, and occasional small photos. Hazel Rochman
