Customer Reviews

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I assigned this book to rising 6th graders last summer...most students somplain about their reading assignments, but this class loved the book...many commented that it is one of their favorite books, EVER! Even the boys, who usually moan and groan about female main characters! It is true that the descriptions of war are sometimes a bit graphic...there is a disturbing paragraph about a pregnant woman killed during an air raid/bombing, but it is necessary to the plot and does succeed in conveying the horrors of war. I think the class loved the maturity of the story and the realism...they felt very grown-up after reading it and it opened up days of passionate conversation about WWII, cruelty, patriotism, sacrifice and bravery. It was a perfect introduction piece for The Diary of Anne Frank, which they will read next year.

I read a book titled For Freedom by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley. It is a historical fiction book set in France, 1940 during World War 2. The book was great and exciting.
The main characters in the story were Suzanne David, her parents, her brothers, her singing teacher, and Dr. Leclerc. Suzanne is a strong 13 year old girl, physically and mentally. She is strong physically when she gets her arm cut open and sewn back together, and she is strong mentally when Madame Montage gets blown up with her unborn baby. Suzanne is a spy that Dr. Lecrec has offered her to be. Her parents are cautious and care about Suzanne a lot. They were very worried when Suzanne came home from when Madame Montage was bombed and had blood on her body. They told Suzanne not to trust anyone. Her brothers care about her. They were really happy when Suzanne got a part as Carmen. Suzanne's singing teacher is caring and understandable. She listened to everything Suzanne said carefully. Dr. Leclerc is a man that is kind.
The main problem of the book occurs when Suzanne gets captured by the Nazis and is threatened to be killed if she doesn't tell them if she is a spy and some other information. Will she tell them, or will she not tell and maybe get killed?
My favorite part of this book was when Suzanne tried to hide in a haystack (because she forgot her identification papers) because it was funny and serious at the same time.
I would rate this book with 5 stars because the writing was very clear, it had a lot of suspense, and that it was based on a real Suzanne, which is really cool!

What would you do if you were asked to be a spy for your country? Suzanne was an ordinary girl that loved singing and had high hopes to be a famous singer. Until the tragedy came, the war was nothing to her. Once her docter, Dr. Leclerc, asked for her to be a spy with him, the war really started for Suzanne. As Suzanne goes through conflicts, meeting other spy's and keeping secrets from her loved ones, she learns about life and death, and findes the bravery inside of her.
For Freedom is about World War II and how France was using spies to send important messeges in order to win the war. As Bradley's tragic, true story unfolds, you feel as you are there with Suzanne and experiencing the events of World War II. For Freedom is reccomended to ages 9-13.

: "For Freedom" is about a teenage girl named Suzanne. She went to her friend, Yvette's house after having choir practice. Then her and her friend went to the beach with her friends' mother. While they were at the beach the friends' mother heard a noise. She was talking to the girls and asking them if they hear the noise and that she thinks that it was a herd of planes, and she was right. After a little while they saw a lot of planes coming and all of a sudden the planes started bombing the beach. After the planes were gone Suzanne saw that a bomb hit Yvette. So she toke her home. It was a horrible timing. Suzanne was having a great day and then it got really bad. That is when the war started for her.
In a couple of days the Nazis came to her town and went to their doors and told them that they had to leave their house and go to a small dirty apartment. They had to hurry up and get every thing that they could, but they couldn't bring radios. As they are walking to the dirty apartment they see that the market is closed. As Suzanne goes through the hard times she realizes that she has to put up with fear. After a while she gives up fear and takes what the Nazis are doing to her and gets out of the misery alive.

The book For Freedom is an exciting book about a girl who goes through some hard times through World War II. Her best friend is traumatized, her other friend got her head blown off. The girl becomes a spy for her country. She endures pain and suffering throughout this horrible time. So read this thrilling book, I think it's great.

This book, based a true story is one of the best World War Two books I've ever read. You really feel like you get to know the character and the more you read the more into the book you get. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read more about the war or who just wants a good book to cuddle up by the fire with during those cold winter nights. This book won't dissapoint you.

Oh, how I love historical fiction novels based on real events. And I love Kimberly Brubaker's writing. As soon as I read The President's Daughter by Bradley a few years ago, I began searching out this author's work. After seeing For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy recommended on a blog, I realized I had not read this book by her.

For Freedom has a lot going for it. It is set in France during World War II, a time period I still find fascinating because of the way the entire world was impacted. Suzanne is only thirteen as the book begins, and still not quite aware of the effect the war will have on her. Her family is forced out of their home by German soldiers, left to live in a small apartment. Suzanne's focus in life is singing and she aspires to one day be a professional opera singer. The war reduces Suzanne's ability to pursue her dream, yet Suzanne and her family are among the lucky ones as her father continues to have work. When Suzanne's arm becomes infected from a cut and she must make repeated visits to Dr. LeClerc, the doctor entrusts Suzanne with a secret that could cost them both her life. He is a spy for the Allies, and would like Suzanne to deliver messages for him. Knowing that if she agrees to this she will never be able to turn back to her life before spying, Suzanne forges ahead, anxious to help the Allies defeat Germany. Now in addition to singing, Suzanne spends time meeting and delivering messages for Dr. LeClerc, hiding the secret messages in her hair.

Bradley has done a wonderful job retelling the story she learned from the mother of her husband's co-worker. Another great historical fiction tween novel by a talented author.

Based on a true story, this novel tells the tale of 13-year old Suzanne, an aspiring opera singer and student in Cherbourg, France. When the Germans bomb her town, she and her best friend are injured and witness the horrible death of a neighbor. Rather than give in to fear, Suzanne becomes a spy for the French resistance, carrying messages that help the Allies plan the invasion of Europe. Her work is extremely dangerous and often terrifying, and she is one of the few operatives from her unit to survive the war. Not even her family can know about her dangerous work.
This book is an excellent first-person narrative of an ordinary teenager who discovers an inner courage that helps her to play a part in defeating the Nazis, even though she must keep her role a secret from all her family and friends and pretend to carry on as normally as possible. This novelization of a true story is very suspenseful and a great book to recommend to students since it has a very positive message of how a young girl could demonstrate great courage in extraordinary circumstances.

For Freedom was a great book. It is set in France during World War II. At the beginning of the book, Suzanne is thirteen years old, but towards the end she is much older. She is a good singer even though she is young, and even though the Germans force them to move out of their home, they find somewhere to live and Suzanne begins singing in operas. However, singing isn't the only thing Suzanne does. Her friend, Dr. Leclerc, gives her an opportunity to contribute to the French Resistance--she can become a spy, but she can't back out once she starts. I love World War II stories, and this was an excellent one. This book was based off of a real person and real events, and I think that makes it all the better!

I read this book for a summer reading assignment and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were graphic parts in the book and I did not particularly like these parts in the story although, these graphic events were needed to show what war was really about. I did like the parts in the story when the main character, a young lady, was show to be a brave young woman and have "girl power". I would especially recommend this book to middle school girls, because it is empowering to young women and shows that girls can be brave and accomplish anything. I would also recommend it to teenagers who love a suspenseful book.