Girl in the Blue Coat

Prologue-Chapter 2

Reading Check

1. Sebastian Van de Kamp (Prologue)

2. His “young and pretty” face (Chapter 1)

3. A lipstick (Chapter 1)

Short Answer

1. In encounters with her customers as well as Nazi soldiers, Hanneke proves she is skilled at the art of manipulation. She flirts with a solder to get him to turn a blind eye to her contraband goods; and she pretends to be a “good family girl” to her customers, even though she trades in black market goods. (Chapter 2)

2. Hendrick built a secret room for her business partner, David Roodveldt, to hide with his wife and two daughters. Hendrick never told Mrs. Janssen about the secret room; she only found out when Nazis found the hiding place and killed the parents and one of the daughters. Only Mirjam Roodveldt (David’s daughter) survived. (Chapter 2)

Chapters 3-5

Reading Check

1. A translator (Chapter 3)

2. Mrs. de Vries (Chapter 4)

Short Answer

1. Years before Hanneke was born, her father’s right side became paralyzed when he tried to vault an electric fence while courting Hanneke’s mother. (Chapter 3)

2. Hanneke knows that in occupied Amsterdam, as a Jewish woman, the secretary has little power to stop her from doing as she pleases. She does not want the confrontation to become heated, so she simply walks out of the Lyceum. (Chapter 5)

Chapters 6-8

Reading Check

1. The Dutch Nazi party (Chapter 6)

2. Willem and Leo (Chapter 7)

Short Answer

1. Hanneke tore up the letter, saying that it was bad luck for Bas to give her a letter to be opened only after he died. She deeply regrets her actions, and this moment haunts her in her dreams. (Chapter 8)

Chapters 9-12

Reading Check

1. T (Chapter 9)

2. The Schouwburg Theater (Chapter 10)

Short Answer

1. Hanneke thinks that Mina is delivering an object or goods, so she is shocked to discover that Mina is actually “delivering” a human baby. Hanneke had no idea that Mina has placed over 100 Jewish children in adoptive parents’ hands. (Chapter 11)

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. Jars (Chapter 13)

2. Christoffel (Chapter 14)

3. To line shoes (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. Judith has just learned that members of the Jewish Council are being rounded up by the Nazis. Therefore, it is no longer safe for her and Mina to be out and about since her uncle can no longer protect them. (Chapter 15)

Chapters 17-20

Reading Check

1. The Hollandsche Schouwburg Theater (Chapter 17)

2. “M. Roodveldt” (Chapter 18)

3. The Cohens (Chapter 19)

Short Answer

1. Hanneke has made several wrong assumptions about Mirjam and her whereabouts; she also made wrong assumptions about Mrs. de Vries, as she realizes when she learns that Mrs. de Vries is not a Nazi sympathizer. (Chapter 20)

Chapters 21-24

Reading Check

1. A camera (Chapter 21)

2. Her boss made her stay late at work (Chapter 22)

3. A cow (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. She decides to rescue not just Mirjam, but Ollie’s entire resistance cell. She also shows bravery and selflessness by helping procure a Gestapo uniform. (Chapter 24)

2. Hanneke’s truth is that she wishes to be aligned with a higher cause: To help the resistance. This means she must defy her parents and act according to her own values, which means doing things to help the greater good of the group instead of acting as a free agent. (Chapter 24)

Chapters 25-28

Reading Check

1. That he is gay (Chapter 25)

2. he cries (Chapter 26)

3. At Mr. Kreuk’s (Chapter 27)

Short Answer

1. The note found on the girl’s body says she wishes she’d never met “T.” In this moment, Hanneke is forced to fully confront her grief for Mirjam, as well as for her own star-crossed relationship with Bas. (Chapter 28)

Chapters 29-32

Reading Check

1. To go for a bike ride (Chapter 29)

2. She is looking in a different direction than everyone else in the photograph. (Chapter 30)

3. A former employee of Mr. Janssen’s furniture shop (Chapter 31)

Short Answer

1. That he knew about the hidden room, that he is the “T” from the girl’s notes (his nickname is “Tof”), that he helped Amalia sneak out of Mrs. Janssen’s after she and Mirjam switched identification papers (Chapter 32)

Chapters 33-34

Reading Check

1. Kijkduin (Chapter 33)

2. To read the last page of a book first (Chapter 34)

Short Answer

1. Hanneke is able to see that her boyfriend’s death was not her fault. She also sees a clear parallel between Mirjam and Amalia's friendship and her friendship with Elsbeth, which helps her come to this realization. Hanneke discovers thatit is possible to be healed, and still not feel whole. (Chapter 34)