A Coming Evil

I visited an author's forum a couple of months ago and I met Vivian Vande Velde. It was really nice because most authors were for young children and there were few authors for teens there. I had a teen with me and he was very interested in Velde's Mordred story. I ended up buying one for myself and one for him. Velde was very nice and one of the easiest to talk to. You could tell there was something very special about her. I have read several books by many of the authors who attended the forum but none have moved me as much as Velde has. Her writing and plot development are superior to many other teen authors. Her stories are moving and well developed. They demand more of the reader in terms of understanding and subtleness but offer a much greater payoff. In A Coming Evil, the story takes place during German Occupation of France. There is a lot in the plot which makes it realistic fiction except for a character of a ghost, a Tectonic Knight from the 14th Century. He guides Lisette through some dangerous situations and does not hide from the fact that Lisette is in real danger. There is no Superman to rescue her. I would think of the book as being somewhat similar to Pan's Labyrinth. Fantasy takes over when the real is too dangerous to even contemplate.

Now almost 18, I can still remember taking this book out from my library every week as a 10 and 11-year-old. The juxtaposition of World War II and the Crusades, the relationship between Lisette and Gerard, and the wonderful period details about both eras always kept me coming back for more. The story is so unique that I remembered it eight years later, and googled some key terms in order to find the title and author again. I thoroughly recommend it to any fan of historical fiction, as I was and still am, and anyone interested in studying World War II and the Holocaust NOT from a Jewish perspective, as so often seems to be the case in young adult fiction these days. The story of slightly spoiled Lisette (who eventually matures with the help of Gerard the ghost and the presence of the Jewish and Gypsy children in her aunt's home) and her experiences during World War II really rang true, despite the clearly fictional pretense of a ghost in the backyard! I remember being struck by the concept of what it must have been like to be an everyday person in World War II--not a Nazi, and not a victim, but a bystander--and how difficult it must have been to decide whether or not to take action. The history of the Knights of Templar is also interesting, and while I remember finding it less compelling than the events of the "present day", it definitely adds to the dimension of the book. I truly recommend this book to any history buff, fan of ghost stories, or even fans of simple coming-of-age stories--"A Coming Evil" has all of that and more.

This is my favourite of all the Vivian Vande Velde books I've read so far...and that's saying something! I loved it. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. I really felt for Lisette and the awful situation she found herself in, being sent away during wartime without her parents, banished to the south of France to live with not only her aunt, but also her bratty control-freak of a cousin and a motley collection of strange children that her aunt had given refuge to. It seemed to her as if her life could not get any worse...and yet it did, and she was forced to take action... Lisette is a wonderful, brave, intelligent heroine who I found utterly believable and likeable. The other characters in the book are similarly realistic, multi-dimensional and compelling, and in the end, even the bratty cousin was redeemed by her bravery and compassion for others. These are ordinary people being forced to deal with extraordinary situations, and the author never loses sight of their human strengths and weaknesses. Such was the utter realism of this story that I had no trouble accepting the paranormal side of this tale--a ghost coming to life through his interaction and friendship with Lisette. I liked the way the author made comparisons between the way the Knights Templar were treated in medieval times, and the way the people of France were treated by the Nazis. It's a stirring reminder that even though centuries may pass, unfortunately people don't necessarily learn from the mistakes and injustices of history...the fight for freedom, for religious and racial tolerance, and for human rights is an ongoing one, even in today's society. Fortunately, though, this book doesn't suffer from any preachiness in teaching us this lesson, but remains a wonderful, quick-paced, exciting read that even people who couldn't care less about history will enjoy. I'd recommend this book to adults as well as kids, not only because of the maturity of its writing, but also because it's just so good!

Lisette hopes the year she turns thirteen will be the best year of her life. Unfortunately for her, the year she turns thirteen is 1940, when the Nazis are in France. On September first, her birthday, her parents send her away to live with her Aunt Josephine in the country because they think she will be safer there than in Paris. Lisette is not happy about going there, partly because she thinks here parents don't want her, and partly because she hates her cousin, Cecile. When she arrives at Aunt Josephine's house, she finds out her aunt is hiding Jews and Gypsies and there is a ghost in the woods. I liked this book because the story is told with a lot of detail. When you read this book, you almost feel like you are there with the characers in the story.

This book is fabulous. Like everything else of hers that I've read, I was DEFINITELY not disappointed by it! Lisette is believable - she's selfish at times, not a perfect little lady. I wanted to strangle Cecile, and I LOVED Gerard. It's a mysterious, intriguing book. Read it. Now.