Can You Keep a Secret?

Set in a rural town in South West France from 1940 to 1944, Can You Keep a Secret? examines the effect of the German occupation on the community, as seen through the eyes of a nine-year-old child. Living with a teenage brother and parents who own a café in the market square, the child regularly escapes to a secret world in the forests to play with friends. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the town progressively darkens, and the café becomes central to the operation of the local black market and the growing resistance movement. The child’s curiosity is later aroused by the arrival of a mysterious female guest who takes a room above the café, and soon the adult world of a secret agent and the child’s world of secret hideouts become inextricably entangled.
 
Intended for young readers, the good vs. evil tale in this book illustrates the importance of honesty, reliability, and trustworthiness against the backdrop of wartime resistance in occupied France.