HOW TO BE TRUE

A stolen painting, family secrets, scrumptious desserts, and les rues de Paris mix it up in a fast-paced adventure.

In this companion to How To Be Brave (2021), Good Sister June, who loves footnotes and cake, narrates the story of Edmée Agathe Aurore Berger, who grows up in Paris going to protests with her activist parents. After Edie is sent to stay with her great-grandmother Odette Berger in her grand château, she finds her way into a locked room—and encounters a thief climbing in a window to steal one of the paintings. Soon after, she is sent to England to board at the School of the Good Sisters. Things come full circle when the pupils head to France and stay at the Château Berger. The action unfolds quickly as students and teachers unite to recover the stolen painting, Les Rose Blanches, and learn of its significance. Their previous education proves useful, as 12-year-old Edie has instructed her classmates in barricade-building. The cheerful chaos includes visits to patisseries, mysterious notes accompanied by duck feathers, and a revelation about the heart-rending importance of the painting to Odette. Amid an obsession with baked goods and a dislike of kale, the story contains sobering notes tied to dark chapters in Europe’s history. The author ties up all the threads and relationships neatly and lovingly. Contextual clues point to Edie’s being biracial with a Haitian mother and French father.

A lively, moving tale of treasured memories and school romps.