Song of a Blackbird

By: Maria van Lieshout

Published by First Second, 2025-01-21

<p><b>FIVE STARRED REVIEWS!<br>A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD LONGLIST SELECTION<br><br>"This is essential, illuminating reading.” —R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of <i>Wonder</i></b><br><br>Fight hate. Make art.<br><br>In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma’s world changes when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. That pivotal moment lights a fire within her, and she decides to join the Dutch Resistance. Before long, Emma is drawn into a clandestine world of printing presses and counterfeiters, with thousands of lives on the line. <br><br>In 2011 Amsterdam, teenage Annick’s world has changed as well. A search for a bone marrow donor for her beloved oma leads to a shocking revelation: her grandmother was secretly adopted as a child. The only clues to finding their lost family are a series of art prints hanging on the wall—each signed by a mysterious “Emma B.”<br><br>This timely graphic novel weaves together two timelines to reveal how art, in the face of political upheaval and nearly insurmountable adversity, can become our greatest lifeline.</p>