Sharon Cameron Books
Sharon Cameron Books
Bluebird by author Sharon Cameron

COMING

11.7.23

ARTIFICE

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, November 7, 2023

Isa de Smit was raised in the vibrant, glittering world of her parents’ small art gallery in Amsterdam, a hub of beauty, creativity, and expression, until the Nazi occupation wiped the color from her city’s palette. The “degenerate” art of the Gallery de Smit is confiscated, the artists in hiding or deported, and her best friend, Truusflees to join the shadowy Dutch resistance. And masterpiece by masterpiece, the Nazis are buying and stealing her country’s heritage, feeding the Third Reich’s ravenous appetite for culture and art. 

So, when the unpaid taxes threaten her beloved but empty gallery, Isa decides to make the Nazis pay. She sells them a fake—a Rembrandt copy drawn by her talented father—a sale that sets Isa perilously close to the second most hated class of people in Amsterdam: the collaborators. Isa sells her beautiful forgery to none other than Hitler himself, and on the way to the auction, discovers that Truus is part of a resistance ring working to smuggle Jewish babies out of Amsterdam. 

But Truus cannot save more children without money. A lot of money. And Isa thinks she knows how to get it. One more forgery, a copy of an exquisite Vermeer, and the Nazis will pay for the rescue of the very children they are trying annihilate. To make the sale, Isa will need to learn the artistry of a master forger, before the children can be deported, and before she can be outed as a collaborator. And she finds an unlikely source to help her do it: young Nazi soldier, a blackmailer and thief of Dutch art, who now says he wants to desert the German army. 

Worth is not always seen from the surface, and a fake can be difficult to spot. Both in art, and in people. 
Based on the true stories of Han Van Meegeren, a master art forger who sold fakes to Hermann Goering, and Johann van Hulst, credited with saving 600 Jewish children from death in Amsterdam, bestselling author Sharon Cameron weaves a gorgeously evocative thriller, simmering with twists, that looks for the forgotten color of beauty, even in an ugly world.
Bluebird by author Sharon Cameron

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Bluebird

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, October 5, 2021

Author of Reese’s Book Club YA Pick The Light in Hidden Places, Sharon Cameron, delivers an emotionally gripping and utterly immersive thriller, perfect for fans of Ruta Sepetys’s Salt to the Sea.

In 1946, Eva leaves behind the rubble of Berlin for the streets of New York City, stepping from the fiery aftermath of one war into another, far colder one, where power is more important than principles, and lies are more plentiful than the truth. Eva holds the key to a deadly secret: Project Bluebird — a horrific experiment of the concentration camps, capable of tipping the balance of world power. Both the Americans and the Soviets want Bluebird, and it is something that neither should ever be allowed to possess.

But Eva hasn’t come to America for secrets or power. She hasn’t even come for a new life. She has come to America for one thing: justice. And the Nazi that has escaped its net.

Critically acclaimed author of The Light in Hidden Places, Sharon Cameron, weaves a taut and affecting thriller ripe with intrigue and romance in this alternately chilling and poignant portrait of the personal betrayals, terrifying injustices, and deadly secrets that seethe beneath the surface in the aftermath of World War II.

The Light in Hidden Places by author Sharon Cameron

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The Light in Hidden Places by author Sharon Cameron

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The Light in Hidden Places

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, March 3, 2020

thelightinhiddenplaces.com
thestefifoundation.org

One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice to make…

It is 1943, and for four years, sixteen-year-old Stefania has been working for the Diamant family in their grocery store in Przemsyl, Poland, singing her way into their lives and hearts. She has even made a promise to one of their sons, Izio — a betrothal they must keep secret since she is Catholic and the Diamants are Jewish.

But everything changes when the German army invades Przemsyl. The Diamants are forced into the ghetto, and Stefania is alone in an occupied city, the only one left to care for Helena, her six-year-old sister. And then comes the knock at the door. Izio’s brother Max has jumped from the train headed to a death camp. Stefania and Helena make the extraordinary decision to hide Max, and eventually twelve more Jews. Then they must wait, every day, for the next knock at the door, the one that will mean death. When the knock finally comes, it is two Nazi officers, requisitioning Stefania’s house for the German army.

With two Nazis below, thirteen hidden Jews above, and a little sister by her side, Stefania has one more excruciating choice to make.

Research and FAQ for The Light in Hidden Places

THE LIGHT IN HIDDEN PLACES is a work of historical fiction in the same vein as SCHINDLER’S LIST, a dramatization of real people living through real events. Through historical fiction we don’t just learn the facts, we feel the life that someone else has lived. We discover tolerance and empathy. Story brings history to life, and makes it part of ourselves.

All the events THE LIGHT IN HIDDEN PLACES are pulled from historical sources. Not every event is represented, and there are many details that are unknown: the exact words of a conversation, how a relationship might have developed and progressed, or exactly how a person felt during a traumatic event. This is where the creativity of the author comes into play. In the case of LIGHT, however, every event, personality, and outcome is based on a credible source. There were three minor alterations: the bribe with a brooch (used in the movie that was approved by Stefania), a change in the timeline when a character suffered from typhus (for narrative purposes), and one punch to a probable German policeman that was following Stefania (the situation with the policeman was real, the punch, while not out of character, was not). These three changes are outlined in the author’s note in the back of the book.

THE LIGHT IN HIDDEN PLACES was fact-checked by Dr. Tami Rich, historian and Cultural Heritage Advisor, and a faculty member of the Weiss-Livnat International MA Program in Holocaust Studies at the University of Haifa since its inception. Dr. Rich has over 20 years of experience working in museums and heritage sites internationally. She worked for Yad Vashem across a number of departments including; curating, guiding and development of educational materials, and has traveled extensively representing Yad Vashem globally. Dr. Rich sits on the ICOMOS [International Council on Monuments and Sites] representing Israel, in the Committee for the protection of Intangible Heritage. “I pray both the Jewish and Catholic world embrace this book with all that it deserves.”—Tami Rich

Research and Resource List:

The most important source used was the memoir of Stefania Podgórska. This provided the backbone of the story. Details and other information came from live interviews with Helena Podgórska and Krystyna Nawara (Dziusia Schillinger), who were both present during events, as well as hours of oral interviews with Stefania Podgórska, Max Diamant (Josef Burzminski), Cesia Zimmermann, and Janek (Jack) Zimmermann. Other direct memories, as well as photographs, video, and documents were provided by Ed Burzminski, Jo and Stefania’s son.

Sources for the history of Przemyśl and Poland during World War II included:

Monica Lach (teacher and resident of  Przemyśl), Przemyśl historian Piotr Michalski, documents and maps from the Przemyśl Archives, the memories of Izio Felder/Jack Fields (Przemyśl Holocaust survivor), memories of Sokal Jan (another Holocaust survivor from  Przemyśl), the diary of Renia Spiegel (a hidden Jewish teenager murdered in Przemyśl), and the memoir of Krystyna Mihulka (Polish Holocaust victim), plus every oral history interview of every Polish survivor of the Holocaust uploaded by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s oral history project (either recorded or transcribed into English). Other sources included information on the Belzec death camp from Ewa Koper, camp historian, and the personal observations of the author during a trip to Przemyśl and other sites in Poland with Ed Burzminski.

Books:

“I Remember Every Day, The Fate of the Jews of Przemyśl” by John Hartmann

“The Yizkor Book of Przemyśl” by Dr. M Schattner, translated by Jessica Cohen

“Every Victim has a Name” by Ewa Koper

“ Przemyśl, Jego Mieszkancy W Starej Fotografi, 1870-1970” by Jacek Blonski

“The Holocaust, The Fate of European Jewry” by Leni Yahill

“Encyclopedia of the Holocaust” MacMillan, 1990

Websites:

“The  Przemyśl Ghetto” deathcamps.org

YadVashem.org

TheShoahFoundation.org

USCShoahFoundation.org

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum online archives ushmm.org

“ Przemyśl” HolocaustResearchProject.org

savingjews.org

jewishgen.org

jstor.org

 

Reviews for The Light in Hidden Places

“Beautifully written and meticulously researched, Sharon Cameron captures the extraordinary story of one of history’s hidden heroes. Every devastating moment is both gripping and powerful.”
-Ruta Sepetys, New York Times bestselling author of SALT TO THE SEA

“Harrowing, heartbreaking, and yet so full of hope, THE LIGHT IN HIDDEN PLACES teaches us that one person truly can make a difference in this world. Clever, bold, and braver than a lion, Stefania Podgórska is a heroine for her age, and ours.”
-Jennifer Donnelly, New York Times bestselling author of STEPSISTER

“Sharon’s work is accurate, her research thorough…Sharon wrote an exciting novel that weaves together the lightheartedness, sheer terror, and incredible inner strength of this young woman, my mom. This book exceeds all my expectations.
-Ed Burzminski, son of Stefania Podgórska

The Knowing by author Sharon Cameron

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The Knowing

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, October 10. 2017

Samara is one of the Knowing, and the Knowing do not forget. Hidden deep in the comfort and splendor of her underground city, a refuge from the menace of a coming Earth, Samara learns what she should have never known and creates a memory so terrible she cannot live with it. So she flees, to Canaan, the lost city of her ancestors, to Forget.

Beckett has flown through the stars to find a dream: Canaan, the most infamous social experiment of Earth’s antiquity. Beckett finds Samara in the ruins of the lost city, and uncovers so much more than he ever bargained for — a challenge to all he’s ever believed in or sworn to. When planets collide and memories clash, can Samara and Beckett save two worlds, and remember love in a place that has forgotten it?

At once thought-provoking and utterly thrilling, this extraordinary companion novel to Sharon Cameron’s #1 New York Times bestselling The Forgetting explores the truth and loss that lie within memory, and the bonds that hold us together.

Reviews for The Knowing

* “Both a politically charged adventure and culture study, this thought-provoking dystopia stands firmly on its own.”
-Booklist, starred review

“Diverse, well-drawn characters abound, but in the riveting power struggles that ensue, women are dominant players, ruthless ideologues willing to sacrifice all that interferes with the goal. The intricately woven narrative threads come together in a suspenseful denouement sure to leave readers hoping for another installment.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“Wildly inventive yet somehow believable. . . . For all of its fantastical elements . . . this companion novel is ultimately a story about two teenagers, Samara and Beckett, finding their places in the world, managing familial and societal expectations, and falling in love. Cameron is a writer of prime caliber.”
-School Library Journal

The Forgetting by author Sharon Cameron

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The Forgetting

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, September 13, 2016

“Nadia lives in the city of Canaan, where life is safe and structured, hemmed in by white stone walls and no memory of what came before. But every twelve years the city descends into the bloody chaos of the Forgetting, a day of no consequences and no remorse, when each person’s memories—of parents, children, love, life, and self—are lost and forgotten. Unless they have been written.

In Canaan, your book is your truth and your identity, and Nadia knows exactly who hasn’t written the truth. Because Nadia is the only person in Canaan who has never forgotten.

But when Nadia begins to use her memories to push beyond the walls and solve the mys­teries of Canaan, she discovers truths about herself and Gray, the handsome and enigmatic glassblower, that will change her world forever. As the anarchy of the next Forgetting approaches, Nadia and Gray must stop an unseen enemy that threatens both their city and their own existence—before the people can forget the truth. And before Gray can forget her.”

From the critically acclaimed author of Rook comes an extraordinary exploration of truth and memory, love and loss, and the story of a young woman who must harness an indomita­ble courage to save her world.

Awards and Reviews for The Forgetting

A #1 New York Times Bestseller

Indie Next List selection

Westchester Fiction Award

* “Effective worldbuilding and strong characterization . . . A well-crafted fable for our time.”
-Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “This fantasy is a marvelous achievement.”
-School Library Journal, starred review

“[An] absorbing adventure.”
-Publishers Weekly

“The Forgetting is Sharon Cameron’s fourth young adult novel, and she’s grown adept at blurring the lines between fantasy, dystopian and science-fiction genres. Cameron reminds us, through Nadia’s documented memories, that we must learn to appreciate the truth as much as question it, exploring the morality tucked within the fallacy of memory.”
-Bookpage, Top Pick

Rook by author Sharon Cameron

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Rook

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, May 31, 2016

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. The mysterious Red Rook is a savior of the innocent, and a criminal in the eyes of the government.

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow ever higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

Daring intrigue, delicious romance, and spine-tingling suspense fill the pages of this extraordinary tale from award-winning author Sharon Cameron.

Awards and Reviews for Rook

A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults selection

Indiebound Indie Next Top Ten selection

Winner of the Parents’ Choice Gold Award

“The suspense kicks right off in this action-packed tale, quickly wrapping readers up in the drama.”
-Romantic Times

“Full of derring-do and double crosses, this romantic adventure is thoroughly engrossing.”
-Kirkus Reviews

“Cameron crafts a brilliant homage to The Scarlet Pimpernel yet also manages to make her telling unique, particularly in… the many twists, turns, betrayals, and lucky breaks [that] will keep readers breathless until the very end.”
-Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A Spark Unseen by author Sharon Cameron

“…gripping…absorbing, intelligent adventure…”
–KIRKUS

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A Spark Unseen (The Dark Unwinding #2)

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, September 24, 2013

“This is not how I’d thought I would die. Had not been part of my meticulous plan when I’d pulled on my nightgown and climbed into bed. There were this month’s ledger books waiting on my desk, and the new plastering to start tomorrow in the ruined lower wing. That rent to be mended in my white stockings and the walls of Uncle Tully’s workshop, rising stone by stone from the riverbank…
My eyes flew open, widening at the sting of the knifepoint as it entered my skin. Lane would come back to Stranwyne Keep, and I would not be here to meet him.”

When Katharine Tulman wakes in the middle of the night and accidentally foils a kidnapping attempt on her uncle, she realizes Stranwyne Keep is no longer safe for Uncle Tully and his genius inventions. She flees to Paris, where she hopes to remain undetected and also find the mysterious and handsome Lane, who is suspected to be dead.

But the search for Lane is not easy, and Katharine soon finds herself embroiled in a labyrinth of political intrigue. From the court of Napoleon III to the underground tunnels of Paris, Katharine will have to decide how a dangerous weapon might be kept from both a queen and an emperor, and whom she can trust –if anyone– to help make Uncle Tully safe once and for all.

Katharine Tulman discovers a fantastic world where science seems like magic when she arrives at her uncle’s remote estate to have him committed to a lunatic asylum. But instead of a lunatic she is confronted with a genius inventor with his own set of child-like rules, a brooding apprentice and a mysterious young student of science, the dwindling family fortune and the hundreds of families her uncle is using it to support. Having Uncle Tulman sent to the asylum is no longer an easy choice. And that’s when Katharine Tulman begins seeing things that aren’t really there.

The Dark Unwinding by author Sharon Cameron

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The Dark Unwinding

by Sharon Cameron
Scholastic Press, September 1, 2012

“In the very back of the room, where the sunlight could not penetrate, a wide staircase rose into darkness, and beside the stairs was a door, light leaking from its edges. I opened this, and found a windowless corridor, gaslit and stifling. Door after door slipped past me, set in walls the hue of half-ripened cherries, a sense of suffocation growing as I moved deeper and deeper into the house. A closed door ended the hall, and behind it was another room, also windowless, a single chandelier throwing both illumination and shadow on nothing but clocks.”

Katharine Tulman discovers a fantastic world where science seems like magic when she arrives at her uncle’s remote estate to have him committed to a lunatic asylum. But instead of a lunatic she is confronted with a genius inventor with his own set of child-like rules, a brooding apprentice and a mysterious young student of science, the dwindling family fortune and the hundreds of families her uncle is using it to support. Having Uncle Tulman sent to the asylum is no longer an easy choice. And that’s when Katharine Tulman begins seeing things that aren’t really there.

Reviews for The Dark Unwinding
“Utterly original, romantic, and spellbindingly imaginative.”
–USA Today

“Haunting thrills unfurl…”
–Entertainment Weekly

“Gripping twists, rich language, and an evocative landscape.”
–Publisher’s Weekly

“By turns funny and poignant, this period mystery is a thoroughgoing delight.”
–Kirkus Reviews

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