The protagonist of the novel, ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen is an outgoing and ambitious young girl who maintains a cheerful outlook even as her Nazi-occupied hometown of Copenhagen becomes a dangerous place for her and her…
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Ellen Rosen
Ellen is Annemarie’s best friend and neighbor. The two girls live in the same apartment building and attend the same school, and though Ellen is Jewish and Annemarie is not, neither of them ever…
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Kirsti Johansen
Kirsti is Annemarie’s five-year-old sister. A sassy, petulant, and fanciful child, Kirsti has never known life outside wartime—yet she dreams of the comforts of peace and plenty, fantasizing daily about decadent cupcakes and fancy…
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Mrs. Johansen/Mama
Annemarie’s mother is a kind, gentle, and yet fiercely brave woman committed to resisting the fascist regime which has occupied her city and threatened her closest friends. Mama is a nurturer to her core…
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Uncle Henrik
Mama’s brother and Annemarie’s uncle, Henrik is a fisherman who lives in the countryside. Unmarried and slightly roguish, Henrik lives alone in his childhood home—and has, since the start of the war, used…
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The stoic, rebellious, and generous Peter Neilsen is a dedicated member of the Resistance—a group of Danish people determined to undermine the Nazi occupation of their country no matter the cost. Peter was betrothed to…
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Lise Johansen
Though Lise is not physically present as a character in the novel, her emotional presence lingers on every page. Her loss in a seemingly random hit-and-run accident has dealt a severe blow to her family’s…
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King Christian
The King of Denmark. Christian is a leader beloved by all his people, and rather than shutting himself away in his palace in trying times, he shows that he is as devoted to his subjects…
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Minor Characters
Mr. Johansen/Papa
Annemarie’s father. A warm and kind man devoted to his family, to his community, and to doing what’s right no matter the risk.
Mrs. Rosen
Ellen’s mother and Mrs. Johansen’s closest friend in Copenhagen. A kind, generous woman.