Song of a Blackbird

    (First Second, 2025)
™ and © First Second

Fictionalized but based on actual events, Song of a Blackbird is a graphic novel with two intertwined timelines: one is a modern-day family drama, the other a courageous tale of art and resistance under Nazi occupation. In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma’s world changes when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. In that moment, she decides to joins the Dutch Resistance. In 2011 Amsterdam, 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.' These two intertwining timelines reveal how art, in the face of nearly insurmountable adversity, can become our greatest lifeline.
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