Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Gripping Holocaust thriller of resistance via art forgery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
As ARTIFICE opens, it's 1943 and the Nazis have taken over Amsterdam and are busy rounding up, imprisoning, and killing a lot of people: Jewish, gay, Resistance, or anyone just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Eighteen-year-old Isa de Smit, child of artists who's grown up in a bohemian culture, is struggling to hold on to the family home and art gallery—which isn't easy, because her father hasn't been in his right mind since her mother died years ago, and the Nazis carted off all their wares. But her father, addled or not, is a master art forger, and Isa, desperate for money, sells one of his faux Rembrandts to a Nazi collector. When she learns her Resistance friend is helping get Jewish babies to safety before a looming transport—and that they need a lot of money—she's determined to sell another of her father's forgeries. Complicating matters, the young Nazi officer who didn't seem to like that Rembrandt now seems to want something else.
The fictional plot and its 18-year-old protagonist are interwoven with many real-life people and events—in particular, a sleazy art dealer who sold Hermann Goering what may or may not have been a forgery, a heroic man who helped rescue 600 Jewish babies from their would-be murderers, and a Resistance fighter known for killing Nazis.
Is It Any Good?
Sharon Cameron's absorbing historic thriller has imperiled Jewish babies, Nazi murderers, art forgers, Resistance assassins, and lots of secrets—and red-headed Isa trying to navigate it all. There's a lot of Artifice in this fast-moving, twisty tale, of artworks and people who aren't what they seem to be. Still, many scenes, characters, and situations are based on real people and historical events, and author Cameron brings them startlingly to life. With all the plot threads, dramatic reversals, and internal turmoil, it doesn't always quite come together, but between the complex characters and the constant surprises, it'll enthrall a lot of readers right up to the end.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about stories about the Holocaust, and specifically those who put themselves and their loved ones in peril to help its intended victims escape the Nazis, as happens in Artifice. What other stories do you know on this subject—and do you think they have something to teach us today?
What kind of art do you like? What do you like about it? Do you create art yourself? What kind?
Why do you think art forgery is such a popular theme in storytelling—and such a lucrative crime in real life?
How do Isa and others in the resistance work together as a team when they have to hide everything they do and be so secretive? What role does courage have?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Topics : Activism , Adventures , Friendship , History
- Character Strengths : Courage , Empathy , Perseverance , Teamwork
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Scholastic
- Publication date : November 7, 2023
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 18
- Number of pages : 416
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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