IPPY Bronze Award Winner

"Compelling...engaging...a moving family saga" (Kirkus Reviews)

From the author of the Book Club favorite Pictures of the Past comes another compelling, multilayered novel, ripe with the twists and turns of the best historical fiction.

It is the still innocent year of 1962, and 12-year-old Paige Noble awakens in a hospital room in Chicago. She has no memory of the random act of violence that has left her injured and orphaned. As she waits for her famous uncle to come for her, she develops a bond with Gladys, a comforting black nurse's aide, unaware that her son was involved in the crime. 

Soon, the charismatic Maxwell Noble, a celebrated photographer, is located in Europe and rushes to her side. Although he has led a globetrotting bachelor life, he surprises Paige by embracing his new responsibility. But Maxwell struggles to hide his longtime obsession with Paige's mother, his enchanting French sister-in-law. When Paige discovers her mother's hidden diary, the secrets of the past begin to surface. 

Paige and her uncle embark on a journey to France, retracing events of WWII and the Holocaust, in an effort to find the one remaining family member they could claim. Her parents were always intent on protecting Paige, but Maxwell allows her to embrace the Jewish and Holocaust heritage that she was denied.

A beautiful and moving story about a young girl's coming of age and a man's quest for a lost love, Protecting Paige combines family drama and fascinating historical detail to create a rich, thought-provoking world.