Gone to Goudchaux's

It’s true that bestselling author Julie Sternberg writes for children, but nostalgic Baton Rouge Boomers, Gen X-ers, and Millennials might consider picking up a copy of her latest book, Summer of Stolen Secrets for themselves. In the story of Kat, a thirteen-year-old Brooklynite visiting her family in Baton Rouge for the first time, readers familiar with the downtown area of days past will recognize a certain landmark Main Street department store. 

“I’ve wanted to write this book for a really long time,” said Sternberg, whose grandparents Erich and Leah Sternberg opened Goudchaux’s in the late 1930s after fleeing Nazi Germany. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of its closing.

“I knew every nook and cranny of that store,” Sternberg said. Representing a half-century’s worth of shared memories for Baton Rouge residents, “The Store” (as it was called by members of the Sternberg family) conjures fond evocations of old Coke machines, being greeted by name at the door, Mr. Bingle at Christmastime, interest-free charge accounts, and Mr. Erich paying local students a nickel for every “A” received on their report cards. Under the Sternbergs’ wing, the single store quickly grew into a national chain and in 1989 was even the largest family-owned department store in America. 

Besides Goudchaux’s—which serves as the backdrop for the book—the biggest influence of Sternberg’s in writing Summer of Stolen Secrets was Lea, her no nonsense Jewish grandmother, who some readers might recognize. Sternberg described her as a small, tough woman, who they weren’t allowed to call “Grandma” and who always said exactly what she thought. In her Author’s Note, she writes, “I can still hear her voice, with its German accent: ‘That shirt is not flattering.’ ‘You’ve gained weight.’ ‘My cooking is better than your mother’s cooking.’” 

Kat’s own formidable grandmother, who initiates much of the tension in the story, is also presented as Summer’s biggest mystery. “Working in the store,” said Sternberg, “Kat finds secrets of her grandmother’s that help her understand why she is the way she is, and they help Kat to heal her family.” They also help Kat to better understand her Jewish heritage, which Sternberg explains, is also drawn from her own family history and experiences coming to understand it. 

In writing a story more personal and tied to her memories than any other book she’s written, Sternberg said that getting enough distance to tell it the way she wanted has taken years. “I had to find a way to make this Kat’s story,” she said. “But once I figured it out, the book took no time to write. Kat’s doing things that I’ve done and her story plays out in the same places, with many of the same elements, but it is still, ultimately, her story.” 

Summer of Stolen Secrets, published by Viking Books for Young Readers, will be available for purchase on May 11, 2021. Pre-order now at penguinrandomhouse.com. See more of Julie Sternberg’s work at juliesternberg.com.