Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Victory: Resistance Book Three
Illustrator: Leland Purvis
Historical Fiction Graphic Novel Series
For ages 12 and up
First Second, 2012 ISBN: 978-1596432932
The allies have landed on the beaches in Normandy and though victory now “seems possible,” the situation in France is still appalling. Food and other supplies are hard to come by, and everyone is in need. What makes life harder is that the various French resistance groups are at odds and Charles de Gaulle, France’s self-appointed leader living in London, cannot seem to hold them together. Some of the people in Paul’s village believe that they should just sit tight and wait for the allies to arrive, while others feel they need to fight back against the Germans, even now that the end is perhaps in sight.
Paul is still running errands for the Resistance and thanks to his older sister’s information, he is able to warn the local Resistance group that the Germans are looking for them. He even participates in a Resistance raid on a train. When Paul hears that people in a nearby village were executed because of the attack on the train he has to cope with the knowledge that he is partially responsible for the deaths. Sometimes doing what feels right causes so much pain and suffering.
When a plane crashes in the woods near the village, Paul’s little sister Marie finds an injured passenger, a member of the Resistance who has important papers that have to be taken to Paris and given to the right people. The man is too injured to travel, so Paul offers to go in his place. The problem is that travel to Paris is extremely dangerous. Somehow Paul and his Resistance friend Jacques have to find a car. They never expect that the help that they need is under their very noses.
Not many people know what it is like to live in an occupied country and what it is like to be forced to fight for your freedom. In this stunning conclusion to the Resistance trilogy, Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis bring life in war-torn France to life. They help us to understand what it was like to live with the fear that your neighbors might inform on you or that your best friend might be a collaborator. They also show to great effect how terrible situations can make allies out of very unlikely people, and how heroes can come in small and very inconspicuous looking packages.
