{Synopsis} – This installment in the New York Times bestselling I Survived series from Lauren Tarshis shines a spotlight on the Normandy landings, just in time for the 75th anniversary of D-Day!
A battle that would change the course of World War II…
Eleven-year-old Paul’s French village has been under Nazi control for years. His Jewish best friend has disappeared. Food is scarce. And there doesn’t seem to be anything Paul can do to make things better.
Then Paul finds an American paratrooper in a tree near his home. The soldier says the Allies have a plan to crush the Nazis once and for all. But the soldier needs Paul’s help.
This is Paul’s chance to make a difference. Soon he finds himself in the midst of the largest invasion in history. Can he do his part to turn horror into hope?
{My thoughts} – Paul is an eleven year-old boy living in France. His village has been taken over by the Nazi’s for some years. His father had been taken from him and his mother. His best friend and his family had been taken by the Nazis in the middle of the night.
Paul is a boy that has learned to find ways to cope with what is going on around him. He hasn’t been very happy lately but when the book begins it is around his mothers birthday. He wants nothing more then to surprise her with her favorite cookies. So he goes and tries to sell his soccer ball to the only leather worker still in town. At first he doesn’t want it but then he decides to take it.
On his way home with the cookies he is nearly run off the road by the Nazis. He learns quickly his cookies are a crumbled mess on the ground and all he can think to do is cry. Then a bird comes up to him and gets his attention. The bird leads him to a soldier caught in a tree. He has to decide if he should help him or not. He chooses to do what he thinks is right and he helps him. They barely escape before the Nazis locate them with their dog.
They manage to stumble upon a resistance base. They manage to stay safe. Paul learns so many things in a short amount of time that it almost makes his head spin. There was so much he didn’t know that was going on around him and so much he wished he had. If he’d known some of the things maybe life would have been more bearable for him at his age.
This is a really well written book and it has it’s moments of “What am I reading?
and “Did I really just read that?” It was a fast read that I wish hadn’t ending. I have a strong fascination in the events that unfolded during WWII.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series very soon!
Final Conclusion: 5 Star Rating.
