Resistance: Book 1

[Resistance] by [[Carla Jablonski]]
[Defiance] by [[Carla Jablonski]]
[Victory] by [[Carla Jablonski]]

This is a series of three graphic novels about the French Resistance written for young adults. I read them all one right after the other, in one day, and they read well as one book. I know nothing about the French Resistance other than a foolish romanticized notion and this gave me a lot of pretty good information quickly. Now I will be looking for a non-fiction memoir. This trilogy covered a surprising number of aspects of resistance. How does a person make the choice to join a resistance movement? How do those actions affect families as a whole and as individuals? How old should an active member be? There were many factions of show more resistance - which philosophy fits your beliefs and how to work together well, or IF to work together. What is to be done with collaborators and how do you even identify them? As you can see, these books addressed many, many ideas and issues. It also involved me emotionally with the characters. How would it be to see your children involved? How would it be to see your parents involved? What if someone you love was starving or injured and collaborated? This series has managed to address all of those issues without simplifying them or making them black and white. After reading this and looking at the colored drawings, I feel as if I have just left an epic movie. And I want to tell all my friends to go see it. show less

A brother and sister in France, along with their Jewish friend Henri, become some of the youngest members of the French Resistance when they form a plan to hide Henri after his parents are taken away by the Nazis.

I love the idea of this story - two young, self-centered (as all kids tend to be, I think) French kids join the Resistance in order to save a friend's life, risking their ow lives in the process. The book does a good job conveying the fear the characters felt, especially as they're travelling on a train into Paris, watching as fellow passengers are dragged from their seats.

However, there was something...off-putting about the story - I never really felt invested in the characters themselves. It felt like more of a morality story show more than one in which I was supposed to feel a connection with the characters themselves. show less

Solid art and story. My only question is appeal. Outside of a classroom it might be a tough sell although I do really like the exploration of what it means to resit an occupying force and how everyday decision become impossible and dangerous.

I really enjoyed this story. I feel like the graphic novel form is a really powerful one of talking about history, and it is hard to imagine what something that is real, but that we will never experience looks like. That one of the main characters is an artist and some of the images are his drawings adds to the book a lot. I would have this, and the rest in the series in a 6-8th grade classroom.

Paul must help his family run their hotel while his father is being held by the Nazi authorities. But when his best friend Henri, who is Jewish, escapes a roundup and is left behind, Paul and his sister decide to hide him and help him escape with the French Resistance. A graphic novel that provides a cinematic story of prejudice, fear, courage, and bold ingenuity. (Grades 5-8)

Great artwork and a compelling story of how French people survived the first part of WWII and the beginnings of the resistance.

The first of a thrilling trilogy about French youth joining the resistance against the German occupation and Vichy collaborator government.