The author was more interested in building forts and playing video games. He read books, but he wasn’t particularly obsessive about the activity. Unlike some of his peers, Gratz wasn’t one of those children that spent every minute reading. If he hadn’t succeeded as a writer, he would have gone back to teaching. Before writing novels, Gratz was an 8th Grade English teacher. He did not enter the publishing field immediately. I really wish that this entire thing had been in the original story instead of being a side story.He goes to his office, where he spends hours researching, making outlines, and writing his manuscripts. I do think you need to read Allies before reading Resist. This is an absolute companion story to Allies. My only complaint is that I wish it had just been included in Allies. Gratz really did a great job of telling the rest of Samira's story. He was a child caught in the middle of a war and he didn't understand that he was digging his own grave. I also liked the innocence that a child had when he asked why they were having to dig. I think this really put it in perspective the mindset that they had. Resist however takes us to the middle of the woods where Nazis force people from the town of Bayeux to dig their own graves. There is very minimal interaction with the Nazis. Allies is completely told from the perspective of those with the Allies. I felt that this book really showed more of the dark side of the Nazis that in Allies. I hate that it wasn't included in the original story, but I'm also really glad that this was written so that her story would come full circle and be complete. Luckily Samira's story is told in this book. It is a short story that flies by with brief chapters full of history.Īfter reading Allies I felt that Samira and James did not get their complete story told. Resist picks up with Samira trying to hide from the Nazis and find her mother at the same time. The morning of D-Day Samira's mother is taken by Nazi's after she is caught trying to help a family escape through a window.

Samira's mother is part of the French Resistance.

Samira's story really starts in the book Allies. I am so glad that I was able to get the entire 5th-grade class as well as myself a copy to read because it really concluded Samira's story for me. Scholastic partnered with Alan Gratz to publish and release the special edition story of Samira. Her piece of the story was very short and straightforward, and unfortunately, I felt it was incomplete.

One of the characters in the book was named Samira. I posted my review of Allies last week, which told the story of D-Day. 'An exclusive, action-packed story about one girl's daring rescue mission during World War II.Ĭan Samira survive the dangers of D-Day and find her mother in time?'

Resist alan gratz