Back flap copy: An exclusive, action-packed story about one girl's daring rescue mission during World War II. Can Samira survive the dangers of D-Day and find her mother in time? This book was created exclusively for Scholastic Book Clubs Classrooms. From a paper accompanying this book pack: Dear Teacher, June 6, 1944 — D-Day—was one of the most important events in human history. My newest book, Allies, tells the story of that momentous day from the viewpoint of six different young people involved in the Normandy invasion, from soldiers landing on the beaches to French citizens living under Nazi occupation. One of those characters, Samira Zidane, is a French Algerian girl who is part of the Resistance. She plays a big role in Allies, but there was more to her story that I couldn't fit in the book. The free book you hold in your hands, Resist, is the rest of Samira's story! Samira is one of my favorite characters from Allies, and I loved the chance to dive back into her life and her adventures on D-Day as she goes on a daring rescue mission to find her mom. Resist is a companion story to Allies. You and your students can read it before or after Allies, or all by itself. And don't worry, it doesn't have any Allies spoilers! Allies and Resist are both action-packed stories of courage and defiancé set against the backdrop of real historical events. And both stories are testaments to the idea, perhaps never proven more definitively than on D-Day, that we are stronger when we work together. Sincerely, Alan Gratz
Author
Alan Gratz is the bestselling author of a number of novels for young readers. His 2017 novel Refugee has spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list, and is the winner of 14 state awards. Its other accolades include the Sydney Taylor Book Award, the National Jewish Book Award, the Cybils Middle Grade Fiction Award, a Charlotte Huck Award Honor, and a Malka Penn Award for Human Rights Honor. Refugee was also a Global Read Aloud Book for 2018. Alan’s novel Grenade debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list, and his most recent book, Allies, debuted at number two on the list and received four starred reviews. His other books include Prisoner B-3087, which was a YALSA Best Fiction for Young Readers pick and winner of eight state awards; Projekt 1065, a Kirkus Best Middle Grade Book of 2016 and winner of five state awards; Code of Honor, a YALSA Quick Pick for Young Readers; and Ban This Book, which was featured by Whoopi Goldberg on The View. Alan has traveled extensively to talk about his books, appearing at schools and book festivals in 39 states and a half-dozen countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, and Switzerland, and has been a Writer in Residence at Tokyo’s American School in Japan, the James Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio, and the Jakarta Intercultural School in Indonesia. Alan was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee, home of the 1982 World’s Fair. After a carefree but humid childhood, Alan attended the University of Tennessee, where he earned a College Scholars degree with a specialization in creative writing, and, later, a Master’s degree in English education. He now lives with his family in Asheville, North Carolina, where he enjoys playing games, eating pizza, and, perhaps not too surprisingly, reading books.
