Victory: Resistance, Book 3

The conclusion to Jablonski and Purvis’s Resistance trilogy is a fast-paced and gritty piece of work. It’s near the end of WWII, and the resistance fighters in occupied Vichy France are starting to get the taste of impending victory. The protagonist, Paul, is a hotheaded youngster who doesn’t understand why he should be doing anything but planning how to kill more Nazis. After being told that his group’s attack on a troop train is probably going to result in mass punitive executions of civilians, and asked what the attack gained, he snaps with all the reckless bravery of youth, “The more dead, the fewer to fight.” This black-white dichotomy is made grayer by the involvement of some of Paul’s family with the Nazis. The artwork’s bright colors and somewhat stiff lines emphasize the blazing emotions being tossed around. While the righteousness of the cause is never questioned, the authors do a good job of making it clear how bloody and morally messy even the most noble fighting can be. Ages 12–up. (July)