Much Ado About Nothing

     Henry is the youngest pilot in his squadron,a19 year old pilot during World War Two.He is left all alone when a bomb hits his plane and kills all of the co-pilots in his bomber.He lands behind enemy lines without the faintest idea where he is or what language is spoken there.This puts him in a precarious position as speaking the wrong languge(all pilots are equipped with dictionary translated into German and french) could cost him his life.Luckily for him he soon befriends a french schoolteacher who speaks a little English and is able to communicate that he needs help.His leg,as they soon find out was broken during the parachute from the plane.The schoolteacher takes him to a hospital,and leaves him to be cared for.      

         Once he is recovered he is faced  hard decision to make:either wait out the war here,safe and peacefully or go back into the fight by re-joining his old squadron and keeping fighting the Germans.It is a hard decision with consequences coming with either choice,if he decide to return to the fight he’ll have to be smuggled to England by members of the French Resistance.His mother,Father and loved ones also will not know he’s alive,only missing in action,lest he be classified as an escaped prisoner and the Germans are allowed to shoot him if they see him.If he stays it could be years until he would be able to see his loved ones and the fight would just keep going on.Henry chose to return to the fight.

   He now has to travel Thu the heart of Vichy France,using the help of people in the Resistance.He makes a lot of new friends,just normal people who’ve answered the call of their country in a time of need.People from all wakes of life,for example a mother and her son and elderly father who risk everything,including their own lives to smuggle him on,and to keep him safe.Also an aristocratic woman,who is a master of subterfuge and usually us es the fact that people expect her to be snotty and fussy to mask her  true actions.She also gives him a lfe-long appreciation for art and culture,in the few days he was aguest in her home.Thes people are very secretive and only tell him thing on a need to know basis,because that way iff he was caught they could’nt get a lot of information out of him.They also have some funny ways of making sure that he really is who he they think he is,for example punching him in the gut(anyone will cry out involuntairily in their own language if this happens)They did’nt even tell him their names.Thru this long ordeal he gains a deep appreciation for the french and their bravery and kindness in risking their own lives to help a stranger.He meets one more character,a french girl no older than he ,Tjhey end up falling in with a French sabotage squad,and end up witnessing the girl’s boyfriend’s death.The girl does’nt melt tho she keeps right on fighting,that’s the extent of her character and spirit.In the end he ends up finding his family again ,and marrying his high school sweetheart the thought of whom sustained him thru some of the darkest parts of his ordeal.

                I loved this book and wold definatly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys history of adventure.It’s a little sad tho because a couple characters die and there are a few battle sequences,that would probably be rated pg-13 if it’s ever turned in to a movie.The author based her novel on the true story of her grandfather,so i thought that was kinda cool.This book is called Under a war torn sky,and it’s written by L.M eliott.

here is the link to the author’s page: http://www.lmelliott.com

her’s a link to an articlee about Vichy France(or german occupied France): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vichy_France