Bill hopes to get the chance to carve his own name beneath his father’s. James, a 19-year-old Canadian paratrooper, enlists after his hometown stages a city-wide mock Nazi invasion they call “If Day.” Complete with military aircraft, actors in rented costumes, mock arrests, and book burnings (of worn-out library books), the day is meant to encourage empathy for the plight of Europe under Nazi occupation.īill is a 19-year-old English tank operator, whose father fought in World War I and left his name carved into a rock in the city of Amiens, France. But Samira’s family are subject to discrimination in France because they are natives of Algeria, a French colony that longs for its independence. If they screwed it up, the world would never be the same.” Allies takes place during a 24-hour period on and around Omaha Beach, the bloodiest battle of the day, and follows the experiences of a diverse group of young people.Įleven-year-old Samira and her mother are members of the French Resistance, brave patriots who disrupt Nazi operations by any means available - from carrying secret messages to cutting communication lines, derailing transport trains, and blowing up bridges. Dee got goose bumps just thinking about it. Maybe the most important day in all of human history. “The most important day of the Second World War. Army private aboard a transport ship heading for the coast of Normandy, France, in the early hours of June 6, 1944. The novel opens and closes with 16-year-old Dee Carpenter, a U.S. And in the thick of battle, Henry, a medic, searches for lives to save.In a breathtaking race against time, they all must fight to complete their high-stakes missions.In Allies, his latest novel for young readers, New York Times bestselling author and Knoxville native Alan Gratz returns to a favorite subject: World War II depicted through the eyes of the young people who lived it. Meanwhile, paratrooper James leaps from his plane to join a daring midnight raid. Behind enemy lines in France, a girl named Samira works as a spy, trying to sabotage the German army. He feels the weight of World War II on his shoulders.But Dee is not alone.

And Dee - along with his brothers-in-arms - is terrified.

soldier, is on a boat racing toward the French coast. The only way to stop them? The biggest, most top-secret operation ever, with the Allied nations coming together to storm German-occupied France.Welcome to D-Day.Dee, a young U.S. June 6, 1944: The Nazis are terrorizing Europe, on their evil quest to conquer the world.

An instant New York Times bestseller!Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee, weaves a stunning array of voices and stories into an epic tale of teamwork in the face of tyranny - and how just one day can change the world.

Allies alan gratz