One Chance

One Chance is a thought-provoking novel for older readers about France on the brink of the Nazi Occupation in 1940. The story focuses mainly on teenage Jaq, a runaway whose origins remain obscure – was he bombed out from his home and his mother killed or has he always been a runaway? Lise, a 15-year-old who lives with her family near the border with Italy, helps him to hide when the neighbouring farmers fire at him for supposedly stealing a crucifix and some chickens.

From then on the novel becomes an interesting exploration of right and wrong – Lise’s father is very anti-war after experiencing the First World War but goes off to join his old company; the local French villagers show their true nationalist colours with the Italian invaders on their doorstep, despite the many Italians in their midst; Jaq is torn between helping Lise and her family and running away with their valuables; Lise’s mother tries to help Jaq but may be breaking the law around identity cards by doing so. The novel shows clearly through these cameos the turmoil that western Europe was in 1940, both in politics and personal beliefs. The novel is all the more realistic as Jaq is not a likeable character and Lise and her family are sometimes infuriating.