See below for English description.
Sam Frederisksen, 18 ans, vient des prairies. Il est mitrailleur ? bord d'un bombardier Lancaster pendant la Deuxi?me Guerre mondiale. Lorsque son avion est abattu par l'ennemi au-dessus de la France, il survit de justesse et parvient ? joindre la R?sistance fran?aise. Victimes d'une trahison, Sam et des soldats d'autres pays sont bient't captur's par la Gestapo, puis envoy's ? Fresne, une prison aux abords de Paris.
Consid?r's comme des espions, les prisonniers sont battus, certains tortur?s, avant d'?tre transport's au camp de concentration de Buchenwald, en Allemagne. Dans cet endroit sinistre, Sam d?couvre les horreurs de la Guerre: les chambres ? gaz, la torture et la famine, mais aussi le courage et la d?termination des nombreuses victimes.
Eighteen-year-old Sam Frederiksen has come a long way from the Prairies. Trained to be a gunner in a Lancaster bomber during WWII, he is shot down over France. Battered and bruised, he does survive, and joins forces with the French Resistance only to be betrayed by one of its members. He and other flyers from various Allied countries are rounded up by the Gestapo and held in Fresnes prison just outside of Paris.
Treated as spies, rather than POWs, these men are beaten, some tortured and then sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp in eastern Germany. It is here, in these wretched conditions, that Sam witnesses the darkest side of humanity - gas chambers, torture and starvation. Yet it is also here that he comes to understand the true resilience and unfathomable courage of the victims.
Original Title: I Am Canada: Behind Enemy Lines
About the Author: Carol Matas figure parmi les auteurs de romans historiques les plus renomm's au pays. M?me si elle a ?crit diff?rents types d'ouvrages, elle est particuli?rement connue pour ses livres portant sur la Deuxi?me Guerre mondiale et l'Holocauste. Aux ?ditions Scholastic, elle a sign? le roman Cher journal - Entr?e refus?e, une histoire touchante sur l'Holocauste, qui lui a valu une nomination pour le prix Geoffrey Bilson (romans historiques pour les jeunes). Elle a re?u plusieurs autres r?compenses, dont deux nominations pour le Prix du gouverneur g?n?ral. Carol vit au Manitoba.
Carol Matas is one of Canada's leading writers of historical fiction. She is particularly noted for her books about World War II and the Holocaust, such as Lisa (winner of The Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young Readers), Jesper (a Mr. Christie Honour Book), Daniel's Story (shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award and winner of the Silver Birch Award), and (winner of the Jewish Book Award). She has also written books on other historical periods, as well as fantasy and contemporary thrillers. Carol lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
