Jennifer Nielsen may be known for her fantasy novels like The Once and Future Prince, but she has a number of young adult historical novels, and Resistance is one of them.

The heroine of the story is Chaya Lindner, a Jewish teenage resistance fighter in the midst of the Holocaust. Because she can pass as a Gentile, she is called upon for a perilous job passing messages between the different Jewish ghettos in Poland.

The plot centers around her relationship with Esther, another Jewish teenager who Chaya detests at first for her lack of knowledge about resistance fighting. Over time their relationship solidifies as Esther becomes more skilled in resisting the Nazis and shows courage and self sacrifice when facing them.

The novel does an excellent account of life in the Jewish ghettos during WW2 and the mindset of the resistance fighters. Occasionally the story deviates from authenticity, as it shows a German tank that was abandoned during the 1939 invasion as green, when German tanks were painted grey during this period. Also, she strikes up a conversation with a young German soldier who conveniently divulges the exact information Chaya happens to be seeking at the moment. Nevertheless, this is a captivating story that had me engaged from the very beginning. If you at all like young adult or WW2 stories, you definitely want to read this.