The Sixth Day of Christmas Jennifer Nielsen December 17, 2020

The Sixth Day of Christmas

On the sixth day of Christmas,

This author offered me

Six quotes from Rescue

Five Giveaways!

Four Christmas wishes,

Three Rescues,

Two Free Zoom Visits, and

A title for book five series…

Okay first, I know there are a couple of days left on Day five’s giveaway contest, but seriously? You all totally made me cry. Like actual tears on my cheeks!

I wasn’t sure what you would think about that challenge, whether you would do it or not, so to see you take it on so enthusiastically, and THEN to read your responses of what it did for YOU – this kindness that wasn’t supposed to be about you at all – I think for many of you, those simple acts returned much greater than what you gave.

If you haven’t read the comments from Day 5, you should. All of them.

Anyway….wiping eyes….

I hope these quotes will be a nice preview for RESCUE, my next historical to release on March 2nd.

#1

I hadn’t seen my father for 657 days. From this exact moment, that is one year, nine months, two weeks, four days, and one hour. That’s how long it had been since I had not waved goodbye. In 657 days, we had not heard anything about him, or . . . from him.

#2

I lowered my shovel. “Maybe you are a spy. That blood doesn’t look a bit real.”

He said nothing to that, only laid his head back down on the straw. “What’s your name?”

“Sophie.”

He closed his eyes, accepting my lie as easily as I’d told it. “Corn syrup, cornstarch, food coloring. How many of those ingredients do you have?

I shrugged. “Cornstarch, I think. You can’t get the other items during the war.”

“Nor can I. And I’d need a lot of it to create fake blood, so without that option, I just had to use my own.”

#3

With every passing minute, I became increasingly worried. My mother had never, never been gone this long. Even if she really had been on errands, it was the end of the workday and shops were closing. Where was she?

I tried to focus on Captain Stewart’s code. Anything to keep from thinking about my mother.

The letters were written out in a long string.

Q M F B T F C S J O H N F T P N F X B U F S

#4

“What about—” I began, but Maman shushed me.

Her eyes had wandered to the window behind me. She took a sharp breath as moving lights swept across the wall, briefly highlighting her face. I heard the sound of an engine and my heart stopped.

Maman’s hands balled into fists. “They’re here, Meggie. The Nazis have come.”

#5

Seconds later, we heard the sound of a truck slowly approaching. I glanced up long enough to see a German Opel Blitz park directly in front of where we had just been. The canvas fabric over the truck bed parted and at least ten Nazis jumped out.

“Oh no.” Albert groaned.

We all looked over at Albert, who was quietly patting his pockets. As the Nazis filled the clearing directly in front of us, he whispered, “I believe that I dropped my glasses.”

#6

I wanted to keep thinking about Papa’s code, but I was so tired, I fell asleep almost immediately. There was no time that night for dreams. We could not have been sleeping for very long before the first bomb fell on Boulogne-Billancourt.

Coming tomorrow…the seventh day of Christmas, and my hopes and plans for 2021!

21 Comments
  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 2:15 pm

    AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE all the quotes, especially #2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They were so cool to read!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait until rescue is out!!!!!!!!!😃😃😃

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 2:24 pm

    I can’t wait to read this!

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 2:25 pm

    Love ❤️ the one about the glasses

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 2:59 pm

    Thank you for sharing these wonderful quotes! Really leaves my mind on a cliffhanger, and your books never cease to excite! 🙂

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 5:17 pm

    Hi! I can’t wait to read Rescue! I love all your books! Especially the historical ones. 🙂

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 6:09 pm

    AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHh, I CANNOT WAIT TO READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m already REALLY liking the dude from snippet #2!!!!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHH March is NEVER gonna get here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 6:14 pm

    I love the quotes and the story. I was lucky to get an ARC from NetGalley. It’s such a powerful, dramatic story, and I learned a lot about the French resistance that I didn’t know about. Thanks for all your wonderful books.

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 6:17 pm

    Also, everyone, I just remembered, and I don’t know who else does. But TODAY ONE YEAR AGO Jennifer announced that there was gonna be a fourth book in the Ascendance series. I’m probably the only one who finds that AWESOME, but still wanted to say this. 😜

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 7:35 pm

    I cannot wait for the book! After reading those quotes It is now more impossible to wait! I love your books so much! I recently read A Night Divided and I think it is amazing. I literally ran around my house laughing because of how good the ending as! ( not that I wanted it to end ). I am reading The Traitors Game Book 3 right now. I love them so much! I literally sit in my room reading for hours when I am reading your books! I cannot put them down. You are my favorite author! I cannot wait for Rescued! Thank you so much!

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 8:08 pm

    OHMYGOODNESS IM SO EXCITED FOR RESCUE!!!! Also, I saw my nana in there 😉

  • Reply
    December 17, 2020, 11:18 pm

    Hey Jennifer! I was reading the quotes and wondering about things. In quote 3 you reveal the code. And i was wondering if you put the name John in the middle of it intentially or was it by accident? Does it mean anything? Oh, I can’t wait to read the book!

    • Reply
      December 18, 2020, 8:10 pm

      I reveal one of several codes, but this one isn’t consequential to the outcome of the book. And yes, “John” is in the middle, but that’s part of Meg’s questions to be able to solve it – is it in there on purpose, or just a coincidence?

    • Reply
      December 18, 2020, 10:09 pm

      Hi! My friend and I tried hard for around half an hour, and we solved the code! You should try it!

  • Reply
    December 18, 2020, 1:43 am

    I don’t know what to say. Life is having so many coincidences lately. Because we are learning WW2 in our school and rescue and I’m not kidding but we were having the baltic chain of freedom (Lithuanian revolution) when words on fire came out. I always think if our minds and thoughts are like connected. like u know harry and Voldemort… i really wish we could interact. and oh those quotes sent a chill up my spine….

    • Reply
      December 19, 2020, 3:07 pm

      That’s crazy cool – with some luck, one day I’ll be at your school and then we could chat about this in detail!

  • Reply
    December 18, 2020, 2:39 am

    So anxious for this to come out! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  • Reply
    December 18, 2020, 2:43 am

    Thank you for these quotes! They were genuinely so good!!

  • Reply
    December 18, 2020, 6:20 pm

    I can’t wait for my copy to be sent out!😍
    I wanna read it soooo bad!

  • Reply
    December 19, 2020, 1:43 pm

    Hi Jennifer,

    My friend and I are so excited, we solved the code in quote #3!! I emailed you saying what we think it is as to not leave any spoilers here, if you answer we will be SO HAPPY!!

    You might remember me from the time you virtually visited the library, and we made up that story and Mary and John and Bob! My friend and I still talk about that, a LOT!!

    • Reply
      December 19, 2020, 3:07 pm

      I do remember you, and yes, you did solve the code. Nice job!

  • Reply
    December 19, 2020, 1:46 pm

    I will be sure to have my own physical copy of this book soon! So excited

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