George's Fateful D-Day

A young adult novel set in south Wales in 1943-44. It tells the story of precocious teen rugby genius George Jones and his family, who are struggling to come to terms with the death of George’s elder brother, Isaac. George is bullied because of the circumstances of Isaac’s death and his life only begins to look up when a regiment of United States infantry soldiers set up camp in the village, prior to undertaking practice manoeuvres for the upcoming D-Day invasion. George strikes up a friendship with 19-year-old US Army private, Oliver Jacobsen, himself a gifted football quarterback, who is also dealing with the recent loss of his whole family in a road accident. Together, these two young people begin to heal themselves through their joint grief and their joint love of sport. However, George soon begins to understand the dangers facing his friend in the upcoming D-Day invasion, and both start to realize the importance that fate will have on Oliver’s future in fighting on the beaches of France.