This is an interesting take on a WWII tale of a young French girl, Chantal, who spots and establishes a bond with a whale that's strayed from its pod and swum up the Seine River of Paris.
To many starving French under German Nazi occupation, it looks like an enormous meal! Fortunately (or unfortunately), it comes to the attention of the Nazis and eventually it -- and Chantal -- are given Nazi "protection."
Chantal knows, in her core, the river is nowhere big enough for the whale to survive. It's eating all the fishermen's catches already, and it will only get bigger.
But stranded from its pod, it won't leave her, either. There's only one thing left to do: lead it to the ocean, to freedom. Freedom, however, is one thing Chantal doesn't have, not on land, anyway.
Unless she's willing to take an enormous plunge.
I won't spoil how it ends. Enjoy!
And in case you're wondering, I couldn't find (in a cursory Google search) any evidence a whale of any kind has ever been sighted in the Seine, but the idea of one has been an artists' muse for more than just these two authors.
The idea of a whale swimming in the Seine has periodically captured artists' imaginations over the years, and they've erected a couple of interesting sculptures of whales along the Seine.
In 2015, a blue whale full-size replica was installed during a climate change conference along the Seine, as a reminder of endangered species all over the globe that needed protection. The article, "A Whale Sculpture in Paris Aims to Save Some Species," published Dec. 8, 2015, is behind the NYT's paywall, but I couldn't find another version online. If you're a library patron, like I am, you may be able to access the NYT for free via the news database, Ebsco, but you'll need your library card to login (and you'll only be able to do so if your library subscribes).
