Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein Published: Sept. 10, 2013 Publisher: Disney Hyperion Received: Borrowed a copy from the library Rose Justice is piloting for America during World War II when she's captured by Nazis. They send her to Ravensbruck--the women's concentration camp known for performing atrocious surgeries on their prisoners. Books set during World War II and the Holocaust are horrifying. I cry every time I read one. But I think it's important to remind ourselves of the atrocities human people can commit against one another. Rose Under Fire tells a unique story in that most of the characters are not Jewish. These are prisoners of war, these are Polish women and Russian women and French women and an American. Obviously the genocide of Jewish people was a major portion of the Holocaust, but there were other people who had to endure the horrors of concentration camps. I appreciated this look into that side of the story too.

This week's wcw features a baby crush. A blooming crush. A I need to read the rest of your books immediately crush. Elizabeth Wein is the semi-recently newly published author of several YA historical fiction books, as well as many short stories.  Her first series is the Arthurian Sequence which is a retelling of the Arthur legends. Her newest books while not a series, have a main connecting theme.  Code Name Verity  was the first historical fiction novel I'd read in a while and it was fantastic. It's been awarded several major honors. There's a sequel of sorts out: Rose Under Fire. And a third Black Dove, White Raven coming out in March.  Wein currently lives in Scotland, although she lived in numerous places when she was younger.  I would recommend her books to fans of historical fiction or people who enjoy strong female characters in any genre.  

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein  was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. This novel tells the story of two girls during World War II: one, an accomplished pilot for England and the other an accomplished spy. Through their various meetings they become friends.  Wein does a fantastic job of reeling the reader in. I wanted to know what happened. And why. She tells the story in media res , so we're being told events that have already happened. Wein accomplishes this in a way that makes the novel almost impossible to put down.  I had heard from various people how amazing the book was before I ever picked it up, and they weren't wrong. But it is a little hard to summarize and explain to people who haven't read it. There are many twists and turns and possible paths so it creates a conundrum of what is considered a "spoiler" or not.  I don't like to spoil books for others. So I'm going to keep this review short. I think it was very well-w...