Genre: Young Adult/ Historical Fiction
Status: Has a companion novel titled Rose Under Fire
Page Count: 332
Publication Date: 2013
Rating: 5/5
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"It's like being in love, discovering your best friend."
I loved this book. I have been hearing about it forever, and every time I mentioned it on a list of books I need to read, every one and their uncle encouraged me to stop whatever I was doing and read it. They were right. Stop whatever you are doing and read this book.
This is the story of two girls, code-named Verity and Kittyhawk. Kittyhawk is a female pilot, and Verity and spy in WWII. The girls meet because of their contributions to the war and their meeting results in a beautiful and heart breaking story of friendship, loyalty, and bravery.
I was expecting huge things from this novel, and it really delivered. Wein is a pilot herself, so the book was chalk full of aviation details, that were a little confusing in the beginning, but really added to the story and the atmosphere of the novel once I got a little understanding of all things airplanes. The characters were easy to connect with. Both girls are so smart and brave; it's impossible not to root for them. This book is a very emotional read, right from page one, but it is such a beautiful story. It has been a long time since a book has keep me up for hours and made me cry, and this book definitely did that.
Wein did an amazing job of building the war atmosphere in this novel, and really had me thinking about how a person's heritage can become a threat to them during times of war.
This is such an amazing novel of female friendship (and just friendship in general). The structure of the novel was perfect; it was divided into two parts, the first narrated by Verity, the second by Kittyhawk. I don't want to say too much about why I loved the structure because I don't want to give anything way, but I really appreciated what the structure added the character's stories.
After reading this novel, I am left with the urge to hug my best friend, read all the books on WWII female pilots, and read everything Elizabeth Wein ever writes. I plan on reading the companion novel, Rose Under Fire very soon, but I think that one is going to break my heart even more than this novel did.
I have been meaning to read this book for ages. My mystery group is going to be reading YA mysteries early next year. I'm thinking this would be perfect for me to include at that time.
ReplyDeleteI agree Kay! This book is quite mysterious and would be perfect for a book club setting.
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