I was super excited when my best friend decided to order this from the Book Depository because she wanted to read it sooner than the US pub date - and even more excited when she said I could borrow it. After reading Code Name Verity (you can see my review here if you're interested) I must admit I was little scared, in a good way, of Elizabeth Wein, being how she shattered my heart into a zillion pieces and proceeded to tap dance on said pieces.Rose is an American pilot working with Allied forces during WWII. As we know from the description, she ends up captured and imprisoned in a concentration camp. The story that follows is one of heartbreak, unimaginable pain, friendship, and hope.
I know it's going to happen, but to compare Rose Under Fire to Code Name Verity is like comparing apples to oranges. Yes, they are both war stories and feature strong women who are pilots. But that's where the similarities end, really. Rose has her own story to tell, her own horrors and suffering to convey. And Wein does a great job of conveying them. Rose's desperation and fear leaped off the page and into my heart. I cried for her, I cheered for her, but most of all, I hoped for her.
Rose makes friends inside the walls of the concentration camp. They rally together to support and help one another in a time when all hope seems lost. The bond these women create are the types of bonds I strive to have with my closest friends. They are willing to die for one another, to give up food or shelter. They do everything they can to help one another survive.
Wein's writing is amazing. I had no trouble at all imagining the world she was creating within these pages. It was a bleak time, dark and dreary, and I felt all that while I was reading. She attacked all my senses as I flipped page by page, engulfing me in a horrible time of our history.
I very much look forward to reading more by Elizabeth Wein in the future.