Review: Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

This is a companion novel to ”Code Name Verity” which I have also read and reviewed (and loved!). In this one we see a few of the same people, but since it is a companion novel we mostly meet entirely new people.

As with ”Code Name Verity” this book is set during WWII and the main protagonist is a young American woman, Rose, who has come to England to work for the ATA ferrying planes for the Royal Air Force. During one of her flights, she is captured by the Nazis and sent to a concentration camp. The book then follows her experience in this camp and with the people she meets there.

The book was well-written and the story compelling, but I must say it was not as good as ”Code Name Verity”. That one had a few twists and tricks, that ”Rose Under Fire” did not have. This was more a straightforward story-telling. There is nothing wrong with straightforward, but ”Code Name Verity” kept you guessing all along, while ”Rose Under Fire” just didn't have that quality. The story was still beautiful though, and I would recommend this book to everyone. Some of the content is rough reading though, as I think we all know that a book about experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, can't be very bright or happy. But there are moments of beauty, even in that setting, and the stories of courage and defiance have a beauty of their own.

This book also had me teary-eyed a few times, mostly when it referenced the events in ”Code Name Verity” but also on its own merit a few times. I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Click here for my review of ”Code Name Verity”:


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