Rose Under Fire

by Elizabeth Wein

Summary:
The atrocities of World War II have been told and retold a countless number of times, yet Wein's new book brings a different perspective. Rose is an American pilot who joined the Air Transport Authority in England to help ferry planes to troops who needed them. As a woman she was never supposed to be in enemy airspace, yet when a series of incidents leads to her being intercepted by German planes over German airspace, she finds herself a prisoner of war. Sent to the women's concentration camp at Ravensbrook, Rose must now learn survival under the brutalist of terms. It's a story of survival, and ultimately of the power of resistance.

Review:
Just like Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire is an absolute triumph. Wein deftly weaves together a story of hope in the worst of circumstances, and crafts a strong voice in Rose. The book places a high priority on accuracy. One of the most interesting parts of the book were where Rose and the other ATA girls heard about the horrors of the Holocaust from escapees, but couldn't believe that the stories they were hearing were actually true. When Rose experiences it first hand she finds out that it is even worse than imagined, and then must make the decisions about whether or not to actually spread the word herself.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade