REVIEW: Rose Under Fire

A Young Adult novel by Elizabeth Wein

This YA title is the follow-up to the critically-acclaimed Code Name Verity, but familiarity with that book is not necessary to enjoy this one. To be honest, the ongoing exposition at the beginning of this World War II novel is a little taxing, but there is a pay-off for those who stick with it. Once the action begins, Rose Justice, a young American female courier pilot, gets captured by the Germans and sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp where she finds herself under the fragile protection of a group of Polish girls who have all been subjected to medical torture/experiments. Rose and her brave cronies are protagonists truly worth rooting for, and the details of what they are up against are sometimes difficult to fathom and nearly impossible to stomach. In this case, even the aftermath is eye-opening and heart-warming.

— Reviewed by Darryl Woods, Main Library, Charleston, S.C.

Find this and similar titles from Charleston County Public Library. This item is available as a book and a downloadable eBook. To learn more or to place a hold, visit www.ccpl.org or call 843-805-6930.