Rose Under Fire

I read Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth E. Wein
I received a free ARC through NetGalley
5 stars!

Rose Justice is an American pilot for the ATA during WWII. She is captured and sent to an all women concentration camp, Ravensbruck. Just like all concentration camp stories, Rose is in for a very horrible and difficult time. Told through her journal from before and after the concentration camp, mostly after, we get an intimate look at life inside the camp, learning to live afterward, and even a glimpse at the trials that took place once the war was over.

Rose Under Fire is a companion to Code Name Verity. You do not have to read Verity to understand this book, but I think everyone should read it anyway. Maddie is back in this one as Rose's friend. Some people in Maddie's past are referenced, but you aren't told what happened. If I were reading this book without having read Verity, I would absolutely want to go back and see what happened in Verity. There are a lot more surprises in Verity that might not be as shocking if Rose is read first.

I felt that Verity was a more powerful story, but I enjoyed reading this one more. I do have a soft spot for concentration camp stories, and it made it even better that this was fictional. I could really get into the characters and root for all of them, but at least I know in my heart that the specific casualties were fictitious. Verity was full of technical information about airplanes, so much that I found myself skimming over those parts. That was definitely not the case this time. Rose's flying passion was part of her, but it didn't take over the story. There was a lot of poetry this time, something else Rose was passionate about. I am not a big fan of poetry within stories. It didn't ruin the book for me, as I understand that her poetry was necessary in keeping the morale up for so many girls in the camp.

Wein did a wonderful job portraying life in a concentration camp. She developed the characters so amazingly, and the story was detailed, accurate, believable, and compelling. I was not shocked by it, as I have read plenty of biographies from concentration camp survivors, but I still learned from it. Before this story, I had never heard of the Ravensbruck "Rabbits."

Thankfully there is quite a bit of closure in this story. I am not left wondering who survived and who did not. There are so many emotions that ran through me while reading: sorrow, happiness, disappointment, hope and anger just to name a few. Any book that can give me so many emotions and make it almost impossible for me to put down is a definite winner.