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Rose Justice is an American pilot who is flying planes for the ATA in England near the end of World War II. When she flies an Allied fighter plane from Paris back to England, she is captured by the Nazis. Rather than treating her as a prisoner of war, the Nazis send her to Ravensbruck as part of a transport of French political prisoners.

A companion to Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein stands alone as a powerful novel set against the backdrop of World War II on the home front in England and in a Nazi concentration camp. I listened to this one, narrated by Sasha Pick, thanks to the Sync YA summer downloads. Pick does an excellent job narrating (I loved the accents and voices for the different characters), but I do want to go back and read a text version. I know one reading of any kind is not enough to enjoy all this book has to offer.

I love so much about this book. Let me count the ways!

• Rose herself. Rose is a little bit brash (from her youth and American optimism) and a little bit naive. (While her fellow pilots and prisoners endured the hardships and horrors of World War II, Rose was back home near Hershey, Pennsylvania, competing in canoe races, singing Girl Scout Camp songs and playing basketball.
• Flying! I have my pilot’s license and love any story that takes to the air. Rose’s flying goes beyond anything she could have imagined back home stateside. In particulary, she learns–and later attempts–taran, the practice of using your airplane to ram another. While risky, it could be survived if the pilot was skilled and lucky enough. Taran shows up again and again, both literally and symbolically. I love how Rose and Irena (a fellow prisoner and Russian fighter pilot) use their hands in flight to give each other courage.
• Poetry. Not only does Rose fly airplanes, but she also writes poetry. She also quotes extensive poetry, especially poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay. The poetry is the main reason I want to read the text. I want to see the poems on the page and savor each word. Poetry gives Rose a voice when she cannot trust her own.
• Survival. The prisoners at Ravensbruck are not passive victims of Nazi cruelty and brutality. From their initial processing to their eventual escape, Rose and her fellow prisoners engage in acts of rebellion. While they cannot stop the Nazi’s murder of millions of prisoners, they can “organize” needed supplies and hide some prisoners (the rabbits) scheduled for the gas chambers. Rose’s “family” in Ravensbruck even says grace before eating their meager rations. They look out for each other the best they can and grieve for those who are killed.
• I learned more. I have read a lot of books, both fiction and nonfiction, about the Holocuast and thought I knew quite a bit. I learned even more about the horrors of medical experiments conducted by the Nazi doctors. The girls and women from a Polish transport underwent many operations that left them lame. Those who survived were protected by their fellow prisoners. They were ingenious in finding ways to get their story out, even when the world could not believe them.
• No easy answers. Many of the characters are complex and even difficult to like. Rose is certainly flawed as she puts her foot in her mouth and just doesn’t get things. The German pilot who flies her to Ravensbruck is kind. He gives her chocolate bars and even lets her fly the plane. The German prisoner who leads Rose’s work detail (the worst kind of work leader) was one of the guards who held down the rabbits for their operations, but she also provides extra vitamins for the girls on her work crew. Roza, the most unforgettable of the rabbits, is demanding and insulting and incredibly brave.
• A glimpse of life after the war. I am so glad Wein did not stop the story with Rose’s escape from Ravensbruck. She goes on to show how difficult it is for Rose to reenter life after experiencing the horrors there. At first, Rose cannot bear to wear clothes or leave her hotel room as she writes down her experiences. She does go on with her life, but she is forever changed. She promised the rabbits that she would share their story with the world, but she finds that she cannot speak of it. When she writes poetry and stories, she finds that the editor doesn’t want the ones that detail the horror. It is too much for readers.

If you have not read Code Name Verity or Rose Under Fire, what are you waiting for? Both books give a heart-poundng, page-turning account of life in the middle of World War II. Whie the stories are very different, both build almost unbearable suspense that makes me glad I live in a time and place where peace mostly prevails.

What stories from World War II or the Holocaust would you recommend?

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