Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Rose under Fire was a book that alternately brought shivers down my spines and exclamations of joy. You see, it's a book about World War II, and it follows Rose, a transport pilot who ended up in Ravensbruck Concentration Camp, a Nazi Camp.

The book is written as a series of journal entries, and the first few entries cover her life as a transport pilot and how she wants to be a fighter pilot. (It also had a section on how she wanted to be a fighter pilot like the men - something I thought it was really cool) It then introduced the idea of taran (also known as aerial ramming), which is tipping over an unmaned plan. AND THEN A HUGE PLOT TWIST CAME. She went missing. I totally didn't expect that, and the book made it happen in a really sudden way. Later, we find out that she was actually captured by Nazi forces and she writes down what happened to her in an attempt to come to terms with what happened (that's most of the story, so no, I didn't give any spoilers).

The part that sent shivers down my spine would be about the Rabbits - these are a group of girls who were subjected to medical "experiments" - which is another way of saying torture. I shivered whenever they talked about what happened to them because it's just scary.

But then again, when you read of how the camp comes together to protect the Rabbits and Rose, you can't help but shout for joy. Rose is a very engaging narrator and I was behind her all the way - never once did I feel annoyed or wish she behaved differently.

If you're interested in World War II, or just a book with a lead you can really root for, you should give this book a try.

Disclaimer: I got a free galley from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.