Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke Review

Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne Blankman

Title: Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke

Author: Anne Blankman

Series: Prisoner of Night and Fog #2

Publisher: Blazer + Bray

Publication Date: April 21, 2015

Genre: Fiction; Historical Fiction; Romance; Adventure; Mystery; Young Adult

Pages: 406

Format: ARC

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The girl known as Gretchen Whitestone has a secret: She used to be part of Adolf Hitler’s inner circle. More than a year after she made an enemy of her old family friend and fled Munich, she lives with a kindly English family, posing as an ordinary German immigrant, and is preparing to graduate from high school. Her love, Daniel Cohen, is a reporter in town. For the first time in her life, Gretchen is content.

But then, Daniel gets a telegram that sends him back to Germany, and Gretchen’s world turns upside-down. And when she receives word that Daniel is wanted for murder, she has to face the danger she thought she’d escaped-and return to her homeland.

Gretchen must do everything she can to avoid capture and recognition, even though saving Daniel will mean consorting with her former friends, the Nazi elite. And as they work to clear Daniel’s name, Gretchen and Daniel discover a deadly conspiracy stretching from the slums of Berlin to the Reichstag itself. Can they dig up the explosive truth and get out in time-or will Hitler discover them first?

*Sigh*Historical fiction is so great.

Gretchen Whitestone was once Adolf Hitler’s pet. She was the perfect niece, and she admired Hitler to the point of fault. After meeting Daniel Cohen, her world shattered, and she ended up in England, free from Hitler’s tight reign over her and Germany. She’s happy, and she sees the life she always wanted stretched out before her. However, when Daniel is captured in Germany, Gretchen must face her horrible past, and triumph over the once inescapable grasp of her Uncle Adolf.

Even though we all know how it ends (Hitler gains control of Germany and starts a war around the world), Anne Blankman still manages to keep me guessing. She writes like there’s a chance of Hitler’s defeat, even if there’s not. When I’m reading her work, I’m in Germany while the Nazis are rising. I’m watching the Nazi parade and seeing Hitler’s stupid little mustache. Her melding of history and fiction together is astounding and thoroughly entertaining. Her painstaking attention to detail is enough to send her novels over the moon.

I love how this book shines a totally new light on who Adolf Hitler was, and how his comrades in his quest for domination acted and thought. I love the historical value of Anne Blankman’s writing, and it totally makes this whole reading historical fiction thing worth it ten times over. Reading and learning are two of my favorite things, and both come in this 406 page package.

I maintain that the Prisoner of Night and Fog series is one of the best World War II novels written, among Code Name Verity and The Book Thief. If there is ever another book in this series, I would read in a heartbeat. 

Rose Under Fire Review

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein

Title: Rose Under Fire

Author: Elizabeth Wein

Series: Young Pilots #2

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Publication Date: September 10, 2013

Genre: Historical Fiction; Young Adult

Pages: 368

Format: Hardback

Awards: Schneider Family Book Award for Teen (2014), Bank Street College of Education Josette Frank Award (2014), Golden Kite Award for Fiction (Honor Book) (2014), Carnegie Medal of Literature Nominee (2014), YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults (Top Ten) (2014)
goodreads

While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that's in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival. 

I had absolutely no idea that this book even existed until a few weeks before I read it. I know, I’m losing my game. I felt like I should have apologized to this book for not realizing it had been published and made available to me for so long before I noticed it. But thank everything good in the world that I did. Discover it, that is. It would’ve been very, very bad if I hadn’t. I would not have been exposed to the genius that is Elizabeth Wein’s Rose Under Fire, and that is something no one should have to go through.

Rose Justice, an American ATA pilot, decides to be an Allied soldier in World War II. Her mission was simple. Well, it was supposed to be simple. A quick, get in, get out, type of scenario. But, of course, that could not be the case. On her way back from freshly liberated Paris, Rose is captured by Nazi pilots. She is sent to Ravensbrück, an infamous women’s concentration camp. As she experiences unmentionable horrors, she meets incredible women, and forms bonds strong enough to withstand the cruelty she endures. Their friendship will help them survive even the most horrible of circumstances.

Even though Rose Under Fire is technically the sequel to Code Name Verity (another fabulous novel by Wein by the way – I would recommend it to anyone and everyone), do not make the mistake of thinking that it would be a continuation of Maddie and Queenie’s story, like I did when I first learned of this book’s existence. Rose Justice is another character with an entirely different story that is hard to look away from.

Before this novel I had never even heard of Ravensbrück or the Ravensbrück Rabbits. Ravensbrück was the only main concentration camp that was specifically dedicated to women. The “Rabbits” were female prisoners experimented on for the “good of science.” While Rose Justice’s story was false, the Rabbits’ is not. Many have survived, and Elizabeth Wein has published information on them on her blog. The information can be found here: http://www.elizabethwein.com/ravensbrueck-rabbits.

Like Code Name Verity, this book is filled to the brim with historical, accurate facts. I learned something new at every page turn. Wein intricately, and masterfully weaves facts with a riveting plot and heartfelt characters. Each woman in her book has an incomprehensible amount of courage within themselves. While most of the conflict in the book was the fight for survival and liberation, there was a part two to their battle. After escaping, the Rabbits had to see to it that their captures were served justice for what they had done. Many women could not find it within themselves to speak of what went on in the concentration camp. While many accepted the fact that the battle ended as soon as the prisoners found freedom, this book tells a different story.

I am a huge fan of Wein and her writing. You can see the amount of dedication she puts into her novels, and her hard work makes for a beautiful story. Everyone should read about Rose and Wein’s other characters because they tell stories that are sometimes left unheard. 

Black Dove White Raven

March 31, 2015