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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I loved Code Name Verity so much, and recently we watched an absolutely bizarre movie called Shadow in the Cloud (it is quite terrible, don't bother) that brought CNV to mind. That led to the realization that Elizabeth Wein had written a number of other works in roughly the same "universe." The library had this one available as an eBook, so inward I went.
Unfortunately, this was a pretty big let down. The narration is divvied up between three first-person narrators: Lousia, who is half British, half Jamaican; Ellen, who is a Traveller hiding in plain sight and working as a driver for the WAAF; and Jamie, who is a very young, privileged RAF flight leader.
The set up that leads all the characters to the same place—a pub and inn called the Limehouse near a base called Windyedge—is far more interesting that what transpires once they ARE together and working with the Enigma machine. The clumsily executed plot is the real problem of the book.
The characters start out as really engaging, but they deteriorate toward the end of the novel. Louisa's "unhideable" race drives her through the first part of the book and the relationship she forges with Jane, a woman of German descent in her 80s who has been interred, is touching and compelling early on. It ends, though, in a very big "wait, what?"
Ellen's identity as a Traveller is not all that well executed Wein seems to trot it on and off the canvas, and the moment when Ellen "outs" herself is just very awkward and reads as gratuitous.
Jamie is, perhaps, the most consistently written character, but that's rather a bummer because he's the youngest son of a wealthy family, which makes him the "unmarked" character who doesn't have to carry any particular theme of race, class, etc., and his younger sister gets to unproblematically play spy in a way that's portrayed as just good fun, rather than being about that privilege.
The last part of the book, Aces, is incredibly choppy. The importance of the Enigma machine is muddled, and there are some events that clearly were supposed to have high emotional impact that simply don't land.
I definitely want to read other work by Wein, but this book was pretty much a miss.
Unfortunately, this was a pretty big let down. The narration is divvied up between three first-person narrators: Lousia, who is half British, half Jamaican; Ellen, who is a Traveller hiding in plain sight and working as a driver for the WAAF; and Jamie, who is a very young, privileged RAF flight leader.
The set up that leads all the characters to the same place—a pub and inn called the Limehouse near a base called Windyedge—is far more interesting that what transpires once they ARE together and working with the Enigma machine. The clumsily executed plot is the real problem of the book.
The characters start out as really engaging, but they deteriorate toward the end of the novel. Louisa's "unhideable" race drives her through the first part of the book and the relationship she forges with Jane, a woman of German descent in her 80s who has been interred, is touching and compelling early on. It ends, though, in a very big "wait, what?"
Ellen's identity as a Traveller is not all that well executed Wein seems to trot it on and off the canvas, and the moment when Ellen "outs" herself is just very awkward and reads as gratuitous.
Jamie is, perhaps, the most consistently written character, but that's rather a bummer because he's the youngest son of a wealthy family, which makes him the "unmarked" character who doesn't have to carry any particular theme of race, class, etc., and his younger sister gets to unproblematically play spy in a way that's portrayed as just good fun, rather than being about that privilege.
The last part of the book, Aces, is incredibly choppy. The importance of the Enigma machine is muddled, and there are some events that clearly were supposed to have high emotional impact that simply don't land.
I definitely want to read other work by Wein, but this book was pretty much a miss.
This book is yet another that I ate up in two sittings and I regret absolutely nothing. At this point in my life World War 2 novels are really hitting and I cannot recommend this one enough. Louisa is a fantastic main character but I also appreciated getting an insight into Jamie as a pilot and his squadron.. Of course all the characters are masterfully written so by the time that I enjoyed every second of this and honestly might even reread at some point.
Spoiler
literally all the other squadron members DIE we are attached to them.
Absolutely loved it - a great prequel to Code Name Verity.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It would have been helpful if the author included a glossary, as the language differences made for lots of back and forth to look up words.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While not as compelling as Code name Verity (this is a prequel), still Wein develops compelling characters and engaging plots. I had some trouble keeping the women as separate voices at times, but still, I found them to be quite likeable.