This is one of those books that is hard for me to review because I'm afraid anything I say won't do it justice. Intriguing, engaging, moving, informing, entertaining, and more. Wein has crafted an outstanding tale. Let me see if I can maybe list some of its elements: --- Two strongly realized, distinct, complex, believable, sympathetic protagonists, each of whom narrates part of the tale in her own unique voice. --- A plot that weaves together and bounces around between different perspectives, places, and dates, and that only gradually reveals information through a telling that absolutely makes sense and requires it. To quote quotes from a couple of places in the book: As it turned out, he said it was an "interesting overview of the situation in Britain over the long term" and a "curious individual perspective"; and "Fraulein Engel, you are not a student of literature," he said. "The English flight officer has studied the craft of the novel. She is making use of suspense and foreshadowing." It is most definitely a suspenseful novel. --- It does indeed provide an "interesting overview of the situation" for the British during the second World War as seen through the eyes of two "curious individual perspectives." They are two unlikely women who travel to France, one as a pilot and the other as a resistance operative (undercover spy), on a mission. The operative is captured, however, and this story begins as her written confession she hopes will prevent more torture. To help her accurately remember all the facts that her interrogators are after, she goes back in time and tells the story of how she ended up where she is in narrative form--along with frequent comments about her present circumstances. It's an engrossing tale. Told by a professional teller of tales (undercover spy). To learn where it goes after its start, you'll have to read for yourself. --- It seems I've gotten away from listing elements and moved into telling my own tales about this book, but this making-it-up-as-I-go approach seems to have led to a bit of a review. I hope it also works as persuasion to read the book, because I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself if you do.

This novel is absolutely brilliant. These two girls are amazing. Its nice to find a teen book about best friends. Warning! Its a slow read, but only because you need to read carefully not because its boring. Great historical fiction and adventure.

This book has been marketed as a teen novel, but after reading it I am not sure why. The two main characters are young British women in World War II. One of them "Verity" has been captured by the Germans in France after she made a mistake. After being tortured, she has agreed to give her captors information in exchange for small concessions. She tells the whole story of her friendship with the other young woman, an Air Transport Authority pilot named Maddie. Her written story is the first two-thirds of the book. The last third is Maddie's story. This is a story of courage in the face of extreme danger, of friendship taken to the extreme, and of two very bright young women, thinking on their feet. One gets a real sense of the atmosphere of the war, the way it became a different world for a short time, and the barriers that dissolved under the pressures and needs of the war. It is a story of the nature of truth. I always love stories set in the first half of the twentieth century and this one is a winner for sure.

Good book. I'm not a big historical fiction fan, but the cover made me do a double-take and the blurb promised secrets and plot twists, so I was lured in. The only complaint I have is that the story seems to be very romantized and not very historically accurate. I found it totally unrealistic when I read the first half, but the second half made me understand a little more. I enjoyed this book, though. Like all historical fiction books (at least what I've read), there were parts that were a little dull, but overall, it was fast-paced and had a few plot twists that made me satisfied.

Had this book out of the library because it made the top of a lot of the Year's Best Fiction Lists. Then one of my favorite authors endorsed it, so I decided to start reading it right away. Good thing I had that special recommendation. I found the first third of the book to be very had to get into: Lots of colloquial British/Scotch, lots of British WWII shorthand, the unreliable narration is hard to buy until you start figuring things out. During the second third of the book, I was highly engaged, the last third controlled me. Nothing new under the sun, but this is masterful storytelling with compelling characters if you can slog through the beginning.

I didn't finish this. I gave it to a student, and she told me it's a "me problem", not a book problem. I just put the audio on hold, maybe that's a better option for me.

This is a great book. The type of book where, as I finished it, I wanted to start all over again. But it was 2am and I had to get up a few hours later for work. I don't want to say too much. If you read this book, try to stay as spoiler-free as possible. Read a bare summary of the plot - just the book jacket if possible, avoid reviews that contain too many plot points, and resist (hard though it may be), resist turning to the end of the book to see what happens. Just enjoy it.

p.41- Coastal Defense

Staff Review from St. Albert Summer Reading Game 2012: Two best friends flying on a mission crash into Nazi-ocupied France. One of the young women is captured and brutally tortured for information on the British War Effort. We learn her story as she pens her activities in the Resistance. The novel is complex, heart-wrenching and unforgettable!

One of the best YA titles this year. Heart wrenching story of friendship, courage, and bravery set in WWII. Beautifully written.