In this historical fiction novel set in 1943 Nazi-occupied France, two best friends a pilot, Kittyhawk, and a spy, Verity crash in a British spy plane. Verity is captured by Nazis and forced to write a confession which is when she writes of her friendship with Maddie (Kittyhawk). Meanwhile, in the second part of the book, Maddie tells her story about the events that take place after the crash. She plots to save her best friend from the Nazis. However, when the best friends finally meet up in a vicious fight, Maddie shoots and kills Verity. Although, Maddie shot her to grant her wish of being saved from further interrogation and suffering from the Nazis, she still felt devastated that her friend was killed by her hand. I think this book is great for students ages 14 and up. This book would be valuable for the classroom, for it is not only a companion to world history, but it also has strong themes related to friendship and patriotic loyalty. For example, Verity refused to give up important war codes. Instead she remained loyal by creating fake information. Maddie was a loyal friend by continuing to look for her best friend, and I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to kill her friend in order to prevent further suffering. This book meets the criteria of being an effective historical fiction novel because it contains accurate historical facts woven into the plot, and while reading, I felt transcended in time and place as if I were experiencing the events in person.
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