Elizabeth Wein Recap

Teen Author Fest is the best way to meet some of your favourite authors in Ottawa. I read Code Name Verity a while ago and the story impressed me. The writing is fantastic, and the plot is compelling. I jumped at the opportunity to meet the author behind the book, Elizabeth Wein, on September 24th at Sunnyside library.

There was a cozy atmosphere as Elizabeth Wein introduced herself and talked a little about her new book, Rose Under Fire. It's the story of a young, American pilot who wants to join the war effort during the second world war.

There's something about authors that I've always found extremely cool. They speak a certain way and it's very distinguishable. They paint pictures with their words and during Elizabeth's reading, it was fun to fall into the story.

One thing that became clear immediately was Elizabeth's love of planes. She read a passage in which Rose is being "intercepted" and later on explained what that meant. She also talked about actually mapping out the flight routes from her novels and the research that went into writing a "historical" type novel. She also ended up visiting the site Ravensbruck, which waa a concentration camp for "female political prisoners" and some of the struggles the prisoners encountered, such as language barriers.

When she opened up the floor for fans to ask questions, one person asked about women's role in World War 2. Elizabeth's books had ways included strong women like pilots Maddie and Rose, and it was interesting to hear that women did have an active role in the war.

When it was time for signings, Elizabeth made sure to speak with every single fan on a personal basis, which I thought was nice of her. During the event, she also made sure to thank bloggers for helping to spread the word about her book.

I thought it was a great event and Elizabeth Wein was an extremely cool person. Her tour must have been long but she was gracious with everyone and I hope she gets some rest when she returns home to Scotland.

-P.E.