Black Dove White Raven

I'll be honest with you, this isn't the type of book I normally read. However, I'm trying to get into new styles of writing and my latest genre is War Books. Elizabeth Wein was recommended as an author I should read by my best friend, so when I saw she'd written a new book, I picked it up straight away, and I'm so glad I did.This book tells the story of two best friends named Teo and Em, children of two stunt pilot women, who call their act 'Black Dove, White Raven', due to their differing skin colours. As a result, Em and Teo also name themselves 'Black Dove and White Raven', using these names for their characters in the stories they write, entitled 'The Adventures'.After Teo's Mother is killed in a tragic accident, Em's Mother, Rhoda, adopts Teo, and moves the whole family to Ethiopia, to live out her best friend's dream of experiencing the African skies.The first half of the story is about the family settling down in Africa, making new friends, and dealing with the twists and turns that Ethiopian life brings: visiting chapels set into the mountainside, attending sacred festivals, flying their plane all over the country and at the same time, attempting to ignore the threats of impending war.The second half deals with the war itself, and as Teo and Em get separated, the dual narrative becomes very interesting, as each recounts their own respective struggles in the midst of battle.The story had a nice but realistic ending, that left me feeling happy and satisfied.I just loved this book, it was told in such a beautiful way, and the language used was so rich, that I became engrossed in the story of these two young people, discovering this new world, where everyone is equal. I could tell that a lot of research went into the book too, which made it that much more belivable.Bittersweet and beautiful, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions that had me gripped until the very last page.

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