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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Torture by the Gestapo; executions; wartime violence; the full brutality of Nazi occupation is not sanitized
Language
Some
Moderate language; authentic WWII-era voice
Sexual Content
Barely any
No sexual content; an intensely close platonic friendship between two women
Substance Use
Barely any
None
Emotional Intensity
Very heavy
The accumulated emotional devastation of the full novel; the ending requires processing—many readers report being unable to function for a period after finishing
What this book is about
A British spy is captured in Nazi-occupied France and agrees to write out everything she knows in exchange for the cessation of torture. What she writes is not what it appears to be. Elizabeth Wein's WWII novel for young adults is a masterpiece of structure and emotional devastation—its ending is one of the most gut-wrenching in contemporary YA literature.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Torture and Gestapo violence depicted with authenticity
One of the most emotionally devastating endings in YA literature
Recommended for mature teens and adults
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