Firebird by Elizabeth Wein Book Review

I love that a lot of children's books these days have a focus on history, and Firebird is just that. Based on the authors real life research on female pilots in the Soviet Union in the WW2, this is the story of Nastia, who is the daughter of revolutionaries and a brilliant pilot. 

Nastia is no traitor. She is a daring pilot, the daughter of revolutionaries, and now, as the Second World War descends on Russia, she must fight to save the glorious Motherland. But all is not as it seems, and when the battles begin, secrets are revealed and everything that she once knew is challenged... A thrilling adventure brimming with historical detail and powerful female characters.

My eldest took great pleasure in reading this tale and here is what she has to say about it;

Firebird is a beautiful story about a Russian woman and her re-telling of her life. She learns to fly, fight and remembers in her journey leading up to the fateful moment of landing on enemy territory.

My favourite part of this book personally is how relatable the protagonist is. She comes across as you regular girl and then a major event changes all that she knows and she ends up following her dreams.

I think Nastia is someone who we can all aspire to be deep down, brave and courageous as well as following her ambitions for a great cause.

Another thing I applaud this book for is the amount of research and time that went into it. I especially like the conspiracy theory included in it but I won't spoil that part for you.

I'd usually see a book directly based on a true of one person or a fictional character in a real setting but this one surprised me when I read about it's inspiration.

It's actually inspired by a whole group of stories which come into one amazing novel. I adore this idea and I would like to see more authors using this format.

As my final opinion, all I can say is that I absolutely loved this book. It's based on so many fascinating stories and it is incredibly inspiring to the young readers that get to read it.

I would recommend this to children aged between 7-15 but honestly I think older readers would enjoy it too. I'd quite happily read it again.

Like any book from Barrington Stoke, this novella is aimed primarily at reluctant or struggling readers but as shown by the above review it's appeal is actually to a much wider audience.

Split into five parts and with short, snappy chapters, you'd be forgiven for thinking this book might not contain much but the amount of detail used is quite impressive.

For such a short book, it definitely doesn't lack in action and adventure and you are compelled to keep reading right from the prologue. There is also a fantastic reveal at the end that readers will not be expecting!

Firebird is a book that could induce a greater love of history as well as enticing children to want to read and learn more at the same time.