What is Elizabeth Wein reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Elizabeth Wein, author of Black Dove, White Raven.

Her entry begins:

I am always in the middle of at least five books. I don’t know how this happens. They lie all over the house. Some of them are eventually abandoned; some are long term projects (I am struggling through the French version of my own book, Code Name Verity, in small segments).

Here are four that I’m very likely to finish because I’m enjoying them so much. I’m also in the middle of a new Michael Grant book which I won’t name because it’s still in manuscript form, but it’s very good and I look forward to seeing it in print.

In no particular order, then:

I came across The Murdstone Trilogy by Mal Peet because it was mentioned in an article some friends were discussing in the Telegraph, “How to write a dystopian YA novel in 10 easy steps.” Saddened by Mal Peet’s recent death, intrigued at the idea of his having written an adult novel, and hugely entertained by the send-up of dystopian fiction in the Telegraph feature, I ordered the book. The Murdstone Trilogy is about the fall, rise and fall of a Young Adult novelist who may or may not share characteristics with the late author. It’s snarky, mean, irreverent, sad and hilarious, and especially...[read on]

About Black Dove, White Raven, from the publisher:

Emilia and Teo’s lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo’s mother died immediately, but Em’s survived, determined to raise Teo according to his late mother’s wishes-in a place where he won’t be discriminated against because of the color of his skin. But in 1930s America, a white woman raising a black adoptive son alongside a white daughter is too often seen as a threat. Seeking a home where her children won’t be held back by ethnicity or gender, Rhoda brings Em and Teo to Ethiopia, and all three fall in love with the beautiful, peaceful country. But that peace is shattered by the threat of war with Italy, and teenage Em and Teo are drawn into the conflict. Will their devotion to their country, its culture and people, and each other be their downfall…or their salvation? In the tradition of her award-winning and bestselling Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein brings us another thrilling and deeply affecting novel that explores the bonds of friendship, the resilience of young pilots, and the strength of the human spirit.

Visit Elizabeth Wein's website and blog.

The Page 69 Test: Black Dove, White Raven.

Writers Read: Elizabeth Wein.

--Marshal Zeringue