Black Dove White Raven

by Elizabeth Wein

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.

• ISBN10: 142318310X
• ISBN13: 9781423183105
• Publish Date: 31 March 2015 (first published 26 February 2015)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

The hardest thing for me in connection with the #ShelfLove Challenge is not to buy a book when I’m stressed. I broke in early June. Work was getting me down, none of the free audiobooks from SYNC had grabbed my attention and I needed something to brighten my day one morning as I dreaded going into work. Recalling that Black Dove, White Raven had released, I went ahead and purchased it.

This novel fits snuggly in an area of history I don’t know much about it. Set mainly in Ethiopia in the years leading up to World War II, the lack of known historical context on my part, the narrators and the story itself, left me struggling to connect with Black Dove, White Raven the way I connected with Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire.

The history. The history of Ethiopia is fascinating. A nation that just recently abolished slavery was running on its own calendar (which was several years behind our own) took pride in the fact it was the only African nation to never be colonized. Religion runs deep in the hills—literally and figuratively. This is a history not explored in American classrooms. I don’t recall any of my history classes talking much about the African front in the years leading up to WII or the role those battles played in the war as a whole. Needless to say, I learned a lot and I spent some time staring at Google maps trying to track Emilia’s and Teo’s movements across the desert.

While the history was fascinating and I was thankful Wein shined a light on Ethiopia, it wasn’t completely engaging. I didn’t venture beyond Google maps to Wikipedia, say, to learn more. I stayed within the confines of the book just waiting to finish.

The narrators. I listened to Code Name Verity. I listened to Rose Under Fire. I tried to read Black Dove, White Raven and failed. (Yes, did try to avoid buying the book! I checked it out from the library and returned it quickly.) I was hoping for a hat trick in audiobooks when my will broke and I bought Black Dove, White Raven.

Wein uses letters, diary entries and flight logs to convey Emilia and Teo’s story. The story is told from first person point of view which in her previous two books packed a lot of emotional punch. The narration of Black Dove, White Raven lacked emotion. It was as if the narrators did not identify with the characters and their struggles. They seemed above the characters. Because of this, I found it difficult to connect with Emilia and Teo.

The story. I love Wein’s use of letters, diary entries and flight logs to share Emilia and Teo’s story. I was confused most by the insertion of “The Adventures of Black Dove and White Raven,” a series of tales co-written by the characters. I believe these adventures were meant to parallel the actual adventures of Emilia and Teo. However, they seemed oddly placed within the main narrative and I failed every time to see how they related to the narrative at large. If I had been reading the book, I probably would have skipped over these sections.

The summary. Is Black Dove, White Raven a total thumbs down? Not exactly. I finished the book. My knowledge of world history has been filled in a bit. That’s a plus.

It does get a mostly thumbs down though. I can’t get past my lack of connection with Teo and Emilia. Perhaps I was expecting too much after two emotional fire bombs from Wein’s previous works. While I want to make sure I get Code Name Verity and Rose Under Fire into my physical book collection, I won’t be rushing to add Black Dove, White Raven.


This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews

[Amber]

It seems like I say this with every book I read, but my review for Black Dove, White Raven was a difficult one to write. I had a lot of trouble separating my love for Wein’s previous books and my feelings for this one, so I think I have talked a load of nonsense. Anyway, read on.


So, I liked this one. Black Dove, White Raven was okay. Just okay. In comparison to Code Name Verity, which I have placed on a throne made of dismembered aeroplanes, it wasn’t great. But when I took a step back and really thought about it, I actually quite liked it. But it wasn’t up to Wein’s usual standard, unfortunately.

The main thing I felt Black Dove, White Raven was missing was the bond of friendship. Code Name Verity really set the standard for amazing friendships and blurred lines, and Rose Under Fire had a wonderful bond between a couple of characters. Black Dove, White Raven, however, missed the mark entirely. Yes, it was more about family than the other two books, but I didn’t feel a connection between Teo and Em at all. Which was weird, because they were the titular characters and were apparently this awesome team. But I didn’t feel anything for them at all when they were together.

It must be said though that separately these two characters were great. Em’s point of view, especially with her fear of flying, was wonderful to read, and I loved being inside Teo’s head as he first discovered his homeland, and then later as the war broke out.

I adore historical fiction so the setting was my favourite thing about this book. While I think Wein excels more when it comes to characters than describing the setting, I love that Black Dove, White Raven was set at a time in history that is rarely talked about. The Italo-Ethiopian war had a huge impact on what happened with Hitler and WWII, and yet it is barely talked about because it didn’t happen in Europe or in the USA. I really love the fact that Elizabeth Wein decided to explore those couple of years and the war itself some more.

All that said, I found Black Dove, White Raven to be an incredibly slow read. Yes, I was in a reading slump for the most part, and that undoubtedly had an impact on how much I enjoyed the book, but it still didn’t grip me. Mostly because the bond between friends wasn’t there, and it was unable to carry the story. The first half of the book is pretty much a set-up, and then the final 80% seems very rushed.

Anyway, I did enjoy the book, but I thought it could have been improved upon. I really liked the characters as individuals but their relationship was missing that spark for me. I loved all of the historical parts (which is a weird thing to say since it’s an historical fiction novel, I know) because, hello, history buff here. I would recommend picking it up, even though it’s a terrible shame that it doesn’t live up to the awesome that is Code Name Verity, or even Rose Under Fire.