Reviews all seem to agree that the less said about this book, the better. That is, the less you know going in, the more effective this moving, intricate and evocative plot will be for you. If that's all you need to hear from me, good. Read this if you haven't already. If you'd like a few more non-specific specifics read on.

Firstly, this story is brilliantly paced. There was a point where I thought, "it is over. There is no more story left. What could possibly happen next?" and really it was just shy of the end of the first act. Then, another big moment absolutely steam-rolled my emotions, and there was still about 20% of the book left. It was very good about keeping me off balance.

And on the topic of off balance: I had to switch between wanting to absolutely plow through the story and needing to take breaks to get my feels in order. There were a lot of details, especially in the first half of the story, and at times I felt tempted to skip over the description of such and such plan or such and such airfield, just to be one step closer to knowing what was happening. DON'T. Temper yourself, pay attention, read and know that every little detail counts.

I loved the characters so much, and I loved their friendship and it made it all the more emotionally compelling that we got to fall in love with their friendship at THIS point in their story.

Truly a great read and one that will stay with me in the many days and weeks to come.