Albanian Escape was exciting, quick-paced, and inspiring. After crashing behind enemy lines, this narrative of a group of brave women, written from one surviovor's perspective, was everything an adventure story could be. An unexpected turn of events leads to a challenge, a journey behind enemy lines during World War II. Throughout, the physical strength, courage, disciple and patriotism of the servicewomen remain steady. I loved hearing about the descriptions of covert radio transmissions, the long walks in the dark and the unfamiliar food eaten gratefully by the characters. The story read like a story, yet one knew IT HAD REALLY HAPPENED, because of the threat of Hitler's armies and that there was much at stake if these people were captured. Another angle of the narrative which interested me was the fact that Albania, recently in the news because of the wars in the Balkans and Kosovo, was the poulation the nurses came in contact with. I learned a lot about the way political loyalties were very fragile and unreliable during a war. For example, In the book, there were three main groups of citizens in Albania: those loyal to the Germans, those who wanted political independence from the dictator of Albania at the time, and those who were loyal to the Allies. Therefore, the issue of who was friendly was a complicated one for the Americans. Reading about Ablania, I gained insight into current events in my own world. I recommend this book highly to readers of all ages, especially those who want to learn about what it was like during World War II.
