REVIEW: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Release Date: Feb 6, 2012
Format: Hardcover (339 pages)
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Source: Borrowed from the library

The Blurb

Oct. 11th, 1943–A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France.

Its pilot and passenger are best friends.

One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it’s barely begun.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

They’ll get the truth out of her. But it won’t be what they expect.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Harrowing and beautifully written, Code Name Verity is the story of an unforgettable friendship forged in the face of the ultimate evil.

Add it to your shelf: Goodreads • Library Thing • Shelfari
Buy it: Amazon • Chapters/Indigo • Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts

All my life I’ve been very interested in stories about wars. I don’t know why. I was *really* bad in history class, except when it came to WWI and WWII, then I was acing essays and tests like you wouldn’t believe. So, whenever I find a fictional book about WWII, I’m all in.

I really liked how this story was told. The book starts with Verity in custody of the Nazis after her and Maddie’s plane crashed in Occupied France. For the first half of the book, readers are told the history of Maddie and Verity’s friendship from Verity’s side. It was mostly light-hearted – even though Verity has been caught by the Nazis and is being somewhat tortured, she writes as if she’s telling a story rather than just plain facts. The part that I found hardest to understand about this half of the book is why the Nazi officers let her get away with the nonsense she was writing, but it was forgivable because it was so entertaining. I loved Verity and Maddie from the beginning because of the way this part of the story was told.

Halfway through the book, the point of view switches to Maddie, and she writes the story about what has happened since they crashed in Nazi-occupied France. Maddie’s tale is more a tale of the Resistance and what it’s like to be hiding from the Nazis, knowing that her friend has been captured and wanting desperately to rescue her. When it all comes together, it’s completely heartbreaking. I had several ideas of how the story would end, but never did I see this one coming.

If you enjoy reading books about WWII, give this one a try. It’s not as serious as some, because these girls are young and lively, the book feels that way too. It’s a good, light-hearted look at friendship during wartime, and an entertaining read.

My Rating: 4 stars