Book: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Pages: 441
I read it on: My Kindle
I read it in: 5 hours (over a few days)
Plot Summary: 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.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, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?
Thoughts: This is an amazing, amazing book! Let's get that out of the way first. I love reading books about the World Wars, I think I have said that before. I think more people should read books about World Wars I and II, just so that they understand the true horror of it and also because in some small way we can bear witness to the pain and suffering that millions of people went through. So, anyway, this book was on my Kindle for a really long time! I kept opening it, reading the first chapter and then moving on to something else.. for no reason, really, except that I was not quite 'feeling' the book back then. However, I opened it up a couple of days ago and resolutely read beyond just the first chapter and really, really enjoyed Code Name Verity.
Things I Liked: Quick list:
- The plot, the premise and the way the narrative unfolded was simply brilliant! This is a smart book and you have to stay a bit sharp to catch what is going on. It is like a well-made puzzle- all the pieces fit in beautifully.. you just have to be patient!
- I just loved, loved, loved Verity's character! She is feisty, brave, smart and totally unflappable. I just loved how she handled her incarceration- her interactions with von Linden (the guy in-charge of interrogating her), Engel (the woman who acted as the translator) and Thibaut (co-interrogator). I just loved how sassy and wonderful she was!
- Maddie is another lovely character. We saw her grow into her own person in the book. She is not one for big, feisty displays, rather she is someone who patiently bides her time to get the right opportunities to do what she is good at doing during the war- flying planes.
- Maddie and Verity's friendship is very heart-warming. It is not the usual overly-sentimental girlie type of friendship but one where the two of them encourage each other and look out for each other, which was refreshing to see.
- The writing is lovely- no complaints there. The book is nicely paced- never a dull moment.
- Supporting characters were also well-sketched out. I particularly liked Jamie, the Craig Castle Irregulars and all the Resistance people in Ormaie, France.
- The book has plenty of glimpses into the daily lives of 'regular' people during the war- the rationing, living in perpetual fear of air raids and pandering to the Nazis, even if you despised them and everything they stood for!
Rating: 5/5
You will enjoy Code Name Verity if you enjoy war stories and feisty female characters. It is a also sharply written book and you need to give it a little time to really start getting into it and enjoying it.
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