Code Name Verity (Hardback)
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all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 48 hours | |Short Description for Code Name Verity 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.
Full description- Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
- Published: 15 May 2012
- Format: Hardback 343 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fiction | Adventure | Crime | Historical | Relationships
- ISBN 13: 9781423152194 ISBN 10: 1423152190
- Sales rank: 48,756
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Reviews for Code Name Verity
Fabulous
Previously published on my blog: http://fictionfervor.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/review-code-name-verity-by-elizabeth-wein/
I am not a fan of historical fiction. No, I've never particularly enjoyed the genre. I've always been a fantasy and sci fi girl through and through, but I decided to give Code Name Verity a chance for two reasons: (1) I thought it was about time that I tried something new and (2) this book was so hyped-up and I was curious.
Admittedly, I don't like hyped-up books. I always like rooting for the underdogs, so whenever I see a hyped-up book, I want to read it to prove everyone else wrong. I want to prove that another book--one of the underdogs--is better. Sometimes I do finish the book and think, "So-and-so book was better." And sometimes I finish the book and think, "I was wrong."
Code Name Verity was one of the latter.
The first few pages of this book were a bore. I was looking for an excuse to drop it, but I decided that I'd give it fifty pages before I'd start another book. The narrator--"Verity"--seemed to draw out her words, making her sentences much longer than they had to be. I had trouble deciphering her eloquent language, and I mostly skimmed over the tedious descriptions she provided.
Somewhere in those fifty pages, I realized that the writing was just her style.
Fifty pages along, I got too caught up in the plot to even think about her writing style.
Even though I have never been a fan of history (hey, this A+ student here is a whiz in math and science, all right?), World War II has always been such an interesting topic to me. War is just so horribly fascinating. Not the machinery and aircraft used, no. (I get bored to death, hearing about those.) No, it's the people. The spies. The interrogators. The pilots. The soldiers. They fascinate me, these people who are willing to lay down their lives for a cause they believe in. And the people in this book are just so plausible. They could be one of my friends. And they all have their faults and imperfections, but they also have their good aspects. I loved Verity and Maddie and Jamie. I loved how Verity always took offense when people called her English (she's Scottish), I loved the feeling Maddie had when she was in the air, I loved how understanding Jamie was. These people--HOW ARE THEY SO BELIEVABLE.
And the complexities in this novel! ELIZABETH WEIN, YOU ARE GENIUS. Surprises hitting me AT EVERY TURN, and clues being passed EVER SO SUBTLY. Just absolutely genius. I really wish I could say more on the subject, but there would be simply too many spoilers.
And perhaps the most important aspect: Verity and Maddie's relationship. I have a best friend, you see, who's been with me for eleven years of my life. (Considering that I'm only a teen, that's more than half my life.) And I get it. I really do. The knowing someone like the back of your hand, the emotions behind everything that you do. I get it. It's hard to explain--it really is--but Wein captures it so perfectly.
Code Name Verity was fabulous. It's more than a book about the hardships of war. It's a book about a bond so deep that death can't sever. The name of that bond? Friendship.
Source: ARC/galley received from publisher for review by LindaReview from Esther's Ever After
I have to admit that I struggled with Code Name Verity at first; it was a slow read for me, one that I found difficult to get into but one that with an ending so powerful and unforgettable that it redeemed itself and made my experience completely turnaround!
Although this story is set in World War II, it's really a story about two girls who become best friends and what was most likely the period in their life that had the great impact on them. It's also written in journal format, which is something I've mentioned before that I never seem to take to well as a reader. But the story itself is a beautiful tale that leaves a mark on your heart.
Reasons to Read:
1.Lively, endearing characters:
Maddie and Queenie are two of the most incredible characters I have ever read about; their personalities literally jump off the pages, and they're just fantastic young women to read about. They're so realistic and familiar, that it's hard to believe that they're no more than fiction. Queenie, especially, was one character that I found totally endearing and striking. The choices she makes, the stories she tells... she's one character you WON'T forget soon. And Maddie is equally brave, in her own unique-Maddie way. Gah, I love these two so much!
2.An ending that'll make you go "WHAT?!":
Yeah, it' sone of THOSE endings. I mean, you kind of figure that you know what to expect... but it's still so heartbreaking and momentous and just THERE, and you really don't want it to happen. Yet, it's shocking all on its own. It's a good thing though, I mean, I loved it even though it made me tear up a bit too. It's a good book with feeling is what I'm trying to say, I suppose.
3.An interesing perspective of WW2:
And that ending? I won't spoil anything, but I think it does a noteworthy job (as does the book) of offering us readers a very interesting perspective of World War II, one that we wouldn't often get to see. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen a movie or read a book that deals with female pilots or wireless operatives. But on top of that, Queenie and Maddie aren't overly concerned with the war. They're concerned with doing their jobs properly and of meeting their expectations, but we also get to see all the little ways in which a war like this tears peoples' lives apart. Beautiful and tragic, all at the same time.
But I have to warn you that I struggled with the first half of the book. Queenie was easily my favourite character and I loved what she had to say, but I found the way it was written to be difficult to stick with. As I already mentioned, I'm not one to enjoy reading journal entries - I always find it lacking as a method of narration, because we only get to read what that person is writing down on paper. And it almost feels anti-climatic since everything said is being described after the fact and upon further reflection by an individual. Plus, I found Code Name Verity even more difficult to read as a journal because while Queenie's writing it, she's writing it from the perspective of her friend Maddie. Or, what she thinks Maddie's perspective/story would be and how to best tell it.
People told me to stick with it and keep reading and HOW GLAD AM I THAT I DID JUST THAT. I honestly would have felt like I missed out on one of the books of the year had I not finished this one. But I really enjoy historical fiction and this one is great- right down to the writing style and character voices/slang used. Another fair warning though: there's a lot of talk of airplanes and flying that went way over my head. A lot of it. I think it's more so to set an atmosphere and get into the character's heads but it can drag on to read about.
And I should add that by the time I finishd the book I realized that the journal style was necessary for the set up of the story; I can't fathom any other way that it would've worked as well as it did.
This books is one of the few that gets better after you read it. The way it sinks in, and you can't get it out of your head. It isn't a book that you finish and forget about immediately afterwards.
ARC/e-galley received from Random House Canada for review. by Brenna Staats
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