Code Name Verity (YA/Adult)

Code Name Verity. Elizabeth Wein. 2012. Hyperion. 352 pages.

I am a coward. I wanted to be heroic and I pretended I was. I have always been good at pretending. I spent the first twelve years of my life playing at the Battle of Stirling Bridge with my five big brothers--and even though I am a girl, they let me be William Wallace, who is supposed to be one of our ancestors, because I did the most rousing battle speeches. 

So many people have gushed about reviewed Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. And so many have just LOVED it and found it amazing. I have been meaning to read this one for a few months now, but, I personally found the novel difficult to get into. It just wasn't working for me...at all. I found the framework of the story to be frustrating and confusing. The jumping back and forth between first person and third person, etc. And the main character, the narrator, I found her difficult to connect with. But I really didn't want to return this one to the library unread...again. So I decided to read it no matter what. And after two hundred pages, this one finally started working for me. And by the end, it definitely worked for me. By the end, I could see why people did love it. But it took reading the whole novel--seeing the big picture--for me to be able to appreciate it.

Code Name Verity is about two women serving their country during World War II. One woman is a spy; the other woman is a pilot. One fateful night, the two are together in a plane over France. One woman is captured several days later, and interrogated. This novel is her "cooperation" with the enemy. Through this written account--an account where she both speaks directly to her captors and relates events of the past (these are written in third person omniscient), readers come to know both women...

Read Code Name Verity

• If you are interested in World War II, 
• If you are interested in pilots and spies and secret operations
• If you are interested in reading about strong, brave women

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews