Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity

Elizabeth Wein

2001, 298 pgs

Library

Book Summary from Goodreads

I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

My Summary

Code Name Verity defies review.  Everything I want to say about it feels like it would spoil something for other readers.

The book is written as a journal/diary/confession of a British Spy caught in Nazi occupied France.  She writes it to avoid further torture (none of which happens in real time - it's just referenced, but nasty).   The perspective in which she writes the confession (mix of first and third person) did make it difficult for me to really get into immediately, but I appreciated the reasons for the perspective.  Even though I had to adjust to the perspective, I really wanted to know what happened.  I was invested in the outcome from the very beginning.

As the story unfolded I fell in love with the unlikely friendship between Maddie and Queenie.  They were the perfect compliments to each other, but odds are they would never have met without the war.

This novel completely ignores romance which I LOVED.  There’s no dreamy boy to swoon over, but you should read this book anyway.  You will probably cry, but you should read it anyway.  The writing and the story amaze me.

Here was a section of the journal/confession that jumped out at me that doesn’t spoil anything (or does it?)

It’s awful, telling it like this, isn’t it?  As though we didn’t know the ending.  As though it could have another ending.  It’s like watching Romeo drink poison.  Every time you see it you get fooled into thinking his girlfriend might wake up and stop him.  Every single time you see it you want to shout, “You stupid ass, just wait a minute,” and she’ll open her eyes!  “Oi, you, you twat, open your eyes, wake up!  Don’t die this time!”  But they always do.

 

Other Reviews

Books I Done Read - I almost didn't review it cause this review is so awesome

9 out of 10 stars