Book talk: It loos like Verity's first mission overseas may also be her last. Her plane was hit, she was forced to parachute out, and she's blown her cover. It didn't take long for her to break under torture at the hands of her Nazi interrogator. Now she has one chance to set the record straight. She's negotiated to get paper and a pen to write her story out, state secrets and all, just for the chance to tell the truth about what happened. This is what she wrote.
Rocks my socks: I found the historical details of the novel intriguing. I had never thought much about what life was like in occupied France: that there were still children going to school alongside resistance workers risking their lives every day. The role of British women in the war and female pilots was fascinating to me as well. Both of the main characters had a lot of spunk and I appreciated that, and enjoyed reading about their friendship and exploits together.
Rocks in my socks: As much as I usually love epistolary novels, the structure of this one just didn't work for me. I was never able to completely lose myself in the story during the first part because I just couldn't accept the premise that this girl who was being tortured by Nazis would be allowed to use up so much paper and ink just to write about the hijinks her and her best friend got up to. I enjoyed the book's second part much more because I found it more believable. The end felt edgy for the sake of being edgy and then the ending went on too long for my tastes. I felt like Wein was trying to soften the blow and it would have been stronger if it had ended earlier.
Every book its reader: I'd give this to readers who like dark historical fiction and strong female leads. Not only is it a book about war, but the main story is told by someone who is the victim of torture so this isn't for the faint hearted. I'd save it for high school and up.
Extras:
There's a good trailer for the novel here
Elizabeth Wein has a website with more information about her books and life.
Source: School library
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: buy it or check it out today!
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