Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
 |
| Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein |
Code Name Verity is about two young women who make a “sensational team” during World War II. It is a bittersweet tale of friendship and a wonderful salutation to the women’s war efforts. A wonderfully crafted novel, the humour in the narration gives more than a nod to the horrendous ironies of war.
The novel takes the form of two journals. The first journal is narrated by Verity. She has been captured by the Germans in occupied France and her journal is written under the watchful and brutal eye of her German captors. She has agreed to collaborate with them and divulge British military aviation secrets through her story. She writes “I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.” And so she tells the story of an unlikely friendship formed between Maddie (a pilot) and Queenie (an aristocrat) during the war…..
And the rest, well that would be telling!
The reader becomes the sleuth in this novel, always trying to read between and beyond the lines. What is Verity really saying? And of course, how reliable is she as a narrator? As well as a meaningful story, there is also plenty to keep you guessing right up until the end in this novel. The journal entries include lots of dialogue and action as well as personal reflection. Humour, anguish, regret, friendship, cruelty, war, secrets, truth, lies and a good deal about planes. It’s all in there.
Although a fiction, this historical novel also has a bibliography. What a wonderful addition. Not only does it show the amount of research and author’s passion that went into this story, it is also an extended resource for those readers who are more deeply absorbed by the subject matter and the time period of this novel.
The writing style, and perhaps some of the attention to detail, probably make this a read for an older teen and most definitely adults. If this novel had not been marketed as a teen novel, I wouldn’t have known otherwise. I think this will be a hugely popular crossover title.
This must be one of my best reads this year, and I’ll be very surprised if it doesn’t receive book award nominations. I loved it.
Publication details:
Electric Monkey, 2012, London, paperback
This copy: review copy received from Electric Monkey
I need to read this one soon! I feel like I have had it for ages! Lovely review.
ReplyDeleteThanks Viv, yes, read it. It is wonderful.
DeleteI have had this book for ages now and everytime I pick it up something happens and I have to put it down. But now I will have to really just sit and read it, your fine review makes it sound too irresistable.
ReplyDeleteI think you will enjoy it Alex. Hurry up though, I'm interested to hear what you think about it. I think this one is different compared to war type stories I have read for younger readers.
DeleteWow, I hadn't heard of this one before - adding it to my wishlist now, fab review :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jesse! It really is a wonderful read. And quite different in style to any of the YA I have read so far(to be fair, I haven't read as much as you though!). I'd love to hear what you think of it.
DeleteI really enjoyed this book. There were parts I skimmed and parts I did not enjoy as much, but the overall effect of this book and the entire story affected me powerfully. The story is told in two parts and points of view, each from two best friends. One young woman is a pilot and the other's role is much more difficult to determine at first. The setting is the early part of World War II in England.
ReplyDeleteThe story had me from the beginning, I think because the experience detailed is so different than WWII stories told from the point of view of US citizens. WWII stories are not unique in US culture, I think the theme of WWII is likely one of the most favorite themes for fiction, non-fiction, memoirs and movies in the US. We Americans love this time period and love to be entertained by the memory of this war. But our experience was so different than that of the Europeans who lived with the constant bombing and threat day in and day out -- so I found that aspect of it fascinating.
Thank you for your comment, Ceska. It's really interesting to hear what people with different backgrounds or experiences feel when they read a book. And of course, it will also be different for those generations who didn't grow up during WWII.
DeleteI started to read 'Code Name' during one of my 'busy times' and couldn't get into it properly. So I left it to read something else and went back to it. This time, I got past the first couple of chapters and then I couldn't put it down, I loved it. I did think that it would appeal to the older teenager, as it could be slightly confusing otherwise. Very well written, with a different slant on the WW2, one that many would not have known about.
ReplyDelete