Tuesday, November 12

Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein

My rating: ★★★

ISBN: 9781423152194
Publisher: Hyperion
Date of publication: May 15, 2012
Age: Grades 9 and up
Genre: Historical Fiction
Themes: Female pilots, WWII, prisoner of war, Gestapo

Awards: Michael L. Printz Honor Book, Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best Young Adult Novel, Golden Kite Honor.


A British plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France leaving Kittyhawk, the pilot, stranded, and Verity, the spy, captured by the Gestapo. Written from their points of view, Verity struggles against torture and cruelty of her captors and writes this story as a confession of the truth. Kittyhawk must write her story for the accident report and the investigation that’s sure to follow. Though they are the best of friends, the war makes them face the greatest of their fears.

In a few words, I would say this novel is beautifully depressing. I was heartbroken by the time I finished it. That being said, in terms of a YA novel, I am skeptical. Its plot jumps/breaks, technical jargon, and narrator rambling can make it tedious. I think this would fit the bill for a more mature reader, and I would recommend it, but I don’t know that it’s for everybody.

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