The back cover of ‘Code Name Verity’ includes the unsettling recommendation that it made a reader feel like their heart, 'has been torn out and stomped on a million times'. I think that's unnecessarily hyperbolic, but will concede that it’s a powerful and moving book. The story is set in 1943 and revolves around two young women who end up crash landing in occupied France. Actually, the blurb is unusually good at setting the scene without giving away any of the plot, which I am afraid of doing, as this is a story that a clumsy review could easily ruin. Although I found the emotion of the narrative very well done, it was the plot twists that really impressed me. I also loved that it centred on two women, of course, and that they were so vividly characterised. Once you get beyond the first twenty or so pages, I defy anyone to read this novel slowly. The reader is gripped with fear as to what will happen and an atmosphere of dread in Nazi-occupied France looms over events. All-in-all, an excellent WWII thriller with a great characters and a good deal of heart. ( )

A unique WWII story about two young women fighting for the Allies. I've read countless WWII stories, but never one quite like this. Wein imagines a deep friendship between a pilot (Maddie) and a spy (Julie). The story is told in two parts -- first from Julie's point of view and then from Maddie's. The book is heartbreaking -- a timely reminder of the evils of Nazism and the lengths to which people will go for the good of humankind.

I initially had trouble getting into the book, and found it somewhat confusing. I'd advise giving it time and sticking with the story. You will not be disappointed. While the book was marketed as YA, the writing is mature and interesting to adult readers. ( )

I've really wanted to review a few recent books I've read, but it's been a while! Maybe I'll come back and edit this later if I manage to actually put my thoughts together, but for now: good book! Really good book! While I was reading I was really drawn in to the characters, desperate to find out what happened to them, and a few times surprised and delighted by little twists in the narrative that made me realise that something completely different to what I'd been expecting was, in fact, being constructed. ( )

Excellent read. The book starts with the written confessions of a captured Scottish operative whose blabbing secrets to the Germans. Right off the bat I'm thinking "I do not like this girl". But that ends quickly as the plot twists pile up. An excellent reminder of what lengths we can go to for those we love. This is an excellent story and a must read. ( )

The first in a series about child spies! The POV switches from first to third person, and is the confessions of an unreliable narrator under Nazi torture. The writing is clever and effective.

very well constructed and exciting. I loved this book and had a very hard time putting It down to attend to my life. the author did a surprise or two and created am emotional, beautiful story. ( )

I blubbered and sobbed my way through the last of this. I'm completely gormless. Kiss me, Hardy! Ugh. I'm going to go to back to crying now and I'll try to write a review later.

Notes to self:
-Anne Frank, Maddie comparison
-Atonement comparison
-Book Thief comparison (which is better? can I choose?)
-want to listen to audiobook
-I hate Nazis
( )

THIS IS VERY GOOD. Go find a copy people. *goes back to reading*

I'm doing this from the cellphone so consider this A fly-by review. (pun intended)

This was an excellent read. Even thoughthis is fiction, it is based upon real events and lives; something which definately shines through in the telling - from both perspectives. The author gives a great feel for the era, the situations the characters find themselves in, the internal AND external conflicts, as well as some suprises about what is going on that I refuse to spoil by mentioning here. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end. It may be one of the best I've ever read.

The "resolution / ending" is not what you'd expect either. It is one of the few times I've been caught off guard and didn't expect it. I do not think that the phrase "Kiss me quick, Hardy!" will ever be the same again.

4.7 stars and it enters the list for my favorite reads for the year. ( )

Heartbreaking! And beautiful. You'll laugh *and* cry over this WWII tale ( )

Incredible! Loved this book so much! I enjoyed how it was broken into two parts so that you followed both our heroines as they told the story of their friendship, journey and yes heartbreak. War is a terrible thing and causes you to do things you never thought you'd do, see things that you prayed to never see. The author did a fantastic job of weaving both the good and the bad, the hard and the ugly with the moments of beauty and humanity that encompasses that time period. A riveting read and I am very grateful to LibraryThing for the opportunity to receive and read this book. ( )

It was enjoyable but there were some things I did not really enjoy. At some points it dragged on for me but the story did pick up.
Even though the characters were not real people, they did feel like it though, the author's knowledge on flying brought a great view into that world. Overall, the book was enjoyable and I can see why many people loved it! ( )

Queenie and Maddie are best friends who meet during WWII, Maddie a pilot and Queenie a secret agent. The book is written in two sections, the first through confessions by Queenie while in captivity and the second by Maddie in her journal.

A bit of a surprise, I thought I would like this book a lot more than I did. I had a hard time following along initially and once I managed to work through what was happening, I found myself a bit uninterested.

Luckily the second part of this story does pick up and I did enjoy this section better, though it felt too little too late. ( )

Even by the point that I wasn't feeling female spies in the world wars any more, I still really enjoyed this. What stuck with me were the strong and nuanced female characters and their deep friendship. ( )

Yes, this is another one of those books about brave women operating during World War II. However, I think there are lots of stories about that period of (relatively) recent history still to be told. Although this book is not based upon real persons, real women who carried out the jobs of the two main characters did exist. Sometimes you really can't make this stuff up.

The book starts off with the memoir of Special Operations officer Julia Beaufort-Stuart written while she was held in prison by the Nazis. Julia, usually shortened to Julie, and sometimes called Queenie, sometimes Eva Seiler and code-named Verity, was Scottish (never, never call her English) from an upper class family. She had studied at a Swiss private school before the war and thus was fluent in German and French. Because of these qualities and her training she was flown to France to head up a Resistance group aimed at destroying the Nazi headquarters where she is being held prisoner. She was tortured and gave up wireless codes for the equipment that was found in the plane that crashed just after she parachuted out of it. In return for getting her clothes back she has promised to write down all the war information that she knows. Admittedly, she really doesn't know very much but she keeps writing what is essentially the story of meeting her best friend and the pilot of the plane, Maddie. Maddie grew up in Manchester and was always fascinated by engines because her grandfather operated a motorcycle shop. When a female pilot had to make an emergency landing near where she and a friend were picnicking, she became fascinated with flying. With the assistance of the pilot she helped she soon learned to fly and had enough hours to get her pilot's licence. When war broke out she wanted to fly but instead was put to work as a radar operator in a RAF field. Julie was working at the same field as a wireless operator. A lost German pilot had to be convinced their field was in France so Julie was brought into the radar room to talk him into landing. Maddie told her what to say and Julie put it into German. Soon they were fast friends and spending what little free time they had together. Julie and Maddie were soon on to other duties but occasionally their paths crossed and they cemented their close relationship. Maddie met Julie's brother, James, a RAF pilot who crashed into the North Sea and lost extremities to the frostbite he endured before he was picked up. The second half of the book is from Maddie's point of view. She fills in what happened after her plane crashed in what is her diary written at the time. I promise you there is lots to tell.

This book was initially published in 2012 by Penguin Teen. Due to the reception it has received since then Penguin reissued it in 2022. I was actually astonished that this book was aimed at teenagers because the writing doesn't pull any punches. On reflection, I think that is probably a good thing. Today's teenagers are substantially different that I was in terms of what they have been exposed to. They probably wouldn't be impressed by a book that tried to sugarcoat events. ( )

I was so looking forward to this. Unfortunately, I didn't like it as much as I'd hoped. The first part, Verity's version of Maddie's life, was boring. I just found it very dry. It got better in the second part when Maddie was telling her own story. I found it much more interesting and eventful.

The tone of the narrative in this historical fiction about two women during WW2 jarred on me, particularly in the first half. The "poor cowardly me" and recollections about fairly irrelevant (at least to the Nazis) history of her friend didn't mix well with the descriptions of the horrors of the prison & the tortures seen and feared.

Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell did a fine job with the narration, but this book just wasn't for me. ( )

Although it took me a bit to get into this book, once I got used to the style of storytelling I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed that the story was told by two friends that provided different perspectives. I appreciate that the author created two strong female characters, event though they are very different people they formed a strong friendship with mutual respect.

I really enjoyed reading this book and am looking forward to reading other books by Elizabeth Wein. ( )

At first I was skeptical about this book and how it's written in the form of reports and letter but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was hard to put it down and I'd almost instantly pick it back up again when I did.
It was beautiful to see the friendship growing between the two girls and how such traumatic events can bring people closer for the basic comfort of knowing they're not suffering alone. Maddie and Queenie were an unlikely pair but I feel it's what made their friendship that much more enjoyable to read.
I really liked how the second part of the book came full circle and started to explain what was happening in the first half with Queenie. Some things I didn't even pick up on until Maddie's side of the story came through to explain how everything came together.

A powerful novel about friendship and loyalty. It was heart-wrenchingly difficult to read at some parts, but is well-written. I had a bit of trouble at first until I figured out the characters' perspectives but when I did, everything coalesced for me. There were some twists and turns and I wish I'd paid a bit more attention to some of the seemingly random events described as they came into play towards the end. There is a 'note' on the cover that says 'Includes a bonus short story...'. The short story seems more like an epilogue to me. I liked it regardless. ( )

It took a little while for me to get into this one, a combination of my mood at the time, the jargon, and the method of storytelling (a written confession from one of the characters) but this gradually grabbed my attention and didn’t let go.

By the end I felt like I knew one of the girls better than the other, I do wish that girl’s portion of the story had focused on her a little more, but even with wanting to know her even better, I still became so invested in both young women, I loved their bravery, their intelligence, their trailblazing and most of all their friendship.

You very much experience the level of research that went into crafting this story, there’s such an impressive amount of historical detail, yet other than as mentioned needing a moment to get accustomed to the bits of jargon, the detail enhanced everything, transported you through time and place, it did not bog things down, once I hit the second half this was a true page-turner, and as my occasional tears would attest, the author never neglected emotion in favor of showing off her knowledge, she wove the two together beautifully.

If you’re fortunate enough to grab the anniversary edition of Code Name Verity, it includes some great insight from Elizabeth Wein as well as a moving catch up with some of the Verity characters via a short epistolary story.

I received this book though a giveaway. ( )

I liked this book because it took unexpected directions and the characters did unexpected things. Not everything is as it appears. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the genre. WWII books, women in wartime, aviation, espionage, any of the genres.

...Recommend it to any adult. There seem to be rumours about its being a young-adult book. I can't see it myself. Although most of the physical torture takes place offscreen, it's still pretty intense.

There will be tears and laughter. I really liked this book. ( )

Really good YA WWII set book. The audio narration was excellent. ( )

"Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein is a captivating novel that takes place during World War II. The story follows the unlikely friendship between two women who find themselves working together as a spy and a pilot. Wein's character development is superb, and the emotional depth of their experiences is palpable.

The book explores the themes of friendship, loyalty, and sacrifice, and shows the devastating toll that war takes on individuals and relationships. The writing style is engaging and descriptive, and the plot flows seamlessly. The suspenseful plot twists keep the reader engaged until the very end.

Overall, "Code Name Verity" is an excellent choice for fans of historical fiction and those interested in the human experience during war. The book is a memorable and emotional journey that will leave a lasting impression.

I won this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers and received it on 31 March 2023.

DISCLAIMERS:
- I'm an adult who also enjoys reading YA and tries to read and critique it in the spirit it was intended.
- I know this work is part of a series, but I'll be reading this book first regardless.

War stories generally aren't my thing, but I was pleasantly surprised by CODE NAME VERITY. There was enough detail to make the story rich and engaging without weighing down the story, and the focus was definitely on the bond between Maddie and Julie, even when it wasn't obviously so. The horrors of war were shown on the small scale, which I think makes it even more effective. I often complain that there aren't enough books (especially in YA) that focus on the strength and importance of friendship, and CODE NAME VERITY is a wonderful example of the power of friendship in even the most dire of circumstances. I'll definitely be looking for some of the books which connect with this one. ( )

Sigh. This was my mistake.

I really don't enjoy WWII fiction. I thought this might be better because SO many people enjoyed it.



I slogged through this. Every description of a plane or ammunition was like wading through mud to me. The story always felt just about to get going and then it would just stall out for ages. Then all of a sudden Verity is killed and then there are 100 MORE pages.

Ugh. I just hated it. So sorry. I never should have read it anyway.

( )