{Review} Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Number of Pgs.: 339

Publication date: February 6, 2012

Publisher: Elizabeth Wein
Genre: Historical Fiction

How I got the copy: library

Rating: 4 stars

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.

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9/10

Setting: 9/10

Pacing: 4/10

Style: 7/10

Cover: I like this cover better than the other one. It portrays the harshness of the book. I love the writing in the background too.

38+50=88(4 Stars)

I needed to write this review before I moved on to another book because I wasn't ready to let it go yet. It's one of those books that just stays with you for awhile. When I first started reading I didn't think I was going to finish it. It's so slow paced for the first 100 pages and It's all about planes in WWII which frankly--I have no interest in. But the narrator's voice kept me interested enough to keep going (that and everyone has raved that it's such a great book). I'm so glad I kept with it because after the first surprise twist in the plot the pacing picks up. After that there were a few more twists that slapped me in the face. I never saw them coming...and I'm usually pretty good at guessing plots.

The main character that narrates the first half of the book was witty, brave, strong, etc. She's facing an inevitable death and yet she still fights back against the Nazis who have tortured her. If you like Katniss you'll love this girl. Maddie, her friend, was a great character as well. I loved their relationship because it showed how a friendship could bring out the best in people. Maddie was always the quieter/scareder one, but she becomes strong because of this friendship and her love for her friend. I loved that Maddie was a pilot even though that wasn't common in those times.

I'm new to the Historical Fiction genre. The ones I've read have taken place in much older times so it was cool to read about a period that wasn't too long ago..a time when our grandparents and their parents have lived in. It made it seem more real. It's one of those books that when you're having a bad day thinking your life sucks...it's a reality check. Those people dealing with the war went through a lot harder times. And it makes me wonder what people are dealing with during the current war while I'm over here complaining about my health problems that aren't looking so bad right about now. I love books that can make you think like that. Those are books that will resonate with us forever. If you're looking for a more dark serious read with a few laugh out loud moments go pick this up.

“I am no longer afraid of getting old. Indeed I can't believe I ever said anything so stupid. So childish. So offensive and arrogant.
But mainly, so very, very stupid. I desperately want to grow old.”
― Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity