Code Name Verity

Wein, Elizabeth

ISBN 10: 1743164904 ISBN 13: 9781743164907

Publisher: Bolinda Audio, 2013

Oct. 11, 1943A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France.Its pilot and passenger are best friends.One of the girls has a shot at survival. The other has lost the game before it’s barely begun.When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she’s sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.They’ll get the truth out of her. But it won’t be what they expect.As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure, and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?Harrowing and beautifully written, Code Name Verity is the story of an unforgettable friendship forged in the face of the ultimate evil.

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Review

"The word crossover appears many times on publisher information sheets, but this is the real deal. An incredibly assured debut novel, full of convincing detail, heart-stopping emotion and tension. I have high hopes for Code Name Verity." (The Bookseller)

Breaking away from Arthurian legends (The Winter Prince, 1993, etc.), Wein delivers a heartbreaking tale of friendship during World War II. In a cell in Nazi-occupied France, a young woman writes. Like Scheherezade, to whom she is compared by the SS officer in charge of her case, she dribbles out information—“everything I can remember about the British War Effort”—in exchange for time and a reprieve from torture. But her story is more than a listing of wireless codes or aircraft types. Instead, she describes her friendship with Maddie, the pilot who flew them to France, as well as the real details of the British War Effort: the breaking down of class barriers, the opportunities, the fears and victories not only of war but of daily life. She also describes, almost casually, her unbearable current situation and the SS officer who holds her life in his hands and his beleaguered female associate, who translates the narrative each day. Through the layers of story, characters (including the Nazis) spring to life. And as the epigraph makes clear, there is more to this tale than is immediately apparent. The twists will lead readers to finish the last page and turn back to the beginning to see how the pieces slot perfectly, unexpectedly into place. A carefully researched, precisely written tour de force; unforgettable and wrenching. (Kirkus Reviews)

"To reveal almost anything about the way events in CODE NAME VERITY unfold would spoil the book’s many twists and turns and revelations. It all begins with Maddie, a young pilot, and Queenie, who are both part of the British war effort during WWII. The audiobook is its own revelation—narrators Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell bring Queenie and Maddie to vibrant life, and listeners will fall in love with them from the start. Gaskell and especially Christie perform (and even sing in) a variety of English and Scottish accents as well as flawless French and German. More than that, they so fully inhabit the characters that the most harrowing moments, so intimate and immediate on audio, are nearly unbearable. It's an extraordinary book, made even more extraordinary by their truly spellbinding narration." (AudioFile Magazine)

Review

‘It's a compelling, uncompromising read which makes few concessions to the age group it's written for – either in subject matter or narrative technique. The bits about flight and women in the war are well researched and the terrifying, but exciting, atmosphere is good.’

( The Independant)

‘This is a remarkable book, which had me horrified and totally gripped at the same time, and although it is billed as a Young Adult title, don’t be put off - it is a very grown-up story.’

( The Daily Mail)

‘. . . a rare young adult novel entirely about female power and female friendship. . .’

( New York Times)

‘[It] does more than stick with me. It haunts me. I just can’t recommend it enough.’

(Maggie Stiefvater, bestselling author of Shiver)

‘This is a rich and rewarding adventure story with multi-layered heroines and complicated emotions. All 450 pages really do fly by. Expect to see Wein’s name in the running for the Older Readers Category of the Scottish Children’s Book Awards next year.'

( The Scotsman)

‘If you want an original read that will challenge your perceptions about truth, lies, bravery and deception, this is one for you.’

( Sugarscape)

‘. . . passionate writing with an utterly compelling story.’

(Manda Scot, Chair of the Historical Writers’ Association)

‘. . . full of convincing detail, heart-stopping emotion and tension.’

( The Bookseller)

‘It has been a while since I was so captivated by a character . . . Code Name Verity is one of those rare things: an exciting – and affecting – female adventure story.’

( The Guardian)

‘[a] tale of espionage, torture and female derring-do.’

( The Times)

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