'I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.'
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Code Name Verity is a bestselling tale of friendship and courage set against the backdrop of World War Two.
Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive. When a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France, she is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in ‘Verity’s’ own words, as she writes her account for her captors.
Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they’ve ever believed in is put to the test . . .
Elizabeth Wein is a leading voice in young adult historical fiction. Her novel Rose Under Fire was nominated for the Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Costa Award 2014.
Fans of The Book Thief and Carmen Reid's Cross My Heart will love this.
Look out for Elizabeth's other books Black Dove, White Swan and Rose Under Fire.
Elizabeth Wein was born in New York, and grew up in England, Jamaica and Pennsylvania. She is married with two children and now lives in Perth, Scotland.
Elizabeth is a member of the Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Women Pilots. She was awarded the Scottish Aero Club's Watson Cup for best student pilot in 2003 and it was her love of flying that partly inspired the idea for her bestselling, award-winning novel Code Name Verity.
‘A remarkable book’ Daily Mail
`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 *
