BOOK REVIEW: CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

CODE NAME VERITY (Audiobook)
Elizabeth Wein
Disney-Hyperion
368 pp.
Ages 14-17

Oct. 11th, 1943-A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance 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.

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 the enemy?

Winner of the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult
A 2013 Michael L. Printz Honor Book
A 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Fiction Honor Book

MY REVIEW: 

From the very opening line, "I am a coward," Wein's masterful tale of two women, one a pilot for the British Airforce during WWII, the other a spy captured by the Nazis, grabbed my attention and my heart and still has not released it. I knew a quarter of the way through that this book was a cut above, something truly remarkable. The story of these two friends, Maddie and Julie, and the risks and sacrifices they make for their country and for each other is simply astounding, heart-wrenching, and unforgettable. More than once, my heart froze and my eyes stung with tears. I haven't loved a story this much since Kathryn Stockett's The Help. And the audio version of Code Name Verity was one of the best narrations I've ever heard. All I can say is READ OR LISTEN TO THIS BOOK!

Yes, you counted right.  I give Code Name Verity 6 STARS!!!

CONTENT RATING:

Profanity:  High

Violence:  High

Sexuality:  Mild