Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

1. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein Two women, one a pilot and one a spy, have found themselves behind enemy lines. The story opens in an interrogation cell in Nazi-occupied France during WWII. Though the plot centers around anguish, pain, horror, and sacrifice, the voices of these characters are so incredibly well done, they force the reader to focus instead on the courage, beauty, and profound friendship that might otherwise be overshadowed. Forced under threat of torture to write a report of her activities on whatever scrap of paper her guards can scrounge up, the spy writes; what she creates however, resembles storytelling much more than objective reporting. “He wanted to know, then, why I was choosing to write about myself in the third person. Do you know, I had not even noticed I was doing that until he asked… I suppose the real answer is that I am just not Queenie anymore… I am someone else now.” (Cont’d in notes)

2. “I have even remembered some electrifying last words which I have been saving to finish with. They are Edith Cavell’s…’Patriotism is not enough– I must have no hatred or bitterness for anyone.’… Can’t say I honestly believe such sanctimonious twaddle. Kiss me, Hardy. The truth is, I like ‘Kiss me, Hardy’ better. Those are fine last words. Nelson meant that when he said it. Edith Cavell was fooling herself. Nelson was being honest. So am I” (pg. 201). If you pick this book up, you will have a hard time putting it down. The voices will grab you, the story will thrill you and break your heart, the plot twists will stun you. You will never forget these characters. Rebekah Westmark