Elizabeth Wein is a recreational pilot and the owner of about a thousand maps. Flight inspires her writing for young adults, including her bestselling World War II thriller Code Name Verity and her nonfiction book A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II. Elizabeth lives in Scotland and holds American and British citizenship. She is married to games developer Tim Gatland, and they have two grown children. She invites you to visit her at elizabethwein.com. You can find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 YA Books of All Time list here.
A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. But just one of the girls has a chance at survival. Arrested by the Gestapo, "Verity" is given a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her. Only, it won't be what they expect. A visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival, Code Name Verity shows just how far true friends will go to save each other.
I've really been going back and forth on this one. I'll start with the thing I loved most about this novel. First and foremost, that it's a YA novel about two young women working in the military during WWII. Already, off the bat, that's an incredible premise, and it's for a great reason this book was circulating like crazy inside and outside of classrooms when it first came out. I also remember the craze of it passing hands, and even how after years of having original read it, people would reflect on it being a great book. That is a legacy all authors and all stories hope for.
Some things I was confused about, or couldn't get behind: the structure of the story, first and foremost. I was incredibly confused at the beginning, and for the first twenty pages I wasn't sure if I was going to finish the book—which isn't something I'd ever really considered before. There were a lot of technical terms to start, and the technical and mechanical terms and way of explaining things never went away. While reading, I wasn't sure if I was confused because I missed something, or because I didn't fully understand something. I hate that feeling, and it did hinder my greater understanding of everything else happening in the book.
Secondly, I'm not sure I could totally agree with the decision to have Verity's story first. (If you haven't read this book, and want to, I suggest not reading from here on out, as there will be spoilers!) I was quite lost during the first part of it, as I mentioned, and as I was reading, I found myself more invested in Verity's real-time depictions as a prisoner of war, rather than her third person musings on Maddie. I was also rather shocked at Verity's voice sounding as blasé as it did, considering she was literally being tortured by Nazis. Either way, having her story first: I didn't feel like anything was happening when she wasn't talking to Engel or the Nazis, and then when we get the second part, I felt really unsatisfied where we left things with her when we switched over to Maddie's story. And then for me it was like the process started all over again, in not understanding what was going on, and feeling very lost, until the two girls' storylines converged back together. Learning that in fact Verity hadn't given anything away made me wonder why the first 75% of the story was made up of her missives. It was a very frustrating experience, because this combined with the moments of not understanding made some of the "plot twists" not as twisty or exciting as they could have felt.
So, even though this book wasn't my cup of tea, I do want to leave on a good note. I own the anniversary edition, which opens with a heartfelt note from the author that really puts it all into perspective. While this story is set during wartime, and it does revolve around people's experiences during World War II, this story is first and foremost a story about friendship. Even though the fog of my misunderstanding and frustration, I felt that very clearly, especially during the second half of the novel in Maddie's voice. I will wonder about Maddie's choice and Verity's want of that choice for a long time, knowing it was the right thing to do, and knowing how much love went into making the hardest decision ever. I think this book was and is powerful in its ability to really transmit through the page what a healthy, happy friendship is like, which is something I really wish we saw more of in young adult. So no matter my bones to pick with the structure and the technicalities of it all, I understand why this story will endure, and hope to champion that narrative of friendship in young adult novels to come.
Wein has other historical fiction novels in this series, all of which have recurring characters all birthed from Code Name Verity. To learn more, visit elizabethwein.com. You can find more of my reviews of books on TIME's Top 100 Best YA Books of All Time list here.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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