Friday 18 September 2015

Code Name Verity by: Elizabeth Wein

Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
Published: February 6, 2012 by: Egmont Press
Pages: 441
Rating: 3/5 stars



Code Name Verity was a story about war, women, and how far you would go for a friendship. It is the 1940's, and WWII is in full affect. Maddie has been given a mission to fly her British spy friend, Julie to France. But their journey takes a turn for the worst when their plane crashes in Nazi territory, and Julie is being held captive until she spills all of her secrets on The British War Effort. Meanwhile, Maddie must share what came afterward.

I was sort of torn with this book. I started off getting really into the theme, the characters, and the action, but I got really bored in the middle. I LOVE historical fiction, so it would seem like this book would be perfect for me, but it fell kind of flat :(

There were some really great characteristics to this book. For starters, I loved the alternating point of view's. The first part is told from Julie's point of view, as she talks to Nazi interrogators. The second part is from Maddie's, who shares what happened after the interrogation. I loved how it alternated without getting confusing, and I could really get a glimpse into each character's emotions.

Speaking of the characters, I loved them! Maddie and Julie had gone through so much together, and their friendship was undeniable. I also did actually like the ending! Obviously it was sad how everything turned out, but I understood why it had to happen and I think that Maddie made the right decision. (this sounds so eerie if people haven't read the book.)

WWII to really interests me. I love to learn more about it, and I do think that this book was educational to say the least. Maybe a bit too much. What I mean by this, is that the book had so much information on pilots and spies, but it was all very technical. The information didn't mean much to someone who's never flown a plane before, and it was quite boring. I got so much information on planes that I didn't care for.

The book got pretty boring in the middle. I think it was because there was so much information that I couldn't even retain it. I would've liked a lot more action and less talking about planes.

Overall, this book was ok. I found it kind of boring, but I enjoyed the characters.

Emily @ Paperback Princess

4 comments:

  1. Hmm... the plane talk you mentioned makes me a bit hesitant to pick up the book but I love the sound of the characters. Realistic portrayal of friendship is one of the absolute best things in books, IMO. The way you talked about the ending makes me feel like my heart's gonna be broken by the end haha. Anyhow, it's a good thing that you were able to enjoy it, despite its faults. :)
    Lovely review.

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    1. The friendship in this book was definitely it's strongest point. Thanks Veronika!

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  2. I'm tempted to pick up the book because I also like historical fiction and WW2 is my favourite era to read in but at the same time I don't like a slow moving story haha.

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    1. I'm a history junkie too but to be honest, I didn't find this information that interesting to me:(

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