Scan barcode
A review by katykelly
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
5.0
I saw this in the Carnegie shortlist a few years ago, but decided not to read it - another war story, I thought, probably a love story. Nothing special.
Could eat those words now. Completely spellbound from the first chapter, I've never seen a narration like it. Yes, it's a war story. But it's written as a series of letters / journal entries from a female British spy, forced out of her by her German captors. Each piece of writing is tortured out of her, to gain information on British codes and plans, and while she writes her story and snippets of information for them, she curses them knowing it will all be translated and read back to them, and she will be punished.
A second voice later offers further narration, and the women's stories are absolutely riveting from start to finish. Our spy, Maddie, is vilified by other prisoners for co-operating, and we see through her own words just what the Germans do to her. Her spirit and endurance are incredible though, and there cannot be a reader out there who picks this up and doesn't will for her to make it out of the hellhole she's in.
To write more would risk spoilers, and there is no way I would want to spoil this unbelievably brilliant story for anyone not yet familiar with it. The connections between parts of the story that Wein draws are cleverly done, with turns popping up and making sense of the unfolding war story. The women are strong and worthy role models, their war experiences horrific and hard to forget.
I enjoyed the author's extra notes at the end, and she include a useful bibliography of sources she used to gain information on women in wartime. This could be a very good choice for KS3/4 classes in English and History, and the unusual narration has a lot to be discussed for classes and book groups (teen and adult).
So sorry I didn't read this sooner, I hope to buy a copy for my library shortly. Highly recommended. Age 13 and above, and adults - read this now!
Could eat those words now. Completely spellbound from the first chapter, I've never seen a narration like it. Yes, it's a war story. But it's written as a series of letters / journal entries from a female British spy, forced out of her by her German captors. Each piece of writing is tortured out of her, to gain information on British codes and plans, and while she writes her story and snippets of information for them, she curses them knowing it will all be translated and read back to them, and she will be punished.
A second voice later offers further narration, and the women's stories are absolutely riveting from start to finish. Our spy, Maddie, is vilified by other prisoners for co-operating, and we see through her own words just what the Germans do to her. Her spirit and endurance are incredible though, and there cannot be a reader out there who picks this up and doesn't will for her to make it out of the hellhole she's in.
To write more would risk spoilers, and there is no way I would want to spoil this unbelievably brilliant story for anyone not yet familiar with it. The connections between parts of the story that Wein draws are cleverly done, with turns popping up and making sense of the unfolding war story. The women are strong and worthy role models, their war experiences horrific and hard to forget.
I enjoyed the author's extra notes at the end, and she include a useful bibliography of sources she used to gain information on women in wartime. This could be a very good choice for KS3/4 classes in English and History, and the unusual narration has a lot to be discussed for classes and book groups (teen and adult).
So sorry I didn't read this sooner, I hope to buy a copy for my library shortly. Highly recommended. Age 13 and above, and adults - read this now!