Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Big Reads: Code Name Verity




I have a thing for World War II era novels. If fact, my two favorite books ever are WWII novels - Life After Life and The Power of One. Nothing will slay you quite like Maus or Night. And I've read a few more WWII novels this year: All The Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Code Name Verity.

I'm going to try (in vain) to do this book justice without giving away too much of the plot, because there were some pretty surprising moments that you really need to experience first-hand.

Code Name Verity is a Young Adult novels that tells the story of a British spy plane that goes down over Nazi occupied France and the two best friends that occupied it: Verity and Maddie, members of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Maddie is a pilot and Verity is a spy. After the crash Verity is captured by the Gestapo and is given the chance to reveal her mission or be executed. The story is told through her written confession (at first.)

This is a war novel, so there's plenty of violence and fear and torture and the occasional good guy(gal) and heroic act. But it was altogether unlike anything I've ever read before. The girls, Maddie and Verity, were so real. Everything about this book felt real - the Nazis, the Resistance, the setting, the plot, the major characters, the minor characters, what they felt, what they experienced, how they ended up where they are.

This novel will gut you, then make you laugh mere sentences later. If you haven't read it: Read it. Read it read it read it. Then come back and let me know what you think. If you have read it, I would love to know your thoughts. Let me know below.

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5 comments:

  1. I too love WWII novels, and Code Name Verity is one of my favorite books period. I'll definitely have to check out Life After Life and The Power of One!

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    1. If you love Code Name Verity, I think you'll really love Life After Life too. I'd love to know what you think once you've read it. :-)

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  2. I have heard of Code Name Verity but need to add it to my TBR list. I read All the Light and The Nightingale this year, plus lots of WWII novels and memoirs last year so I am a bit burnt out on the genre but will have to read this one once I am ready to tackle another one! I really like that time period and seeing how different ppl from different circumstances were affected by the war. Have you read any good novels during WWI? I would like to branch out to that eventually.

    Here are my July reads: http://elle-alice.blogspot.ca/2016/07/july-book-reviews.html

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    1. I can definitely understand needing to take a break since WWII novels tend to be pretty depressing. I think the only WWI novel I've read is All Quiet on the Western Front. I'll be checking out your blog - it looks like you read a ton of books in July! I can usually only get through about 4 a month. Thanks for commenting and happy reading!

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