Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Here's what I think now (January 2015, as I'm reworking this project into a website):
I'm honestly not sure why I didn't pick Code Name Verity as my favorite book of 2013. I think about it way more than I think about Seraphina. It's easily the book that stuck with me more. At the time, I think Seraphina blew me away because of its uniqueness in the specific field of dragon literature and I wanted it to be a bigger deal than it was. In hindsight, and as my personal life has changed over the last year, Code Name Verity means more to me now. The story is more incredible and moving, and I recommend this book to more people than I do Seraphina. I also think it's possible that I chose Seraphina and finished my resource before 2013 was actually over, but I'm not sure. It's interesting, anyway, to consider how your perspective changes as you get away from a book and how your immediate reaction for one book might change completely as you think about it more while it might not change at all for another book.
Here's my original review of Code Name Verity from Goodreads.
HOLY CRAP. What a fantastic novel.
Bear with me on this one, because it's hard to explain the awesomeness of this novel without giving anything away.
The story of how "Verity" ended up captured in Nazi-occupied France during World War II unfolds in first person narrative. In order to stop being tortured and hopefully avoid being killed, Verity has agreed to give up all the information she knows about the British War Effort by writing it down. And Verity knows a lot; she's a secret agent for Britain. But that summary really doesn't give you the best idea of what's happening and why. Verity reveals her secrets by telling the story of her life, how she became a spy and why, and, most importantly, her AMAZING friendship with Maddie, a pilot in the British Armed Forces. Seriously, I want to be friends with them. They're absolutely empowering role models for young women, strong and independent, but grounded and logical.
Her story is thoroughly engaging and rather heart wrenching.
And then everything changes. And it becomes absolutely fascinating to look back at this perfectly constructed story. It's even more engaging, which I didn't think was possible, agonizingly heart wrenching, and absolutely beautiful.
Wein obviously did her research. Not that I'm overly familiar with women in the British Armed Forces in World War II, but I found none of this novel unbelievable or unlikely which is a feeling I get too often with historical fiction.
I can't possibly say enough good things about this novel; however, I'd suggest that it be for mature young adults. It's a young woman getting interrogated by Nazis, and while it is not horribly detailed or disgusting, I probably wouldn't hand it to just any teenager. Another fair point is that the main characters in this novel are not teenagers, which is usually a prerequisite for being a YA novel. These are just considerations; Code Name Verity was number one on the Teens' Choice Top Ten for 2013, so obviously teenagers are enjoying it immensely.
And fair warning: This book left me so broken emotionally that I had to go see Frozen afterwards just to get my mind off of it.
I'm honestly not sure why I didn't pick Code Name Verity as my favorite book of 2013. I think about it way more than I think about Seraphina. It's easily the book that stuck with me more. At the time, I think Seraphina blew me away because of its uniqueness in the specific field of dragon literature and I wanted it to be a bigger deal than it was. In hindsight, and as my personal life has changed over the last year, Code Name Verity means more to me now. The story is more incredible and moving, and I recommend this book to more people than I do Seraphina. I also think it's possible that I chose Seraphina and finished my resource before 2013 was actually over, but I'm not sure. It's interesting, anyway, to consider how your perspective changes as you get away from a book and how your immediate reaction for one book might change completely as you think about it more while it might not change at all for another book.
Here's my original review of Code Name Verity from Goodreads.
HOLY CRAP. What a fantastic novel.
Bear with me on this one, because it's hard to explain the awesomeness of this novel without giving anything away.
The story of how "Verity" ended up captured in Nazi-occupied France during World War II unfolds in first person narrative. In order to stop being tortured and hopefully avoid being killed, Verity has agreed to give up all the information she knows about the British War Effort by writing it down. And Verity knows a lot; she's a secret agent for Britain. But that summary really doesn't give you the best idea of what's happening and why. Verity reveals her secrets by telling the story of her life, how she became a spy and why, and, most importantly, her AMAZING friendship with Maddie, a pilot in the British Armed Forces. Seriously, I want to be friends with them. They're absolutely empowering role models for young women, strong and independent, but grounded and logical.
Her story is thoroughly engaging and rather heart wrenching.
And then everything changes. And it becomes absolutely fascinating to look back at this perfectly constructed story. It's even more engaging, which I didn't think was possible, agonizingly heart wrenching, and absolutely beautiful.
Wein obviously did her research. Not that I'm overly familiar with women in the British Armed Forces in World War II, but I found none of this novel unbelievable or unlikely which is a feeling I get too often with historical fiction.
I can't possibly say enough good things about this novel; however, I'd suggest that it be for mature young adults. It's a young woman getting interrogated by Nazis, and while it is not horribly detailed or disgusting, I probably wouldn't hand it to just any teenager. Another fair point is that the main characters in this novel are not teenagers, which is usually a prerequisite for being a YA novel. These are just considerations; Code Name Verity was number one on the Teens' Choice Top Ten for 2013, so obviously teenagers are enjoying it immensely.
And fair warning: This book left me so broken emotionally that I had to go see Frozen afterwards just to get my mind off of it.