YA Lit Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In 1943, during the dark days World War II, a British spy plane is forced to make an emergency landing in Nazi-occupied France, its pilot and single passenger stranded on enemy soil with little hope for rescue. That these two managed to survive such a dangerous foray into enemy territory is enough to call them brave men indeed, but to do so might be inaccurate: the two agents conducting this critical spy mission into hostile territory were, in fact, women. Code Name Verity tells the story of how these two best friends became players in a covert operation that could turn the tide of the entire war and what happens when they find themselves in a situation that will test their honor, their courage, and their friendship.


Code Name Verity is a twisty mind-bending book that sucks you in and then proceeds to surprise you again and again, a gorgeous soul-grabber of a novel. Reading this wrecked my brain and my heart. The history-lover in me cheers, the feminist in me dances, and the part of me that adores a piece of well-crafted writing is just astounded. I simply love clever, intelligent writing like this that doesn't lose its beating heart underneath the brain. I found myself flipping back and forth between the pages feverishly to find clues that I had missed

Anyone who likes exciting, action-packed stories will like this book, but especially people who love historical fiction or stories about war, airplanes and their pilots, or espionage.

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