Code Name Verity (Code Name Verity, #1) in Crazy Challenge Connection

Jan 18, 2014 Book Concierge rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: survival, historical-fiction, young-adult, england, audio, book-club, library, concierge, strong-women, women-writers

Book on CD performed by Morven Christie & Lucy Gaskell

“Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo in northern France. A secret agent, she was forced to leave her best friend, Maddie (who was the plane’s pilot), in the fuselage of the wrecked aircraft. The Nazis have given her a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. Deprived of sleep, clothes, and food, subject to various tortures, she finally begins to write her “confession.”

This is a young-adult book, a war story, a spy novel, and a s Book on CD performed by Morven Christie & Lucy Gaskell

“Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo in northern France. A secret agent, she was forced to leave her best friend, Maddie (who was the plane’s pilot), in the fuselage of the wrecked aircraft. The Nazis have given her a choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. Deprived of sleep, clothes, and food, subject to various tortures, she finally begins to write her “confession.”

This is a young-adult book, a war story, a spy novel, and a story of an unforgettable friendship. Maddie and Verity take turns narrating. The novel begins being told by Verity as she writes out the information the Gestapo have requested (and then some) on various scraps of paper. In effort to hold off the inevitable as long as possible, Verity embellishes the story with considerable background on her friendship with Maddie, who by a fluke was the pilot ferrying her to France on this fateful mission. She also outlines the ways she is treated by the Nazis. Her daily writings are translated by the Female-Guard-on-Duty Engel and despite her including details of her treatment at the hands of her captors – details that sometimes result in the wrath of the commander – she’s allowed to keep writing.

I was completely captivated by this story. This is our monthly selection for my F2F book group, and I admit I was somewhat hesitant because of the YA tag. But this is a detailed and complex story. There are plenty of surprises along the way; some that made me cheer for Verity, some that left me gasping. War is never romantic, and this book certainly points that out. But it also brings to light the role that many women played in the war. Their courage, tenacity, intelligence and strength were major contributions to the effort, and they should be applauded. And I particularly liked the way it explored a multi-faceted and deep friendship, and how the situations they found themselves in forced them to make difficult decisions because of and/or despite their friendship.

The audio version is narrated by both Morven Christie & Lucy Gaskell. They do a fine job, although it did take me a few moments to realize that the narrator had changed because their voices are relatively similar. Also the intrigue is harder to capture on audio; I was glad I had the text version as well to refer to, especially in the latter sections where certain events are further explained.

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