Wein, Elizabeth - Code Name Verity - Informal Buddy Read - Start Date November 5, 2014

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

@Cynthia and RebeccaS

Wait...what?! She is underlining sections? whoa. I wish I had known that! (One of the downsides of audio I suppose). I think tha must be some kind of code then. Maybe for VL or as a "just in case" the notes are found in the future? No wonder she is writing a story, rather than just dot point facts. I'm picking up a paperback copy of the book from the library today ; I can't wait to see what she underlines

I agree about that scene RebeccaS. It was lovely. I like how the author is able to interweave these nice parts into a pretty ugly scene

@Kristie - yes I have the free audio, I just sync it to my iphone. Then I can use headphones, or when in my car, I use the bluetooth to play the audiobook from my phone through the car speakers

[Amanda]

I want to read this with you all! This is one of my all-time favorite books and one I recommend to everyone I can :). It was recommended to me by Ashley Marie.

I'm first on the waiting list for my library. Story of my life. *sigh*

[Sophie, The other one]

I'm just about to start this - going to have to go back through everyone's comments once I've got going!

[Erin]

page 107 - I found it amusing that since Verity has said she's making up the proper nouns that she used Tom, Dick, and Harry together in one paragraph

[Kristie]

@Kaora - I'm only about 15% in now, so not very far!

@Cynthia - I had only read (listened to) about 5% when I wrote that. I picked up on the same thing you did. I find it interesting that she says she's an actress and she's lying about names, etc. There was one of those comments early on that made me think that she might really be Maddie. Plus, how would she know that much detail, if it wasn't her story?! Oh, and if she's using fake names in her story, then it would make even more sense! I completely agree that she is reliable in her unreliability.

Re: underlining - I was thinking about it and thought that maybe it was meant for anyone that finds the story later? So they'd know why she told or how much was truth vs lies? I also thought she knows code, so maybe it's code for someone inside....Queenie speaks German. Maybe she's a double agent kind of thing???

@Karen - How do you sync it to your phone?? Do you just download it from the site there? What app do you use? It would be so convenient if I did it that way! You can message me, if that's easier.

[Kristie]

Erin wrote: "page 107 - I found it amusing that since Verity has said she's making up the proper nouns that she used Tom, Dick, and Harry together in one paragraph"

I didn't even notice the names in the paragraph. That's too funny!

[Rebecca]

Ahh I didn't even pick up on that! I love how she use Peter Pan names for her fellow British officers.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Page 262
Starts Ornaie 28.XI.43 JB-S

(view spoiler)[
Wow. Eva Seiler. This is a turning point in the book, as although I had guessed she wasn't what she seemed, I find myself now having less empathy for her, as aren't the things that have been done to her things she did to others? There must be a reason why she is admitting to this. I would've thought it would make them more likely to kill her, she obviously thinks it is the opposite.
And the French Girl being killed, Marie. Again she has underlined words. Why didn't they just kill "Queenie" too?
(hide spoiler)]
I'm forcing myself to slow down so that I finish after the start of Tower Teams, but it is difficult! I want to know the answers! :o

[Rebecca]

I'm having the same problem Karen!!

So I've just started Ormaie 25 and some things are possibly revealed!

(view spoiler)[ When she tells the French girl to lie to the Nazis...does this mean that she herself is lying? This is such a tense scene, maybe the worst yet. (hide spoiler)]

Okay back to reading.

[Cynthia]

I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the chapter titles in Part I are, I believe, a file name.

Oramie 28.XI.43 JB-S for example:

Oramie is the location of the prison she is being held in. Oramie, France

The next part took me longer, because we write dates differently in the U.S.
28.XI.43 is November 28, 1943

I'm thinking that JB-S is initials. Or a job designation, but I don't know of a job JB-S. Maybe JB are her initials, and 'S' is for spy? It's a stretch, I know!

So glad I have several books in progress, or this one would have me up all night finishing it!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Yes Cynthia, you are right it is the date (on the audio it is said as "28 November, 43")
I'm not sure about the JBS. I like your guess though!

@RebeccaS ; yes that was an intense scene!!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

@Kristie
One way is to download the Overdrive app onto your phone and then just download the books straight to the app. Because I download all the audibooksync files over the NH summer (and I don't have enough room on my phone to store them all), I use the Overdrive program on my computer to download the files from audiobooksync.
That saves the audio files into a folder on my computer.
Then in itunes, I just add that folder to my itunes library.
I would suggest once they are in itunes, if they haven't already defulated to an audiobook, to change it to that as then it will retain the playback position when you listen to it on your phone. To do that, just highlight the files in itunes, right click to "get Info", on the options tab, change the "media kind" to audiobook and make sure "remember playback position" box is checked.
Now the files will all show in the Books folders in your itunes library
When you next sync, they will be on your iphone

[Kristie]

Man....now the spoilers have started and I'm behind, so I can't peek yet!

[Snowtulip]

Karen wrote: "@Cynthia and RebeccaS

Wait...what?! She is underlining sections? whoa. I wish I had known that! (One of the downsides of audio I suppose). I think tha must be some kind of code then. Maybe for VL ..."

Great idea on borrowing the book to accompany audio, I'll be copying your method ;)

[Snowtulip]

Kristie wrote: "Man....now the spoilers have started and I'm behind, so I can't peek yet!



"

I'm with you, I have one eye open and one eye closed reading through the thread :D

[Kristie]

I think I'm going to try to pick up the book to follow along with too. Leave it to Karen to come up with the good idea! ;)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

lol!
At least there are spoiler tags so you can only blame yourself if you peek ;)

The problem with picking up the book is that I'm tempted to just race through and read the rest. But I'm resisting!
must.not.finish.until.after.8pm.tomorrow

[Kristie]

Hahaha...no worries about that for me! Plus, I need to wait until 8am the day after tomorrow!!

[Sarah]

Cynthia wrote: "I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but the chapter titles in Part I are, I believe, a file name.

Oramie 28.XI.43 JB-S for example:

Oramie is the location of the prison she is being hel..."

Thanks for some clarification there - the whole time I have been like " Well WTF does this mumbo jumbo mean."

[Cynthia]

hahaha I don't want to say how long it took me to make sense of it. I think she mentioned something about her grandmother being from Ormaie.

Otherwise I'd never have caught it. I never get the geography questions on Jeopardy.

[Sarah]

So I am to Nov. 18

I thought it stupid early on when Queenie said she had a fear of getting old, it struck me - that has always seemed so ridiculous to me coming from a childhood where I lost a parent who died young and never got to grow old. It has always been my hope for myself - to grow old, see my children grown, have grandchildren. What a gift that is. So it was funny that now I come to this in the book ..."I am no longer afraid of getting old. Indeed I can't believe I ever said anything so stupid. So childish. So offensive and arrogant.
But mainly, so very, very stupid. I desperately want to grow old."

It is just interesting when you catch something like this while reading and then later a character has a change of heart that was a realization you had already come to in life, and to watch your character come to the same realization.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

I agree Sarah. Her realisation resonated with me too

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

I started reading this books today but didn't get far but so far I'm liking it. I'm going to read more and post in the morning.

[Sarah]

Can I just say this, totally different books, and I think this will be worth it in the end, but I really just want to get back to . I want to be with him, experiencing everything in his story, I am missing his character when I am not with him right now, because he is just so hilarious, and sad, interacting with his world.

[Rebecca]

I read up to page 233 and am going to have to hide this book until tomorrow. I absolutely do not want to put it down. I'm dying for answers!!

In part 2: (sorry there are no chapters here)
(view spoiler)[ We find out Maddie is alive?!?! Hooray!! But oh no, Verity things she is dead.....or does she? When Maddie sees the close-up pictures of the radios, she has Verity's game all figured out. Verity is lying!!!!! I just know it. Now I need to find out if she escapes or if she has already been executed. Not the role reversal I was predicting, but it may be that Maddie survives and Verity does not. (hide spoiler)]

Okay phew. Need to take a break and read my other book so I can put the end of this off until tomorrow.

[Cynthia]

Truly, this is the most difficult book to set aside. If it weren't for TT3, I could have read it in one sitting.

I read a couple of pages into Part 2, then realized I had to stop or there would be no way I could put it down before it ended.

My opinion so far:(view spoiler)[
Obviously, my belief that Verity & Maddie are the same person was wrong. It through me that she could write about Maddie in such detail, even given that they're best friends in war time.

I keep thinking about von Linden calling her Scheherazade, and I wonder if he is making reference to the young bride's story-weaving to prolong her execution, but the author is making a deeper reference.

Arabian Nights is a story within a story, much like this one. I don't think anyone believes Scheherazade's tales are entirely true. They're folktales. So is von Linden acknowledging that Verity's tales are possibly not entirely truthful? I don't know. (hide spoiler)]

[Sophie, The other one]

Just started and already absolutely gripped. Already wondering how Verity knows so much about Maddie. I don't know that much detail about some of my closest friends!

Can see it'll be an effort not to stay up all night to read this.

[Kristie]

Sophie wrote: "Just started and already absolutely gripped. Already wondering how Verity knows so much about Maddie. I don't know that much detail about some of my closest friends!

Can see it'll be an effort not..."

That's kind of why I think Verity is Maddie. I feel like she told us things that happened when Queenie wasn't around. I'm really curious to see what happens.

[Cynthia]

11 hours and 18 minutes until I can finish this book.

I can't stand it!!!! It's entirely possible that I may set my alarm. On a Saturday morning. When I have no reason to get up until noon. (Except that my dogs would never let me sleep that late, anyway).

[Rebecca]

I am feeling the same way!! I think I will hide my book and hope for "out of sight out of mind" for the night? Hoping that works!

[Cynthia]

Suggested time fillers until we can dive in and finish this book:

1. Organize all books in progress, in order of priority to finish.

2. Cut & Paste all old BOM/BR DQs to word files, in prep for reading & answering later.

3. Check TT3 countdown clock.

4. Cook meals for the whole weekend.

5. Clean up the mess from #4.

6. Recheck TT3 countdown clock.

7. Stalk Goodreads.

8. Clean out book satchel (I'm not a student, but I still have a bookbag, yes).

9. Update BR spreadsheet. Again.

10. Check that countdown clock one more time.

[Kristie]

Lol! This is one of the very few times that I'm happy I'm such a slow reader. I couldn't finish it tonight, if I wanted to!

[Rebecca]

Yes Cynthia! Those are great suggestions. I'm going to force my fiancé to go to happy hour with me so I can stay away from my comfy couch! Then I'll definitely make dinner which will create and mess and eat up time.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

lol Cynthia! Love it

Ok, I'm into Part 2 RebeccaS and Cynthia (view spoiler)[ I agree with everything you said. I now believe she is Queenie, and I also think she does know that Maddie is alive. It is just heart wrenching to think of what she is going through knowing that she will never be able to escape the Gestapo, even though her friend is so close by (hide spoiler)]

[Sophie, The other one]

Just got to part 2.

One of the things that's struck me so far is the use of Verity as the code name. It comes from the Latin veritas meaning truth. Seems a long way from what the characters have been in the first part.

[Kristie]

Kristin wrote: "I think the reason why there is a disconnect between Verity and Queenie is because she is making it that way. She says she is writing from Maddy's POV because she doesn't want to have to deal with ..."

Interesting view! That would explain why she sounds like she aligns better with Maddie. I just wonder about the scenes that Queenie wasn't in and how she knows what Maddie was thinking or feeling.

What occurred on page 58 that made you think this. There are a couple of things that come to mind that you could be referring to, but I have the audio, so the page numbers don't help me.

[Cynthia]

@ Kristin - I don't know how they do it, but my dogs tell time better than I do! If I get busy reading they come drag me to food bowls or leashes if I miss the deadline. And trust me, there's a deadline!

Okay, so I finished this book this morning and (view spoiler)[

OMG! I was in tears more than once. I had to take a shower and a little break before I could move on to my other books.

This is one of the best historical pieces I've read in a long time. I've read a lot and watched a lot of documentaries about WWII (my favorite historical era). I felt so connected to the characters. And I learned a lot, too.

Still wowing over it. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Kristin wrote: "So at one point she underlines that the place she is being kept prisoner at is a hotel with dogs. And now Maddie admits she is afraid of dogs. Maybe the underlined stuff is code for Maddie?"

Nice one!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

@Cynthia
I had to finish this last night too

About the ending:
(view spoiler)[
I was also in tears on this one. I actually had to pause the audio, go and get the paperback and re-read the scene with "Kiss Me Hardy, Quick" as I just couldn't believe she did that. Do you remember that being an existing code? I couldn't remember.
Such a waste, but I understand why Maddie did it.
(hide spoiler)]
I thought the author was incredibly clever in being able to write in these POVs, but also just through letters. It is quite a constraining way to try and describe things and she did a great job.
Did you read the authors note at the end? Made me respect her even more

[Cynthia]

@ Karen

(End of book spoiler)(view spoiler)[
I did remember 'Kiss Me, Hardy'. Julie said it to Maddie when the gunner was killed and Maddie had to take over shooting. Julie said it right before she had to make a mad dash through the open to get back to work.

The 2nd time Julie said it was just before she parachuted into Ormaie, and Maddie thought she was going to die in the crash.

Yeah, I knew what was going to happen then, and I put the book down for a bit before I read the scene.

I find it interesting that Maddie says she doesn't remember the story Julie told about her grandmother having to mercy kill someone, but Julie seemed so confident that Maddie would know what she meant her to do. I've never had that kind of relationship with a friend, maybe a lover. Still, it's believable. (hide spoiler)]

I agree, she is clever but not so clever that I find it contrived or unbelievable. I look forward to reading more of her work.

[☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎]

The beginning of this book really was intense. There was so much going on but I have to say Queenie is brave but I'm wondering if the narrator is really Maddie since she was told to stop writing in the third person.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

@Cynthia
Ah, thanks. I didn't remember the second time. (view spoiler)[I guess based on that it is conceivable Maddie knew what she meant. Although in the heat of the moment I'm not sure I could do that, but the alternative for Julie was a pretty horrific death (hide spoiler)]

[Rebecca]

You're right Carmen. The author just throws you right into the story and the horrible situation she's facing.

[Rebecca]

Okay. Phew. Just finished.

(view spoiler)[I also had to read the Kiss Me Hardy scene twice, because my brain didn't want to accept it. I cannot imagine how unbelievable painful it must have been for Maddie to shoot her best friend in order to save her from more pain and torture. To have to understand that there is no other hope for her and be the one to end her life. No way. I can't even fathom that. I know Maddie always says she's afraid of guns and would never be a SOE officer, but she has more courage in that scene than many other people.

I think the end is really well done. She doesn't try to "get over" what she did, but tells Queenie's loved ones. She gets to keep doing the one thing she loves and the thing that probably keeps her feeling connected to Queenie.

It's strange, but I also kind of forgot the story about her grandmother killing something. I was so caught up in Maddie discovering the clues that I had to stop and think.

Also I can't believe the lady with the rose garden was Queenie's great aunt! How amazing that she ended up there. (hide spoiler)]

What a wonderful book!! It's amazing how much research went into it and how well the story came together.

[Rebecca]

Spoilers from the ending:

Ooh also about the underlining...(view spoiler)[ So was Engel the one who did the underlining? Or did she just underline some things. (hide spoiler)]

[Cynthia]

Re the Underling (an end of story spoiler)(view spoiler)[
Maddie states that the underlining, as well as the pagination, was done in red. This leads me to believe that Engel did it. I think she stated that Engel did the pagination.

Anyway, I think it was Engel because Julie couldn't take the chance that someone other than Engel would read it and realize what the underlining was all about. Based on what Engel said about sharing cigarettes and how heartbroken she was over Julie's death, I believe that Engel and Julie cooked this whole thing up together. Or at least a good portion of it. The underlining doesn't start immediately. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Cynthia wrote: "Re the Underling (an end of story spoiler)..."

Yes I agree with you

[Rebecca]

Yeah I agree!

[Kristie]

Kristin wrote: "So I had this whole thing written out but my spoiler thing didn't work so I deleted it quickly before someone saw it. Hopefully it works this time. BTW if I misspell Maddie it's because my stepdaug..."

That's one of the parts that I thought you might be referring to. (view spoiler)[she never said that she was Queenie though and she also writes about Maddie's experiences in the third person. Also, I feel like a lot of the things she said about Maddie refer to her to, though they could be things that they have in common, I suppose. (hide spoiler)]

[Erin]

I just finished. I really liked it. I ended up liking the kitty hawk part more than the verity part. (view spoiler)[ the kiss me hardy part at the end was awful to read. I don't know how she did it. If my best friend askede to shoot her I wouldn't be able to do it (hide spoiler)]