Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein 
(Hyperion, 2012)


Summary from publisher:
Oct. 11, 1943
A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France.
Its pilot and passenger are best friends.
One of the girls has a shot at survival.  The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.
When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance.  As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare.  Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice:  reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.
They'll get the truth out of her.  But it won't be what they expect.
As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane.  On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure, and her desperate hope to make it home.  But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?
Harrowing and beautifully written, Code Name Verity is the story of an unforgettable friendship forged in the face of the ultimate evil.

OH....MY....GOSH..... This has to be one of the best historical fiction novels I have read in a long time.  From the very first page, I was completely drawn in to the story of Maddie and her friend, who over the course of the novel goes by several names, due to the fact that she is a British spy.  Set during the heart of World War II, the action in this book is steady and the tension stays high.  At points in the novel, I was unable to tear myself away from the pages.

Wein did a masterful job of slowly unraveling the story of how Verity came to be captured by the Gestapo and the truth of her experiences in captivity.  Part of the story comes from Verity herself, written on scraps of paper between torture sessions.  As she writes, Verity combines the story of her friendship with the story of her mission.  The second part of the book is Maddie's version of events;  Maddie picks up with her crash landing in France and then recounts the efforts of the French Resistance to hide her and return her to England.  Both stories are equally important to the plot, and neither tells the whole story.

Don't miss reading the author's note at the end.  It's worth it!

Code Name Verity will be a hit with older readers who like some action and adventure in their historical fiction.  I'm somewhat concerned that boy readers may be turned off by the fact that the two main characters in the novel are girls.  Teachers and librarians can go a long way in encouraging both boys and girls to read this book by considering carefully how they booktalk it.

Rush out to your library or book store RIGHT NOW and pick up Code Name Verity.  You won't be disappointed!