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readingunderthewillowtree

Reading Under the Willow Tree

Environmental Science student, book reader, big dreamer, Sailing/Kayak/Surf instructor, Film buff, Adventurer, Girl.

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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity - Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity

 
Elizabeth Wein
 
Genre: YA, History, Friendship, Military, World War II, Drama, Thriller
 
Format ARC e-book, 452 pages
 
Published February 6th 2012 by Egmont Press
 
I have two weeks.  You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.   That’s what you do to enemy agents.  It’s what we do to enemy agents.   But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is  the easy way out.  Possibly the only way out for a girl caught  red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything,  anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me  again.  He has said that I can have as much paper as I need.  All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War  Effort.  And I’m going to.  But the story of how I came to be here  starts with my friend Maddie.  She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.  We are a sensational team.
 
I am sad because I know that whatever I put in this review will not do  Code Name Verity justice.  I just cannot tell you in words how amazing I think this book is.  It is hard for me to write about this book, if I  say too much I will give stuff away and it will ruin the book for  others. (Careless talk costs lives) It is that kind of book.  It manages to keep surprising you and shocking you.   You think you know what is  happening but the truth is that you know nothing at all.
 
I had my doubts when I received Code Name Verity for review.  I thought a World War two, YA book about spies would be boring, unbelievable and a  waste of time.  But I had heard so much about it that I just had to give it a go.
 
I started it and thought it was pretty good, better than I thought it  would be then somewhere along the way I found myself falling in love  with it.  Because somehow this book just seemed to do everything right.
 
It was written beautifully and was more accomplished than a lot of Young  Adult books.  Every character is fleshed out and real.  I think I loved  every one of them, to some extent even the villains just because they  were so…human.  This isn’t a story of good versus evil, this is a story  of life during war and it manages to show both sides of the story.
 
The main characters Maddy and Queenie are just so amazing.  I loved their  strength and their frailty, I loved their stiff upper lip and their  personality, but most of all I loved their friendship.  It is just the  best and most beautiful friendship ever.  I hope that if it ever came to it I would have the courage they showed.  At the end of the day these  are girls that you wish you could be like.  They are funny, brave, smart and they do the right thing no matter what. Yet they never come across  as perfect, or arrogant, or as Mary Sues.
 
The story itself was engaging and nail-biting.  It twisted in directions I  could have never imagined and it manages to keep you on your toes.  The  research that must have gone into this is mind-boggling; it was just so  informative and rich with facts. It was smarter than it had any right to be.
 
I should warn you that you may need tissues (I certainly did).
 
There is not much else I can say about the book without spoiling it.  So, I will just say that even if you are unsure, even if you do not  read YA give this book a shot.  There is no real reason why this book is for Young Adults.  In fact it is incredibly adult so please, please,  please do not be put off by the YA label.I honestly just cannot tell you how wonderful this book is, and I highly  recommend it to anyone and everyone.Run and buy this book you will not  regret it.
 

5 out of 5 stars

 
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