Skip to main content

Code Name Verity

Sometimes a book's praises are sung so loudly before it reaches my hands I wonder if it will have any impact on me at all. How could it possibly when my expectations for it are so high? Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein was such a book. I don't care how many reviews and bloggers say how amazing, how beautiful, how shattering it is. It is near impossible for it to not meet your expectations. I dare you to read it and not be gobsmacked by its brilliance.

You'll shoot me at the end no  matter what I do, because that's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. After I write the confession, if you don't shoot me and I ever make it home, I'll be tried and shot as a collaborator anyway. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and this is the easy one the obvious one. What's in my future-a tin  of kerosene poured down my throat and a match held to my lips? Scalpel and acid, like the Resistance boy who won't talk? My living skeleton packed up in a cattle wagon with two hundred desperate others, carted off God knows where to die of thirst before we get there? No. I'm not traveling those roads. This is the easiest. The others are too frightening even to look down.

I have so much I would like to say about this book, but so little I can say. It is a book one needs to experience. So go. Buy. Read. Experience. Bite your nails. Sit on the edge of your seat. Laugh. Cry. Let it break your heart and put it back together. That's what the best books do after all. And this most definitely falls into the best books category.

And if you still aren't convinced, also know:

This is a story about friendship, the true steadfast kind that can change people and the world around them.

It is a story about ordinary people who do extraordinary things in an exceptional time.

It is a story that captures the reality of war and the perseverance of the human spirit in remarkable ways.

It is a story that can be funny and sarcastic one minute and then slice open your gut with its razor sharpness the next.

This is a story that's characters become real. They will take up residence in your head. They will haunt you.

It is a story full of suspense, intrigue, and danger.

It is a story that simultaneously devastates and is hopeful.

It is surprising, shattering, brilliant in every way. And nothing I say about it is going to do it justice.


I read a copy received via NetGalley. The US release (with the top cover) is Tuesday, May 15. It is currently available in the UK (with bottom cover).




Comments

Tori said…
"This is a story that's characters become real. They will take up residence in your head. They will haunt you."

This is so perfectly true. Thank you for articulating it so well.
Brandy said…
Well I am definitely haunted. I didn't go to bed until 3 AM the night after reading it. And I'm still thinking about them and tearing up two days later.
Chachic said…
It is a book one needs to experience. So go. Buy. Read. Experience. Bite your nails. Sit on the edge of your seat. Laugh. Cry. Let it break your heart and put it back together.

It really is that kind of book. Beautiful review, Brandy. So glad you ended up loving in even though your expectations were high because of reviews. Can't wait for you to read the rest of EWein's novels.
Brandy said…
Thanks for being so great about getting the word out about it. You made me want to read it in the first place.

I can't wait to read the rest either!
Chachic said…
No problem! I've been reading EWein's books since I discovered her through Sounis and it's the least I could do to spread the word about this one. I'm just glad it's been getting the attention it deserves.
Betsy said…
GREAT review. I like it.
Brandy said…
Thanks! I liked yours too.

Popular posts from this blog

Favorite Kissing Scenes

When thinking of a favorite things post I could do for February I decided it would have to be kissing. I've already done couples and I was feeling in the mood to do something fluffy and Valentine's related. So kisses it is. I read more MG than YA, and the YA I read tends to not focus on romance so this was actually harder than I expected it to be though a few jumped into my head right away. (And one of my choices does actually come from a MG book. One is adult. Gasp!) The actual scene from the book is quoted followed by my thoughts. The king lifted a hand to her cheek and kissed her. It was not a kiss between strangers, not even a kiss between a bride and a groom. It was a kiss between a man and his wife, and when it was over, the king closed his eyes and rested his forehead against the hollow of the queen's shoulder, like a man seeking respite, like a man reaching home at the end of the day . - The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner Turner doesn't write the

TTT: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Most Recent Additions to My TBR List From Most Recent to Least: What books have recently caught your eye?

This Side of Home

What attracted me to This Side of Home by Renee Watson was the cover. The story hooked my interest. The characters made me fall in love. Maya has lived her entire life in the same neighborhood in Portland hanging out with the same group of friends: her twin sister Nikki, their best friend Essence, and Ronnie, Malachi, and Devin-three boys her father mentors. They have plans for the future that involve each other: prom, college, life. But things in their neighborhood are changing. People are moving in and starting new businesses. Property values are going up as a result. In addition to change, this is also causing trouble. Essence has to move out of her  house when the owner decides he can make more money selling it than renting it. The racial demographics of the school, which has been mostly African American, is shifting. This presents new challenges and choices for Maya and her friends. It brings new people into their lives at the same time. Maya has to figure out how-and if-she wa

Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak  by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein

Shorter Musings MG Fantasy

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon   by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel   by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t