Code Name Verity

Wein, Elizabeth. (2012). Code name Verity. NY: Egmont.

Code Name Verity is a story that takes place in 1943 during Nazi-occupation in France. Two best friends, one a British spy, the other a female pilot find themselves on enemy territory after their plane is hit and lands in France. Both friends go different directions as Julie the spy with code name verity parachutes off the plane and Maddie, the Jewish pilot, dumping her fuel and able to hide with a French family in the resistance. Julie is caught by Nazi Gestapo and given a choice to confess everything she knows about the British War Effort or suffer death. Julie considers herself a coward as she begins to write down her confession. This confession details her previous life prior to becoming a spy and how she met her friend Maddie. Through out her confession, Julie seems to know that the Nazi interrogators aren’t really looking to keep her alive in the end. She knows the process of interrogation being an interrogator herself. The first part of the book is Julie’s confession, and then comes the second part where Maddie tells about how they arrived in France. In this part the plan to save Julie is executed successfully and both friends are able to make it back home. This book has much potential to be used in the high school classroom as it falls under historical fiction genre. The topics of war prisoners, cruel executions and death camps can be explored in more depth. Although gory, these topics are based on our world’s history and can grab any readers’ attention in a matter of seconds.