Code Name Verity

The book opens with a depressing phrase penned by one of the two main characters: I AM A COWARD. "Verity", as she is referred to, has agreed to record anything and everything she can remember about the English Resistance in exchange for her life. She is supplied with pen and paper, and she begins to write her life story, slowly but surely, adding in occasional notes about her surroundings and her guards. But Verity plays a dangerous game. Her German supervisor notes she is using classic literature techniques to suspend her audience, and therefore create a need for her to still be alive. As she narrates her story, we see the ashamed thoughts of a coward who knows she is betraying her country. She is also slowly breaking down, getting closer and closer to revealing the climax of the story, and also the final piece of information the Nazis need. Finally, she reveals her last secret: She is a well-known English interrogator. After this last clue is given, Verity is taken away. After all, she is a designated NN prisoner and everyone knows that once the Nazis have used an NN, you never see them again.
          Part II is told by Maddie, the close friend of Verity and the pilot that landed Verity in her current situation. She narrates what happens after we stop hearing from Verity. She also gives us a startling insight into what's really going on: Verity is part of a major set-up. She was supposed to land in Germany and begin a complex assignment that would flush out major leaders and destroy Nazi records. But Verity is captured because she looks the wrong way while crossing the street. And it all goes downhill from there. Author Elizabeth Wein is a master, spinning a web of realistic, believable lies that capture you. What seems to be truth is a lie, and then that's also a lie. She captures the desperate search for Verity, and gives a glance into the world of secrecy and lies that surrounded the Holocaust. It thrilled me to the bone, and I definitely rate this a Read It Twice. But be warned: There's a shocking twist waiting for you. And you'll never see it coming. Look for Code Name Verity at your local library or at Barnes and Noble.
-BOOKWORM