Code Name Verity

Wein, Elizabeth. (2012). Code name Verity. NY: Egmont. Verity is a spy for Britain, here name is Queenie who is also Julie, and when her plane goes down with the pilot code name Kittyhawk (Maddie), the Nazis in Nazi occupied France capture only Verity in the year of 1941. She is being tortured by the Gestapo and asked to write the plans of the British war efforts after they believe she is now working with them. Her mind game is amazing. There are so many plot twist that are written so beautifully as their friendship is described and even the transition form past to present works with the trading of perspective.  I was blown away at the end when it was Julie who shot Maddie. It is a must read for accuracy of WWII, aviation and female heroisms. This book is well worth being required reading for any history class! Even the authors style merits exploration in a writing composition class freshman year of college. Historical fiction and I tend to be at odds. I love history and making connections but sometimes the authors swing in extremes with a loose pretense to the historical content as a backdrop or with an overbearing history lesson. Wein walks a delicate balance in her historical fiction savvy by blending completely believable characters with the history to bring it alive and allow me to feel connections to the story.