Enjoy the Intensity in Historical Fiction

All I can say is that reading "Code Name Verity" takes you back in time to World War II and it is an emotional and intense ride from the start. You get to read the story through written pages and notes. One side of the story is of Queenie the British spy who has been captured by the Nazi's in Nazi occupied France in 1943 after she made the crucial mistake of looking the wrong way while crossing a busy street in the town of Ormaie, France. The Gestapo orders Queenie to unravel the tale of how she met her best friend Maddie and how they went down in the plane Maddie was flying over France. Queenie manages to stay alive in prison as long as she's writing what the Gestapo approves of. Otherwise, she is horribly tortured. The second half is the story of Maddie and how she has to hide and survive in France after crashing the plane. The two stories woven together are totally compelling and the courage that these two young women possessed was amazing. I felt as if these were real people and I was reading about their lives as if it really happened all those year ago. "Code Name Verity" is definitely a tribute to women and has resonant themes of friendship and courage throughout the book.

Nominated for the YALSA Teens Top Ten Award for 2013