Image: Hachette Book Group
Happy Thursday! How hot are you? Ugh, I'm a soupy mess. We were promised a real-feel of over 100 today. The real-feel 99 right now (4:40) Perfect day to stay in an air-conditioned spot and read. #tbt features Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. I will tell you right off the bat that this is possibly my favorite book of my entire career as a school librarian. If it's not my fave, it's in the top three.
The story starts out as the confession of a British wireless operator who was captured and tortured by the Nazis after she bailed out of a crashing plane. She's ashamed, but the torture was horrific and she knows she faces certain death, so day after day, she writes. She's an unreliable narrator, but a compelling one. Readers quickly become invested in her story, but it's a difficult one to read. She is, after all, a prisoner of war. Then the POV switches about halfway through.
I am staying deliberately vague with this description in order for potential readers to discover the suspense, secrets and plot twists that promise gasps and tears, many, many tears for themselves. Weighing in at more than 450 pages, meticiulously researched and gorgeously written, this is definitely a book for readers with some stamina. Those TMS students who have read it absolutely loved it.
Code Name Verity was named a Printz Honor and received starred reviews from all the journals. It appeared on many year-end Best Books lists as well as the Amelia Bloomer list. Happy reading!
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