A review by anna_hepworth
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I'm sure there are many reviews out there that talk about the plot and characters. And while they are good, what struck me was the storytelling, the structure of the story, and the way I was unwilling to give full credibility to anything the story told me (because one cannot have faith in confessions given under duress; and it is very obvious from the beginning that it is duress), but had no idea which bits to disbelieve. 

Given that it is set in WWII Occupied France, I was not expecting this to be a gentle story, but in places it was far more raw and brutal than I had expected. 

I finished up the book crying. Right until the discussion of the burial of those shot late in the piece, I wanted to believe that both protagonists made it back safely. And having been shown to be right halfway through, that Maddie wasn't dead -- at the point that we moved back in time and changed viewpoints -- I wasn't entirely convinced the author wasn't going to pull the same bait-and-switch, even though it looked pretty sure that Julie was dead
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