Code Name Verity

Weins, E. (2012). Code name Verity.  New York, NY: Hyperion.

Genre: Historical Fiction (set in World War II, but the story's focus is the story)

Subjects: YA Historical Fiction, friendship, WWII, espionage, women air pilots, insurgency, England, France, Germany, Nazis, holocaust, social issues

Audience: Ages 14 & up

During World War II, girls and women held unlikely jobs during the war effort.  Code Name Verity tells of two such young ladies.  Maddie (Code name Kittyhawk) is a bike mechanic who starts by operating radio equipment and eventually becomes a pilot transferring planes to bases and taking special agents to undisclosed locations. Julie (Code name Verity) is a Scottish aristocrat who is fluent in German and begins as a translator and eventually becomes a special agent helping to bring down Hitler's regime.  The two girls become friends and "make a spectacular team".  It is during one of these secret missions that things go awry.  Their plane takes a hit from enemy fire and Julie must parachute to the ground.  Maddie manages to bring the broken plane down but she is in enemy territory.  Julie is captured by the Nazis and after she is tortured, she agrees to write down everything she knows about the British War effort.  She tells the truth, but she writes it her way in the story of her friendship with Maddie knowing that the Germans will kill her when she is finished.  Maddie has been rescued by a French resistance group and is hidden in the secret loft of a barn waiting for a chance to be flown back to England.  She is relieved when they finally hear that Julie is still alive and takes a part in trying to rescue her.  During the attempted rescue, the Germans get the upper hand and Julie yells out to Maddie in code asking her to shoot her.  Maddie does as she us asked because she knows that Julie is suffering and does not want to tell the Germans what she knows.  This a heart-wrenching story of friendship, love, bravery, and loyalty that you won't want to put down.

Awards:
UK Literary Association Award Winner
Edgar Award Winner
Printz Honor Book
Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor Book
Shortlisted for the 2013 CILIP Carnegie Award
Golden Kite Award Honor Book
Shortlisted for the Scottish Children's Book Award
Catalyst Book Award Winner (East Lanarkshire County Council, Scotland)

Teaching Resources:
Book Trailer
Author's Website
Lesson Plans