Verily

CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein. Disney/Hyperion, 2012.

Warning: do not open the pages of this book unless you have hours to spend absorbed in the story. It is NOT a book one can put down after starting. The year is 1943. A plane crashes in France, currently a stronghold of the Nazis. The passenger escapes but is quickly captured by the Nazis. The pilot's whereabouts are unknown as the novel begins. Verity (only one of the many names by which she is known) is imprisoned and tortured. Surely she has much to offer the Nazis in terms of codes and other information. To prolong her life, Verity writes page after page telling the story of her involvement in the war and her close friendship with the pilot known as Maddie. In gut-wrenching detail, Verity writes the story of her life, her imprisonment, and her hope that somehow escape might be possible. The story is rife with twists and turns, unexpected joys and sorrows. running through it all, though, is the tale of the relationships that form during war, friendships that are more powerful than any army or weapon. <449>