Latest Review: Code Name Verity

Gahhhh!  Awesomely capable female heroines, WWII military bad-assery, PLUS twists and turns galore - Code Name Verity is a serious gem!

Goodreads Summary:
I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine — and I will do anything, anything, to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France — an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

My thoughts:  
Code Name Verity is another fave of 2012!  At first the book starts off a bit slow as you are reading the narrator "Queenie's" confession/story of her time working for the British War Effort.  After reading for a bit the reader realizes that they're missing something...Queenie's confession isn't quite what it seems.  I had several theories as to what I thought was going on and each of them was completely wrong!

The second half of the novel is written from a completely different perspective (that's all I'll say in order to keep this review unspoilery) and reveals all sorts of twists and turns.  Just as an FYI - you will shed a few tears (at least, I did) but they are well worth it! 

Recommended to those who enjoy well-researched historical fiction (especially WWII stories) and to those who like tales focusing on strong women and female friendship.  

4.5/5 stars

*Disclosure: received a copy from NetGalley for review.

Latest Read: Skeletons at the Feast

While WWII is not a very new subject in fiction, the author sheds light on a relatively untold segment of persons affected by the war.  The story mainly follows the prosperous Emmerich family, a clan of Prussians who are largely ignorant to the atrocities being committed by their German army and society.  They decide to evacuate their farm in order to escape capture by the Russians in the last months of WWII.  The book follows their difficult journey and complex relationships with a Scottish POW, a Jewish man posing as an SS officer, and many others that they encounter.

The book is a bit difficult to get into at first because it flipped back and forth between three different storylines.  Yet, once the characters and stories became familiar, the novel was both engrossing and heartbreaking.  I really liked this book...it might be one of my favorites of the year.  I'm definitely going to be adding more of Mr. Bohjalian's novels to my TBR list.

This would be a really great historical fiction choice for a book club.  So many things to discuss: the historical aspects, the relationships between the characters, their secrets and deceptions, and their guilt and hope for the future.  If you are drawn to WWII books I really suggest picking up a copy of Skeletons at the Feast.

4/5 stars.