Yet the two completely different pieces are used to form a cohesive plot - one that tells both sides of the story. The fact that Julie wasn’t telling the complete truth makes you see the novel in a new light.įrom a birds’ eye view, Code Name Verity is essentially one part report and one part diary. The way Wein uses Julie’s report to tell the story is such a clever way to draw the reader in and paint an elaborate and believable tale. The other twist? Julie mentions in her report that she’d been told that Maddie was killed when their plane was shot down.

The twist here? Engel had been helping Julie the entire time, even meeting up with Maddie later to deliver Julie’s report. So that report you just read? It’s not reliable.Īside from describing fake airports and people, Julie paints one of her guards, the chemist Engel, in a very unsympathetic way. Julie had been improvising the entire time so she could give fake information to the Nazis and simultaneously get important information to the Allies. In the second part, a series of diary entries written by Julie’s best friend, Maddie (code name: Kittyhawk), it’s revealed that a lot of Julie’s report is false. One of the best things about Code Name Verity is the twist that you get in the end. This report is a mixture of first-person narrative (Julie’s experience being held prisoner) and third-person (Julie’s friendship with the pilot Maddie and their roles in the British war effort). Told in two parts, the first 60% of the book is the complete report of Scottish spy, Julie (code name: Verity), who is captured by Nazis and forced to write about her involvement in the British war effort. But if you’re truly determined to read on, I won’t stop you.Ĭode Name Verity is a historical fiction novel set during WWII. The book is even better if you don’t know what you’re getting into.

Today, I’m going to indulge in the sudden urge to analyze what makes Code Name Verity the masterpiece it is.īy the way, if you have not read Code Name Verity yet, this is your last chance to turn back. There are so many clever little things found within the pages. Okay, I love Code Name Verity. It’s one of my favorite historical fiction novels (maybe even my favorite historical fiction novel?) and I’ve read it at least three times.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein