A Code Name Verity
By: Elizabeth Wein
Elizabeth Wein
Born in N.Y.C. in 1964, Elizabeth Wein had a strong education experience, going to Yale University and getting a PHD in Folklore at the University of Pennsylvania. She then pursued writing and has since written a total of 7 young adult novels and she also writes short stories. She has lived in Scotland for over ten years with her husband Tim and their two children. She writes almost all of her novels at her home. Elizabeth's latest novel is also for teens and she took a unique direction with it's theme. It's called Code Name Verity, and was published in 2012. The response to this novel has been great, it earned more than 3 awards already (Michael Printz Award Honor Book, a Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards Honor Book, and an SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Book). On top of that it is also a New York Times Bestseller in young adult fiction. One of the major ideas in this novel is centered around flying, which is a special interest of Elizabeth's and Tim's.
Main Characters
Verity - An officer in the military when she meets Maddie at the airfield. Writer of the letters to Von Linden and prior to her capture she was always well put together and well groomed, without a hair out of place.
Captain Von Linden - Nazi who Verity is writing the book of confessions to. Very strict, harsh and un-loving...He has a very cold personality.
Conflict
My Opinion
Type of reader who would enjoy this book
Passage
"'I'm looking for verity.'...
'Truth,' she agreed...
'Verity,' I said in English...Then gasped: "'Truth is the daughter of time, not authority.'" And: "'This above all, to thine own self be true.'" I gibbered a bit, I confess. 'Verity! I am the soul of verity.' I laughed so wildly then, that the Hauptsturmfuhrer had to clear his throat to remind me to control myself. 'I am the soul of verity,' I repeated. 'Je suis l'esprit de verite.'" (131) This passage represents the theme because they are talking about the truth and I would say the theme of this novel is honesty. Throughout the entire book, Verity is slowly revealing the truth about herself and her life.