Code Name Verity

Wein, E. (2012). Code name Verity. New York: Hyperion. Julie, whose code name is Verity, is a secret agent for the allies stationed in England. Maddie, code name Kittyhawk, is one of the few female pilots. They meet at an England base and instantly become good friends. Maddie volunteers to take Julie to occupied France one night for a job, but their small plane is fired upon. Both girls are separated as Julie parachutes to her destination and Maddie struggles to make a hard landing. Maddie survives; however, because she is Jewish, she is hidden in a barn of a French family in the resistance army. Julie, on the other hand, is not so lucky. She is taken captive by the S S. She is taken to a Chateau used by the Gestapo as a prison for detention, interrogation, torture, and execution. She is given paper, pen and two weeks to tell SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden everything she knows about the British War Effort. The first part of the story is told by Verity. It reads like a journal in which she shares the story of her best friend Maddie and discloses warfare information. The second section is told by Maddie, in her pilot notebook, just after her plane has crashed. This historical fiction novel is excellent for students to read in history class. Teachers can use it to show students what prisoners of war have to endure.