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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. This novel tells the story of two girls during World War II: one, an accomplished pilot for England and the other an accomplished spy. Through their various meetings they become friends. 

Wein does a fantastic job of reeling the reader in. I wanted to know what happened. And why. She tells the story in media res, so we're being told events that have already happened. Wein accomplishes this in a way that makes the novel almost impossible to put down. 

I had heard from various people how amazing the book was before I ever picked it up, and they weren't wrong. But it is a little hard to summarize and explain to people who haven't read it. There are many twists and turns and possible paths so it creates a conundrum of what is considered a "spoiler" or not. 

I don't like to spoil books for others.

So I'm going to keep this review short. I think it was very well-written. It surprised me and delighted me and made me cry. Wein made me consider alternate stories of histories which I hadn't thought of yet. Sides of the story which I should have considered but which weren't mentioned in school, so I didn't. This is a book that will make you think hard about life and choices. I would recommend it to anyone interested in books about friendships or books about WWII. 





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