Code Name Verity

Set in World War 2, Code Name Verity tells the story of two best friends. Maddie, a pilot, and Quennie, a special operations executive, both striving to become the best in what is known to be a man’s world. When one of the girls is captured by the Gestapo she is tortured until she finally confesses and is forced to reveal all she knows about Special Ops, airfields and the planes used by the British Air Force.

Focusing on women in a time when women were not equal, this story shows the struggles and ambition of the era. Maddie and Quennie represent many of the women who worked in the air force in the Second World War.

Wein makes clear that her depiction of World War 2 is not completely accurate, her aim is to write a good story, rather than a factual, historical account. Code Name Verity is enthralling, set in a time that not many readers will know, and gives an in-depth look at how a prisoner of war was treated and what they lived through. Elizabeth Wein has achieved and surpassed her goal of writing a good story about love, friendship and extreme hardship.