Code Named Verity

Wein, Elizabeth. (2012). Code Named Verity. New York, NY: Egmont. Lady Julia Lindsay MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort-Stuart’s code name is Verity. She is more commonly called Julie. Julie is a spy and an officer in the military. During a covert operation, Julie’s best friend Maddie is the pilot who attempts to fly her to a Nazi camp so that she could ultimately destroy their operation. But antiaircrafts fired at them causing the friends to be separated, as Julie parachutes from the plane and Maddie lands harshly. Julie is captured by Nazi who order her to write down secrets that she knows as they torture other captured people. Julie knows that she too will be tortured.  Maddie is able to safely hide in a barn of a French family after the separation but soon hears of her friend’s dilemma. As an act of love and friendship, Maddie has to eventually end Julie’s life to save her from divulging important information to Nazi. In the end, Maddie is able to carry out the original, planned operation of destroying the Nazi operation. This book is intended for students ages 14-17. Teachers could use this book after a lesson about the Holocaust. Although this book is fiction, the premises behind the story and the historical events are real. The story meets the criteria for style development. The story is told from the perspectives of the two friends. Both are sharing their own experience of the events of the story, giving a complete and vivid depiction.