Book number 4 in my Goodreads Reading Challenge was Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein.

‘ ‘I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.’

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, Code Name Verity is a bestselling tale of friendship and courage set against the backdrop of World War Two.

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive.  When a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France, she is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in ‘Verity’s’ own words, as she writes her account for her captors.

Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they’ve ever believed in is put to the test . . . ‘ (Thanks Amazon!)

As you are probably already aware, I do love a novel set during World War II and Code Name Verity did not disappoint. This is a beautiful story about the love and friendship of two very different women thrown together due to the onset of a world war.  Queenie and Maddie come from two very different walks of life: one a Scottish aristocrat, the other a girl from Manchester from a working class family.

Whilst the story is fictional, the description of Maddie’s work with the Air Transport Auxiliary and Queenie’s amazing bravery in the face of her terrifying German captors highlights what really would have been faced by those who assisted the war effort during the 1940’s.  Wein captures beautifully the unwavering love and loyalty of two women whose friendship carried them through the worst of times.

There’s very little that I can say about this novel as I don’t want to give anything away.    All I ask is that you read this novel, and let me know what you think!

Rating: 📖 📖 📖 📖