Code Name Verity

It is one of my very favorite, both narrators are fantastic and the storytelling is great. The way the story unravels and the two parts fit together is makes it very interesting. I stayed up late and woke up early to finish it.

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, because it is a story of WW2 told differently, more of a character study, and despite the tragic conditions there is humor and warmth.

I love the stories of Maddie & Julia's developing friendship, when they ride bikes into the countryside, and their adventures at the airbase before their mission.

The name is perfect!

While this is classified as a YA novel, as an adult I loved it. I highly recommend it!

This book was a step out of my comfort zone, not something I would have picked up on my own. I was prompted to listen to Code Name Verity by an online book club, and I am glad I did.

Pay attention during this book, there are so many small details you will miss that come back later if you don't listen. I think if I were to listen to it again I would find so many things I missed the first time around.

My husband did not expect to like this book, nor did I to be honest, but we were both wrong. The book was only rated by 16 people when I picked it up, so while the reviews were very good I still had my reservations. It held both our attentions and the little details that were part of the parallel story were like hidden Easter eggs in the book to be found.

As a side note: You may need tissues.

The complexity of the spy puzzle was the most appealing aspect of the story's plot for me. It required some careful listening, since clues are casually dropped throughout the book.

In most ways, this story is unique, revealing pieces of history that were unknown to me. But if pressed, I might compare it to Aidan Chambers's Postcards from No Man's Land. This also takes place during World War II, with two stories that run parallel and gradually come together, at least thematically. Another complex, multi-narrator tale set in World War II era England is Connie Willis's Blackout, and its conclusion, All Clear.

Morven Christie is absolutely stellar in her part of the narration. She moves easily through the accents and languages of Scotland, England, France, and Germany. There is all the panache and bravado that one would expect of her character.

Verity, the ultimate changeling, is such a powerful character that she is present in every scene, even by her absence. One of the main appeals of her story is ferreting out the truth in what she describes. Maddie's narration is but a satellite of Verity's gripping tale.

This novel is a pleasure to listen to. It is the story of two women of very different backgrounds who become friends in the first four years of WWII (39-43). Wein does as excellent job of evoking the era and providing little details. Did you know that the ball point pen first came into use during WWI ... or why?

Of course, there are wonderful plot twists. And not everything ends happily.

I like my fictional heroines self-possessed. Not those heroines popular in so many series who make the same mistakes over and over, and over yet again. These two women actually learn from their experiences.

The use of two narrators, one for each woman, is a blessing. Each captures in voice the background and upbringing of her assigned character.

I was very disappointed not to find other books by this author available on Audible, nor (with a meaningless exception) other narration work by Ms. Christie.

Well worth your time.

I haven't read the print version, but listening made the story very immediate -- and the narrators' voices made the point of view completely clear.

I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the book, but there were several points in the story that moved me to tears, or shocked me breathless. The author creates a vivid picture of WW II, and it was particularly neat to get a war story from two women's points of view -- and from women who weren't sitting on the sidelines, either!

The narrators of this story are pure magic. They brought the characters to life with humor and emotional that brought me into the story and wouldn't let me go. But the plot was not what I was expecting. It changed and developed and shocked me. I love that.

I like that you don't - and can't - really understand everything you're reading/hearing until the second half. It requires careful listening because there are a lot of important details. A few times I missed things that came up later and that frustrated me. But there is so much detail and color and pain and life in here.

I love love loved when the story turned and I realized I had no idea what was going on and now I do and it's amazing!

Oh choosing between them is like saying "What do you like best about chocolate ice-cream? That it's chocolate or that it's ice cream?" Um, what? They go together. Without one you can't understand the other. Literally Verity's account would be confusing and misunderstood without Maddie's, and Maddie wouldn't even matter if Verity's story didn't explain their incredible friendship. They are a team to be taken as a whole. Christie and Gaskell are PERFECT narrators. Their characters are written very differently and they own their parts completely.

I both laughed and cried. I gasped. I sighed. I ached. When a writer can make you feel those things, they own you. And Wein completely owns me forever.

Take your time with this. And don't multitask. I did, and I missed so many things. The twists lack punch it you're not paying attention. I learned my lesson about a third of the way through but I wish I had give this the proper focus it deserves. It's beautifully written and wonderfully performed.

Two characters told the story and the narrative went back and forth between them. I liked both the characters and the story caught my interest. Both women are placed in extraordinary circumstances because of the war. They were amazing women but the author had me believing that it could be possible. I had tears in my eyes at the end and since I was running while listening to the story I might have looked a bit odd to fellow runners and walkers!

The book reminds me of other action adventure novels except the two main characters are women and men play only a supporting role.

I always think it is almost like a play when there are different characters to listen to.

This is an enjoyable, engaging listen.

Two young women's stories intertwine with the history of WWII, of women pilots and spies, of France, England, Scotland and Germany

Not telling. LOTS of memorable moments--even the small ones.

I think this might be my first. It will not be my last.

No. This is a book I loved listening to every time I got to it--and was glad it was the one on my Ipod.

When I saw this book on audible and read the reviews I had a picture in my mind of a woman piolet and a women wireless operator working together such as the piolet passing information to the operator while flying over dangerous area. Boy, was I wrong. Elizabeth Wein tells the story in a unique way and the use of two narrators was great. Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell really made the story work. The story grabbed me right away and kept my attention throughout. I was absorbed right into the story and felt I was there with them and part of the story. It takes a great author to do that to a reader. I found the comments by the author at the end of the book very interesting. She took real situation and placed her story heroines (which she made them a composite of real people) into a similar made up story making this a novel. Lady Julia was a polished, educated Scot aristocrats and I felt Mattie, the English girl piolet was someone just like me. I am sure other readers may feel this reversed. This is one of the best spy stories I have read it some time. There is humor, suspense, action, wrapped in a fascinating story.

A very well suited novel for an audiobook. The story is one of friendship and the horrors of war. Inspiring read.