Queenie (of course that's not her real name) has two weeks to live. She'll be shot at the end of that time, no matter what she does. That's what happens to spies who are caught in enemy territory, and she's been caught in German-occupied France. Looking at the dark and horrifying paths ahead of her, Queenie knows that cooperation is the best route. She will do anything to avoid interrogation by the Gestapo chief Herr von Linden again, so she has struck a deal with him. He will give her all the paper she needs, and she will write down all the details she can think of about the British war effort. But Queenie figures the best place to start is with the story of her best friend Maddie--the pilot who flew her to France in the first place. It was a mini-Allied invasion by two brave girls whose accomplishments can never be officially recognized by the government they supported.

Code Name Verity is the intelligent, rich and lovely story of an extraordinary friendship between two young women serving England in WWII. This thriller is filled with smart spy intrigue and acts of unparalleled bravery by these strong young women. They are an unlikely pair--Maddie is a scrappy working class girl who wants nothing more than to fly airplanes. Queenie is a Scottish aristocrat, a chameleon fluent in French and German. Their tale is told primarily through the manuscript Queenie writes while she is held prisoner by the Gestapo in occupied France. She rather blithely relates incidents of her torture during interrogation--a technique which conveys the horror and cruelty without the explicit gory details. Readers not well-acquainted with WWII from the British point of view may have some difficulty keeping up with the acronyms and some historical references, but they will be richly rewarded for staying the course. As might be expected in a wartime story, deaths do occur. Language is infrequent (sh-t, b-stard, h-ll, f--k). This heart-wrenching, yet ultimately very satisfying book will appeal to teen and adult fans of both historical fiction and spy thrillers.
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