Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Title: Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Year Published: 2012

Genre: YA fiction (mystery)

Pages: 332

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2014 Google Reading map): UK and France


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When "Verity" is arrested by teh Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. They'll get the truth out of her. But it won't be what they expect.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure, and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from a merciless and ruthless enemy?

Review: I have read a lot of books set in World War II and even a couple spy books (not usually my favorite), but this one definitely had its own outlook and perspective on the genre.

First off, female spies?! Awesome. It turns out there were a number of women allowed to fly planes during World War II, just not in combat (except in Russia where women were employed as combat pilots in the 1940s). Female pilots were allowed to shuttle planes around the United Kingdom, taking planes from one airfield to another and shuttling passengers (both military and civilian) where they needed to go. And yes, there were some female spies as well. It turns out the author did a lot of research into the roles women played in Britain during WWII in order to make this work of fiction plausible.

We get the story from the perspective of both main characters, Julie and Maddie. Julie's version is the first half of the book and I would rate that section a 4 out of 5. It gets quite confusing at times since there are so many characters and lots of them seem to have code names. I did like that we know the narrator/spy is in the hands of the Nazi Gestapo and that they are allowing her to write down her story. This is how we learn all about Julie and Maddie's friendship, Julie's background, and how she came to be in the Gestapo prison. I found the second half of the book, Maddie's story more interesting, but perhaps that is because her story fills in the gaps and reveals much more.

Overall this is a good novel about a little known aspect of World War II and I recommend it if you are interested in that time period.

Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Marie Semple

Title: Where'd You Go, Bernadette
Author: Marie Semple
Year Published: 2012

Genre: YA fiction (mystery)

Pages: 330

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2014 Google Reading map): USA (WA) and Antarctica


FTC Disclosure: I bought this book with my own money

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): When fifteen-year-old Bee claims a family trip to Antarctica as a reward for perfect grades, her fiercely intelligent but agoraphobic mother, Bernadette, throws herself into preparations for the trip. Worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Bernadette is on the brink of a meltdown. As disaster follows disaster, she disappears, leaving her family to pick up the pieces. Which is exactly what Bee does, weaving together emails, invoices, and school memos to reveal the secret past that Bernadette has been hiding for decades.

Review: I first heard about this book from Athira at Reading on a Rainy Day. She really enjoyed so I added it to my list, bought it a while later, stared at it for weeks and finally got around to reading it. I am so glad that I did!

This novel is quirky, funny, and entertaining without being fluff. There were passages I enjoyed so much that I read them aloud to people or had them read them to themselves! The book actually first appeared as an article (brief story?) in The New Yorker magazine. That story is in the back of the book and was fun to read as well.

The format of the book is various methods of communication. We read the story of the characters and learn about them through their letters, emails, phone calls and other documents. I thought at first that would be weird, but it turns out the reader gets to hear the story from various points of view, and that works really well.

The characters are crazy. Really. But I liked them, even the ones that weren't "likable." Bee has a mostly good relationship with her parents even though it has its moments of strain and anxiety for all involved. Since we learn about the characters in their own voices I feel like I really got to know them. Bernadette (mom) is nuts and frantic, Bee (daughter) is intelligent and wise beyond her years, Elgie (dad) is a workaholic and disconnected. The other peripheral characters are funny and kept me smiling as I read this book. I realize it felt light, fun, and funny even when it was dealing with serious issues. That doesn't mean it made light of things, just that the quirky style made it very entertaining.

Review: All the Truth that's in Me by Julie Berry

Title: All the Truth that's in Me
Author: Julie Berry
Year Published: 2013

Genre: YA fiction (mystery)

Pages: 274

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2013 Google Reading map): USA


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years later, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family.

Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember--even if he doesn't know it--her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever.

Review: Okay, I'm giving this novel 4.5 stars, but I didn't think I was going to for probably the first half of the book. When I saw the cover and read the description I thought it was going to be a story that takes place in the now. However, that isn't true. It takes place a long time ago when villages were small, people used oxen and horses for farming and transportation, and relationships were much more formal and "proper." I think if I had known this I would have enjoyed the first half of the book much more.

Judith tells the story of her two-year disappearance intertwined with the current day life of her town. The way she disappeared, who took her, what it was like for two years, why she cannot speak, and more all come out slowly in her thoughts as she navigates her way back into the lives of her family and friends. How does she fit in now? What is her role? Can she win back her mother's love and attention?

Really this is a study in relationships. What do we leave unsaid, who is right for us, what is the role of a parent or child, and more. Berry pulls us in to the lives of Judith, her family, and her town using the language and cadence of the 1800s. It is also a look at why do we speak, when is the spoken word valuable and worth taking a risk for? All very interesting!

Review: The Racketeer by John Grisham

Title: The Racketeer
Author: John Grisham
Year Published: 2013

Genre: YA fiction (mystery)

Pages: 382

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location (my 2013 Google Reading map): USA (NY)


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): In the history of the United States, only four active federal judges have been murdered. Judge Raymond Fawcett has just become number five. His body is found in his remote lakeside cabin. There is no sign of forced entry or struggle. Just two dead bodies: Judge Fawcett and his young secretary. And one large, state-of-the-art, extremely secure safe, opened and emptied.

One man, a former attorney, knows who killed Judge Fawcett, and why. But that man, Malcolm Bannister, is currently residing in the Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland. Though serving time, Malcolm has an ace up his sleeve. He has information the FBI would love to know, Malcolm would love to tell them. But everything has a price--and the man known as the Racketeer wasn't born yesterday.

Review: A John Grisham is the perfect book to take on a trip. I always know what I am going to get, I like the style and the story, and I can read them fairly quickly. This book saw me through the Saturday of a dance convention in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend!

I don't really know what to say about this book. If you've read and liked other Grishams, you should read this one. I liked it better than many of his others because there was a good and believable twist that I didn't see coming.

If you haven't read a Grisham yet, go for it! You don't have to read them in order. They always involve a southern lawyer, usually a murder, some embezzling, a bit of a love interest, and lots of characters. The stories flow well, they hold your interest, and I like the characters.

Review: Wonder by RJ Palacio

Title: Wonder
Author: RJ Palacio
Year Published: 2012

Genre: YA fiction

Pages: 313

Rating: 5 out of 5

Location (my 2013 Google Reading map): USA (NY)


FTC Disclosure: I borrowed this book from my school library

Summary (from the inside flap of the book): August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school--until now. He's about to enter fifth grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid, then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

Review: So I spent a good portion of today reading this book in public with tears spilling down my cheeks. People must have wondered what I was reading! But you've got to know that I tend to cry at happy things. I can read books with awful stuff happening and I don't cry. Well, except if an animal dies.

This book is so wonderful! It is poignant, funny, unique, and interesting. Auggie has a great personality that pulls the reader in his world. There are multiple parts to this book so we also get the story from the point of view of his sister Via, best friend Jack, and two other semi-peripheral characters. In fact, I liked all the characters; they are real and each play an important role in Auggie's venture into a tradional school setting. Auggie's parents are also great characters who nurture, protect (sometimes too much), and are navigating a scary world for their son.

One of things that I like most about this book is that it isn't preachy. Yes we shouldn't stare, yes we shouldn't be embarrassed by our family members, and yes we shouldn't do the things we do sometimes, but that's real. We are human and we make mistakes that sometimes hurt the ones we love. Palacio allows her characters to do this as well even though they are loving and kind.

In fact, one of the greatest "lessons" that comes out of this book is stated by the school principal near the end: "we should all strive to be kinder than is necessary." What a wonderful thought.