Book Review: Code Name Verity

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Published: February 6th 2012 by Egmont Press
Source: Barnes and Noble
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
I have two weeks. You'll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.

That's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine - and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.

He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I'm going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France - an Allied Invasion of Two.

We are a sensational team.

Review:
I wish I loved this book more. I heard such good things about how heart wrenching it is but I wasn't feeling it. Does this mean Code Name Verity isn't a great book? NO! This book is amazing! It has so many perks but it was super slow to get there. There are two parts of the book and my review will also be split because my feelings did a total 180 flip at the change.

Exactly what the summary promises. "Queenie" is a war prisoner who cuts a deal with the Nazi opposition to have a merciful death. Part 1 contains all of Queenie's written reports to the enemy. It is written through her best friend Maddie's perspective, which I admit was a bit strange at first. Because they are reports, it is filled with information. I felt like a majority of her story is an extensive description of pilots. The story started to get really slow because there was no drama. There were multiple times in which I thought of dropping the book but was encouraged to continue for the ending.

Something I appreciated is the friendship between Queenie and Maddie. Although it did drag on at certain parts, the two really love each other. Together, they are sensational. With each their own talents, they climbed the success ladder and with their jobs came secrets.

It's like being in love, discovering your best friend.

Throughout Queenie's entire story I felt uneasy and I couldn't figure out why! I expected her to suddenly reveal that she was Maddie all along or laugh at the end and say that it was all lies. Even with my uneasiness, I couldn't help but believe her. I could feel the emotion in her voice. Queenie is broken from the torture. She hates herself for telling the secrets of her country. I felt her shame and pain. She could have told me that she sold chocolate to turtles and I would've believed her.

I DON'T EVEN WANT TO TELL YOU ANYTHING ABOUT PART 2 IN CASE I SPOIL IT. Part 2 is what won this book over. I literally screamed at the first words. The story picked up significantly and there was TONS of drama. I think the problem with part 1 was that I knew no matter what Queenie did, her death was inevitable. In part 2, I had no idea where the book was going. I felt excitement, terror, love, and betrayal. There is more life in the voice. It has a different feel compared to the depressing tone from a prisoner sentenced to death.

But for some reason I wasn't crying. At THE scene that I know everyone was raving about, I couldn't cry. This is big for me because I literally cry at anything! I think my inner thoughts of groaning at the slow beginning snubbed my feelings for the ending. I felt sad and I was definitely shocked at the plot twist but I wasn't connected enough to the characters to cry.

KISS ME, HARDY! Kiss me, QUICK!

The New York Times review on the cover described the book as, "A fiendishly plotted mind game of a novel."  Since part 2 didn't start until two-thirds in, for a majority of the book I was waiting for the game. I was disappointed when I wasn't getting anything UNTIL PART 2. Everything that happened had me whispering, "Oh. My. Gosh." and flipping back to part 1 to reread certain parts. It further more confirmed my beliefs that Queenie is a badass.

My review may be mixed and probably an unpopular opinion but honestly I appreciate the book. This is a total "it's not you, it's me" moment. I just don't do well with slow books and maybe historical fiction isn't my jam? The characters are very real. There is an amazing, strong friendship. The story is emotionally filled. I think that people who love historical fiction should give this book a shot. Heck not just those fans, if you read the summary and found it interesting, READ THIS BOOK. Keep in mind that the beginning is slow but you have to wait! The ending IS worthwhile.

I DON'T want to give up on this genre.

Middle Grade Monday: Inside Out & Back Again

This week's Middle Grade Monday will be on the book Inside Out & Back Again about a Vietnamese family immigrating to the U.S. on a boat. Honestly, this is more of me fangirling about finding a book about a Vietnamese girl. The summary of the book tells it all. Nothing that I say will be meaningful for this book. I'm going to let it's own words speak for the book.

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai
Published: February 22nd 2011 by HarperCollins
Source: Library
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Inside Out and Back Again is a New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award! Inspired by the author's childhood experience of fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama, this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child's-eye view of family and immigration.

For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of its strangers, the dullness of its food . . . and the strength of her very own family.

Review:
I am lucky to have found this book at the library. I picked it up because of the cover but stayed because of so much more. I was excited to have found a book about a Vietnamese family fleeing the country to escape the war. This is my family's story. However, my parents never like to talk about their experience and I hoped that this book would help me understand our history.

The emotional aspect is important because of something I noticed in my nieces and nephews. They may know in general where their parents came from, but they can't really imagine the noises and smells of Vietnam, the daily challenges of starting over in a strange land. -From the Author's Note

The book is a historical fiction story that educates it's readers on the hardship of the refugees to teach compassion. I think that it is great to have a middle grade book on this topic, because it gives children the opportunity to turn to a book when they want to get a deeper understanding of their homes and family. I couldn't stop paying attention to this book. The book did the purpose I hoped for and after reading I felt more grateful of my family.

Everybody knows the ship
could sink
unable to hold
the piles of bodies
that keep
crawling on
like raging ants
from a disrupted nest.

But no one
is heartless enough
to say
stop
because what if
they had been
stopped
before their turn?

Lai writes the book in verse, which I'm usually not a fan of, but it worked well here. It allowed her to put emphasis on words and fully showed the frustration of Hà in the U.S. I'm amazed at how much emotion the author was able to fit into minimal words. The broken language even further emphasized Hà's struggles as she learned English and placed me in her shoes.

I count up to twenty.
The class claps
on its own.

I'm furious,
unable to explain
I already learned
fractions
and how to purify
river water.

So this is
what dumb
feels like.

I hate, hate, hate it.

Inside Out & Back Again is obviously more easy to read than a Wikipedia page and much more tolerable than a history class. I learned so much in an enjoyable form. There's a reason why diversity in books are important, especially access to it to children. I never knew how many Vietnamese books I lacked in my life until I felt like crying when I read Vietnamese words and names. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the Vietnamese culture and the story of the refugees.