Reviews for Code Name Verity
AudioFile Reviews 2012 September
To reveal almost anything about the way events in CODE NAME VERITY unfold would spoil the book's many twists and turns and revelations. It all begins with Maddie, a young pilot, and Queenie, who are both part of the British war effort during WWII. The audiobook is its own revelation--narrators Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskell bring Queenie and Maddie to vibrant life, and listeners will fall in love with them from the start. Gaskell and especially Christie perform (and even sing in) a variety of English and Scottish accents as well as flawless French and German. More than that, they so fully inhabit the characters that the most harrowing moments, so intimate and immediate on audio, are nearly unbearable. It's an extraordinary book, made even more extraordinary by their truly spellbinding narration. J.M.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
----------------------
Horn Book Magazine Reviews 2013 #2
This is the intimate story of two young women in WWII: one is a spy, the other a pilot. One has a chance -- the other is doomed. The circumstances of war throw them together, and they become the best of friends. In fact, the book is ultimately about friendship. The audio features two different narrators portraying the two characters -- one is a refined, aristocratic Scotswoman; the other, a working-class girl from Manchester. As Julie, Christie is convincing -- her tones are subdued, as a tortured prisoner's would be. Her voicing of the narrative conveys Julie's exhaustion, fear, anger, frustration, and sadness. Gaskell's Maddie is a bit less believable (her narration has several noticeable edits, and her accent is more refined than Maddie's perhaps would have been), though the story is so compelling that one doesn't really mind. All in all, this is a fine audio of a thrilling, emotional, and devastatingly honest book. Friends like these don't come along every day, nor do books of this caliber. "Fly the plane, Maddie." angela j. reynolds
----------------------