Awards and Reviews

I can give many reasons why I believe Code Name Verity is a worthy read. The history and themes the novel provides alone makes it a credible trade book in a secondary classroom. Furthermore, the awards and reviews the novel received should be enough to seal the deal on whether the book is worth your time. The awards obviously show the success of the novel, but it is the reviews that I feel are the most important. Students can compare their own conclusions with the opinions of professionals and the common public. From there they can decide how much credit they should offer to critics, keeping in mind that many refer to critic reviews before choosing a book to read.

The awards Code Name Verity received are:

• UK Literary Association Award Winner
• Edgar Award for Best Young Adult
• Printz Honor Book
• Boston Globe/Horn Book Awards Honor Book
• Golden Kite Award Honor Book
• Scottish Children's Book Award Nominee
• Catalyst Book Award (East Lanarkshire County Council, Scotland
• School LIbrary Journal Best Book of the Year (2012)
• Agatha Award Nominee for Best Children's/Young Adult Novel
• Carnegie Medal in Literature Nominee
• Amazon Best Books of the Year for Teen Fiction (2012)
• YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
• Amelia Bloomer Book List for Young Adult Fiction
• North East Teenage Book Award Nominee

Reviews:

One of the first reviews completed after the publishing of Code Name Verity was the New York Times. Marjorie Ingall gave a fair summary of the complicated plot with concomitant feelings of excitement and admiration. Ingall says, "Code Name Verity...is a fiendishly plotted mind game of a novel...you force yourself to slow down, but you don't want to, because you're terrified these beautiful, vibrant characters are doomed." Her positive and sparkling review ends, "A smart book about the power of female friendship is like finding Neverland."

Laura Miller of Salon gives a similar account of the novel. After a fairly in-depth summary of Code Name Verity, Miller says, "Wein has written a puzzle novel whose cleverness never overwhelms its spirit and heart." Miller continues to praise Wein's gift for writing a puzzle plot and making a historical novel enjoyable.

I highly suggest you get on Goodreads (whether you have an account or not) and look at the reader reviews for this novel. They are the truest type of reviews from the common public you are likely to find. People who write these reviews do not feel any type of public pressure to complete a biased or vague critique, so rest assured that you are getting their true opinion. Also, the sheer number of reviews should be enough to convince you of the public's combined opinion.