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Ask 2 good questions:  see link for guidance.

Make an observation and explain why this particular detail stood out to you.

Pull a powerful passage and unpack it, clarifying for group members what gives it “muscle”.

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Questions:

Narrator seems jittery. Very talkative and ironic. Rambling is a talking trait, but even when the protagonist is writing, this characteristic seems to be replicated in the text, which takes up much more effort. Why is this her writing style? Is it potentially a coping mechanism for her current situation (ie. being held captive) and emotional turmoil?

Observation:

I noticed that the narrator is telling the story from Maddie's POV. Usually, when people start telling stories, they narrate from their own POV, so it was interesting to see a protagonist narrate from a different perspective other than their own.

Powerful Passage:

This passage I have pulled is because of its stylistic elements, not necessarily because of the text content. Between pages 22-23, the author uses various stylistic elements to correspond to the context of the story. The lack of punctuation (ie. the last sentence of page 22 and the first few sentences of page 23) and the misspelling of words (ie. the second sentence of page 23) were clearly intentional for the integration of text and context, which made the story more realistic and elevate the reader's imagination.

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1. Who's maddie? Will we see more of her character?

2. .  An observation that stood out to me was the constant jumps back and forth from memories, to the present. I think it can be confusing at times, but sort of adds to the style, and the idea of her being trapped with nothing but a pencil to write about her experience. I think the little details in the writing helps paint a picture of how she feels, and what she is going through.

“ You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do, because that's what you do to enemy agents. It's what we do to enemy agents''

I think this passage is powerful because it alludes to the idea that no matter what, nobody will win.

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1. Questions

Why is the narrator being kept alive? Is it really worth all of this time and effort for them to get a few codes or information about Allied basses?

Why did the narrator decide to start her confession story from the point of view of Maddie instead of her own? Is a way for her to detach herself from her own story?

2. Observation

I find the fact that the narrator begins recounting her story from Maddie's point of view to be very interesting. So far, we have a great view into Maddie's days leading up to the war and her early work with the WAAF. Contrarily, we don't even know the narrator's name. We have no idea how she began helping the war effort, or why she ended up in France. I'm curious to know if this was all some sort of coping mechanism for her or if there is a more logical reason behind her way of telling her story. As a little side note, I'm really excited to discover at which point she and Maddie begin working together.

3. Powerful Passage

"I'm not traveling those roads. This is the easiest. The others are too frightening to even look down." (Wein 6)

I think this passage puts into writing a feeling that alomst everyone has had. In a situation where there is no good option, there is always one that seems to not be quite as bad as the others, one that was known to be the choice even when "discussing" different options. The narrator in the story has had awful choices given to her, she knew what she had to do for her best chance of survival.

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Do the characters seem believable to you?  Do they remind you of anyone?

Is your book’s protagonist a hero or an anti hero?  Support your response.

Evaluate the quality of characterization and identify one specific and powerful thing the author does to create character.  (ie.  backstory, physical appearance, flaws, motivations, way of speaking)

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Is the writing style symbolic to the story or is it just the author's writing style? Is the information that she is giving up true or fabricated? The way information is given up feels either is a foolish manner or in a calculated manner. This stood out to me because it can change the whole meaning of the text to me. If giving the information is in a foolish manner I can see it more as a instinctive way to live. However, if the information is given out in a calculated manner I can see it showing the character's cunning. The passage I pulled was when she was talking about what aircraft she knew. This passage felt powerful to me because gives a sense that they are saying what they know while purposefully making it long winded.

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1. Characters

I find that the characters in this story to be very believable. Specifically looking at Queenie's character traits, I see a lot of myself in her. Specifically, the way that she deals with stressful situations resembles my actions in such times.

2. Hero or Anti-Hero

I would say that the book's protagonist, Queenie, is definitely a hero. Although what she is currently doing, giving code away to the Axis seems to go against what her country is fighting towards during the war, she has very good intentions at heart. 'Verity' gives us a very good insight into the life of a good person who has been put into a very difficult situation. In the flashbacks, Maddie is painted more as the protagonist of the story. She too is undoubtedly a hero. She has great intentions and wants to pilot planes to aid the war effort. Both of these women also seem to be kind to others around them as the story progresses.

3. Characterization

I feel that in thise section of the book, the area of characterization that the author has focussed on is the narrator's physical appearence. When we are first introduced to the character, she mentions how she trades in pieces of code for her clothing back as she felt deeply uncomfortable to be half nude infront of her captives. When we meet Queenie's character through Maddie's prespective, we can tell that she takes her physical appearence very seariously; she loves to look put together. This little detail about her character makes her so much more relateable for readers. They are now able to understand that she is just a normal person who has been stuck in these unfortunate circumstances.

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Characters:

The characters of this story seem very believable. They don't remind me of anyone specifically, but the narrator's character traits and her way of speaking seem very familiar to me.

Is the protagonist a hero or an anti-hero?:

I believe the book's protagonist is a hero. Politically, she may or may not be seen as a hero, depending on the reader's view on WW2 (ie. Allies vs Axis). Otherwise, she is portrayed to be the "good guy", despite her "spy" role, as she seems to have good intentions behind her actions.

Characterization:

The narrator's way of speaking (or really, her way of writing) reveals a lot about her character. Her novelistic writing style plays a huge role in the story's context, leading to making insightful inferences. Noting the fact that she is writing "confessions" (she has been captured by her enemy and they are trying to squeeze out any information she had gathered from being a spy), I wonder why she is "stretching out" her knowledge into big redundant paragraphs of dialogue rather than condensing it all into a few sentences. Perhaps this is her form of self-expression, as it probably is limited in her captive state... or maybe she is trying to stretch out her lifespan, knowing that she will die soon because of her enemy.

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I find the characters very believeable. Queenie reminds me a lot of my sister(rambling/irritating but smart). I believe her written confession shows her cunning/motivations through her deliberate(or instinctively) giving information in a drawn out way.

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Does this book seem realistic?  What has the author done to create a believable world to immerse you in?

Identify specific clues that allow you to date the different sections of the book;  you might be given explicit information, such as a year.  Alternatively, the book could reference significant world events that allow you to piece together the date.

Select one scene in which the setting is particularly well rendered, and point to key details that are vivid and effective.

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Realistic book?

I think this book seems relatively realistic. This book uses historical, real-life events (ie. WW2) and I can tell that the author spent time researching the proper dates to make the story seem as authentic and close to reality as possible. I wouldn't know the realistic depiction of the characters (e.g. jobs of a pilot) from personal experience, but based on the specific jargon used in the dialogue, I can sense that this was written to be as realistic as possible to the real-life events happening within the plot.

Dates:

Right off the bat, we are given the dates at the start of each chapter/journal entry, so we are given a clear idea of the timeline. Additionally, we also know that the story is set in WW2, with obvious references to specific events, which gives us a good idea on how this story fits into these historical events. Furthermore, the narrator would sometimes mention how many days has passed since her previous journal entry.

Well-rendered setting:

One well-rendered setting scene was between page 115-116, when Queenie, despite not physically being there, was describing the scenes of Maddie in Scotland. She described the events and environment in such detail, including strong imagery and descriptive words. I find her ability to story tell to be very impressive and captivating.

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1. Realism

I would say that the world created by the author is quite realistic. Since I don't know what life during the second World War resembled, especially as a pilot or a special agent, I do not have a good idea of what a realistic depiction would look like. However, specific details about characters and the environment allow me to be completely immersed in the story.

2. Date

Every chapter (letter entry) of the book is dated which allows the reader to understand Queenie's current timeline. Throughout her stories involving Maddie, Queenie usually omits the specific date but often references pivital moments of WW2, therefore allowing the reader to quite easily understand the time passing in the past and keep track of all the stories.

3. Specific Setting

One moment of vivid setting that really stuck with me was on page 115 when Queenie returned from her visit to Von Linden's office. The raw imagery that is used to describe how Queenie has been restrained following the first in depth description of her room being thrown at the reader at the same time creates such strong emotions. This point also proved to be the only one that provided me with a setting that I could actually completely visualize.

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I find the book to be realistic. I found the way it's written displays what I can imagine someone actually writting like if they were in a similar situation. Sections of the book are often labeled with datas or the characters will give the time span since the last data/historic event. Finding a specific setting is hard considering most need the support from the other scenes to create a vivid and effective scene.

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1.  Choose a critical lens, and attempt to read your required section through this lens.  Consider:

Your reasons for choosing this lens

Important questions, considerations and assumptions you were aware of during your reading

Key observations you made during your reading that were based on your lens

2.Bring a short text that you connected your reading to and be prepared to share your thoughts.

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Feminist Lens

1. Reason/Questions/Observation

I decided to analyse this section of the book through the feminist lens since the two main characters that we have met in this story are female and, I have found it quite difficult to analyze in other lenses because of the strong war jargon (which I do not understand at all).

Questions I was asking duing my reading include: Are women being treated differently or opressed? Is there any derrogatory language present? How do male characters conduct themselves differently then the female characters?

A few observations that I made based on the feminist lens is how much value is put into a woman's beauty. When preparing Queenine for her interview, the main focus was to maker her look beautiful and 'womanly'. Something else that has been quite rampant in this section of the book is how unwanted women are in the workforce even in a time of war. Even if Queenie and Maddie both have respectable careers with the war effort, they are always considered after men and are assumed to be less capable.

Side note: The job distribution is also very sexist (radio operators vs. pilots, leaders)

2. TTT Connection

The work Queenie is conducting in this book reminded me vividly of an article that I found earlier this week. This article explores the story of Odette Sansom, a British secret agent who helped with the liberation of France. Queenie's character is constructed very similarly to Odette Samson. Both of these women parachuted out of planes and were arrested and tortured by the Gestapo in France. The article referencfes the book "D-Day Girls" telling the story of heroic women during WW2 and I would be very inetersted in reading it.

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Former spy Odette Sansom reunites in 1966 with other British heroes of World War II. Sansom was tortured by the Gestapo while serving in France. (Len Trievnor/Getty Images)

Nearly three years into World War II, Odette Sansom received a mysterious inquiry from the War Office in London inviting her to interview for a role in helping the Allies. The French-born Sansom had fled London's nightly bombings and was living in the English countryside with her three young daughters while her husband was away fighting. When she traveled into the city, Capt. Selwyn Jepson offered her a job in France working for His Majesty's government but didn't specify the dangerous details. "Her chances of returning alive were no better than even - or less," writes Sarah Rose in "D-Day Girls: The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II." Though Sansom had only a vague idea of her commitment, she told her recruiter, "Train me."

Sansom is one of the daring women who engaged in gallantry and sacrifice in the service of Britain's secret agency, the Special Operations Executive. Equal parts espionage-romance thriller and historical narrative, "D-Day Girls" traces the lives and secret activities of the 39 women who answered the call to infiltrate France. All were vetted; they had to hold British citizenship and speak French like a native to elude the Nazis in the lead-up to D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944.

Some of the women were trained to parachute into enemy territory by the light of the moon, with agents on the ground waiting to take them to safe houses. Once settled, they began their espionage operations, convening in smoky bars to collect information from fellow spies, bicycling around the country, their backpacks overstuffed with explosives to blow up power and phone lines, and forever peering over their shoulders fearing their covers might have been blown. Some agents in the vast resistance network of men and women invariably made mistakes; others betrayed their comrades and flipped. As a consequence, some women endured Gestapo torture; some were raped.

In addition to Sansom, Rose details the lives of several women such as Andrée Borrel and Lise de Baissac. Sansom was ultimately arrested by a secret police officer, Sgt. Hugo Bleicher, after he successfully turned an operative in her circuit. Though she was starved and tortured by the Gestapo, she never divulged information about the Resistance. She was imprisoned at Germany's Ravensbruck concentration camp, the largest women's prison in history, but managed to escape. When Fritz Suhren, a German SS officer and Ravensbruck's commandant, came to trial for his activities at the camp, Sansom testified and helped convict him using the evidence she collected during her time there.

Borrel was regarded by her fellow male paratroopers as "lower-class and scrappy," though "the men found her accessible, playful, easy to like, easy to share a smoke and a laugh with." She wound up playing an integral role in an underground escape line that escorted as many as 600 Allied invaders home.

De Baissac, who had grown up in Mauritius, the French-speaking British colony off the coast of Africa, led the resistance in Normandy in 1944. Like Borrell, she had parachuted into France and helped set up safe houses for new agents and organized the pickup of ammunition.

Many of the female agents portrayed in "D-Day Girls" were searching for nontraditional ways to be of service to the cause. In the words of de Baissac: "I didn't want to get married. I would have been just ... a wife and mother during the war."

While chronicling the James Bond-worthy missions and love affairs of these women, Rose vividly captures the broken landscape of war. Of London, she writes, "Much of the city lay in ruins, a ragged collection of gaps and edifices, like a child's mouth after a lost tooth." The passages describing France are no less heart-rending: "If occupation means, literally, a place taken over, it was achingly true of Paris in the winter of 1943: Street signage was in German; swastika bunting flapped in bitter breezes; emptied apartments were filled by German troops. The French had a new word for their own sense of dislocation - dépaysement - not feeling at home. They were de-countrified."

"D-Day Girls" is scrupulously researched. Rose not only scoured diaries, oral histories, war crime testimonies and declassified military files, she moved to France to learn the language, went parachuting and studied Morse code so she could immerse herself fully in the lives of her heroines. Packed with details and multiple storylines, "D-Day Girls" may be a bit dense for some readers, but history buffs are likely to find it a treasure trove of previously unexplored details about the lives of these female spies.

Rose doesn't end her story with the triumphant Allied victory. Rather, in her final chapter, she addresses the inherent sexism in war: that the women who offered themselves in a fearless fight for democracy weren't heralded back home in the way their male counterparts were. As Rose explains: "Male agents performing the same tasks might be recommended for the Victoria Cross, created by Queen Victoria, the highest honor for military gallantry. While Corps Féminins did much of the same work in the same places, they were not technically soldiers and so not eligible for military honors - only civil decorations ... Their salaries and ranks were lower; so too were their war pensions."

In her author's note, Rose also addresses the way women at war have been minimized or erased in the way history has framed their roles. "It silences women's stories while privileging everything else in conflict. Were it not for oral histories, most of women's history would be lost forever." Rose does point to some important if belated recognition for the women of the Special Operations Executive. De Baissac, for example, who ran several of her own operations, received the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor, and, at age 91, was finally awarded her paratrooper wings.

"I was very happy that France had been delivered and that I had a little help that I had been able to give," de Baissac said in reflecting on her role in the war. "My life has been worth something. That gives me pleasure."

The Spies Who Armed the Resistance, Sabotaged the Nazis, and Helped Win World War II

By Sarah Rose

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Review | The female spies who helped liberate World War II France

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Nearly three years into World War II, Odette Sansom received a mysterious inquiry from the War Office in London inviting her to interview for a role in helping the Allies. The French-born Sansom had fled London's nightly bombings and was living in the English countryside with her three young daughters while her husband was away fighting.

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1. I chose to read this section through the feminist lens.

I chose this lens because this is the critical lens I am the most familiar with. I was also considering reading through the socialist lens, as I thought there could be a lot said with WW2. I chose the feminist lens... however, once I started reading this week's section, I realized there was not much to pull out by looking through the feminist lens. However, I was able to flag down some observations.

Questions I had during my reading include: How are the women being treated differently than the men? How were the women objectified?

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Choose 5-6 memorable words from the section and talk about these words;  consider connotation, meaning, fluency strategies you used to access meaning, why the word stands out.  Look for colourful, even aggressive or surprising language and consider why these words might be appropriate in the particular context.  Look for words that might be controversial;  consider origins and evolution.

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1. Focus on the novel’s form:  how are the chapters arranged?  Are they titled?  Equally distributed?  Too long or short?  Are there multiple narrators?  How is time managed - ie. flashbacks?  Are there special, unusual features about the way the book is put together?

2. Focus on the novel’s style:  consider narrative point of view, tense, tone - see The Tone List,  use of figurative language and vivid imagery, handling of dialogue, and any other relevant style elements.

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1. Form

The chapters are arranged by Queenie's journal entries (dated). When she is giving up information about Maddie and her past (documented flashbacks), these entries are usually divided using subtitles to introduce what she will be discussion. The dates seperating chapters identify teh present dates (when she discusses Von Linden, etc.). In my opinion, these chapters are very well distributesd. I do not enjoy long chapters so, haveing natural breaks every 5 to 7 pages (as it is in this book) makes it much easier for me to digest. Next, I know that the second half of this book switches to Maddie as a narrator but, we have not reached that part in the reading yet (next section).

1. Style

This book is narrated in first person. Honestly, I find books written in first person to be easier to understand for me so, I do enjoy that style aspect. The tone of the book could be described as forceful anxiety. Our current narrator, Queenie, is imprissoned and is destined to execution so, it is only fair that every aspect of her story seems frantically anxious. That being said, this character also has such a trong pressence that everything she says still seems forceful despite her diminishing confidence.

There is so figurative language adding style to the book. The vivid imagery in the flashbacks and the emotion that is being communicated through word choice adds so much depth to the story. In addition to this, I am so pleased that the author found a flawless way to intergrate dialogue into a story presented in the form of letters as it makes it much more of an interesting and personal read.

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Memorable words/phrases

"Kiss me hardy!" - A reference to Admiral Horatio Nelson’s last words as well as the words Julie uttered to Maddie before any dangerous mission. This phrase appears throughout the book but ends up being Julie's last words and request to Maddie and the phrase becomes twisted in such a memorable way forever.

"I have told the truth" - Probably one of the most iconic lines of the book, this quotation has stuck with me so much. Not only does it relate to Julie's code name - Verity, it also carries so much after we learn that Julie shared no important information whatsoever to the Gestapo during her time as a prisonner.

"I can't hold out against torture, just against questions" - Torture is such an important theme in this book. Julie is put through hell is still manages to stay quiet about everything she knows. However, as her mental and physical states diminish, Julie must ebign to fear that she might slip out something she shouldn't.

Fear (lists of fear) - Fear is also a very important theme throughout this book. I find it incredicly interesting that for both Julie and Maddie the word begins by describing fears that seem incredibly childish by the end of the book after they both experienced so much pain and hardship.

"DRAT DRAT DOUBLE DRAT AND BLAST" - Maddie's word choice in this specific situation says a lot about her character. Although her frustration and fear can be sensed from the phrase, we can also observe that she prefers to use milder words to express her aggression.

*I returned the book and I forgot to write the page numbers down.

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1. Novel's form

In this novel, there are two narrators: Julie (for part 1) and Maddie (for part 2). For the first part of the book, the chapters are separated by dates with subsections, while the second part of the book have no titled chapters, having them only separated through

They are relatively equally distributed, although there is sometimes the odd one-paragraph-long chapter that covers only half the page.

2. Novel's Style

This book is narrated in first person. The tone of the book could be described as forceful anxiety, which makes sense as our current narrator is imprisoned and is waiting to be executed. Additionally, there is some figurative language adding style to the book. The vivid imagery in the flashbacks and the emotion that is being communicated through word choice adds so much depth to the story. I also find interesting that the author integrated the dialogue into a story presented in the form of letters, as it makes it much more of an interesting and personal read.

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1. Select and describe a memorable scene in the book, and explain why it has such an impact.
2. Consider the biographical lens;  unearth one detail about the author of the book, and attempt to connect this detail to something that happened in this reading section.
3. Consider and share your approach for managing difficult sections of this, or any book.  What advice would you give to fellow group members about navigating a text that presents you with challenging material?

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1. What unanswered questions do you have about the book?
2.  What surprised you about the book?
3.  Who would you recommend this book to?
4. What are the most important things to share with other groups about this book?  Short list this to 3.

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1. Unanswered questions

No questions! I had many throughout the reading of this book but towards the end I had most of my questions answered. I was also doing some lateral reading online to further my understanding of the text (e.g. LitCharts, Wikipedia).

2. Any surprises?

I was surprised that Maddie had to kill Julie. That sudden plot twist threw me off guard.

3. Recommending this book

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, and someone who likes to read books with many stylistic elements that incorporate the art of fonts and formatting.

4. Most important things

Some readers might find most of the book confusing to understand, but the ending ties the whole plot together and . It might be a good idea to read a summary of the whole story first before diving into the book.

The formatting style of this book might make the information harder to digest, especially for the first part of the book (written in Julie's perspective). I would recommend reading summaries of each chapter if one is having a difficult time understanding the context of the story.

Trigger warning for graphic torture scenes should be provided to readers.

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1. Memorable Scene

The most memorable scene was the events leading up to Maddie killing Julie. The fact that the one thing Julie asks of Maddie is to be freed from the torture of her life through a phrase that was brought up throughout the book (ie. "KISS ME HARDY!") makes this one of the most impactful scenes from an that I have read.

2. Biographical Lens

The author is a pilot (like Maddie) and she spent most of her life in Scotland.

3. Managing difficult sections

The readers should be provided a trigger warning before diving into this book. This story goes into detail about torture and a bit of gore.

When navigating difficult scenes, take breaks when needed. Reading graphic texts does not have to be rushed. On the other hand, if you genuinely do not want to read through the graphic scenes, then I would lightly skim through the scene, capturing not necessarily every detail but enough to get the gist of the scene. Another alternative would be to search up a chapter summary online to take in the scene in a more digestible way.

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"Lysander" (throughout the book)

Lysanders were large military planes that the RAF and Special Duties used during World War II.

Of Greek origin, its meaning is "liberator". The name comprises the elements "lysis" (freedom) and "andros" (man).

Lysanders not only served as vital tools in military operations but also carried a name that echoed the very ideals of liberation and freedom they helped to achieve during a turbulent era in history.

"DRAT DRAT DOUBLE DRAT AND BLAST" (pg 207)

Maddie saying that in all caps and repeated swearing brings into context the extent of her feelings of frustration.

"A woman did that." (Pg 237)

Said with a negative connotation

implies sexist views.

"Sheer obstinacy I expect." (Pg 209)

obstinacy = stubbornness

The phrase carries a critical tone, suggesting that her behaviour is unreasonable or frustrating

The "I expect" implies some degree of familiarity with such behaviour from herself

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" (pg 210)

The repetition of "sorry" reveals the speaker’s feelings of remorse, and emphasizes the depth and sincerity of their apology.

The "I'm so sorry" further intensifies the apology

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1. Memorable Scene

The most memorable scene of the book for me is definitely the chain of events leading to Maddie shooting Julie. The level of detail that is shared about Julie's state from Maddie's perspective is absolutely chilling. The way that Maddie is discovered by Julie also brought up so many emotions as a reader. The fact that Julie can recognize her friend from a cry and that the one thing she asks of her is to be freed from the torture of her life through a phrase that was brought up throughout the book makes this one of the most memorable scenes from any book that I have read.

1. Biographical Lens

Through research on the author, I discovered that she, like Maddie, is actually a pilot. Her husband, Tim, was a pilot, and Wein got her pilot's liscence afterwards. Additionally, Elizabeth Wein was born in the United Sates, moved to England, and proceeded to spend a lot of her life in Scotland (all areas of high relevance during WW2 and where the two main characters are from).

1. Approach

When faced with difficult sections of a book, my recommended approach to others would be to take a break or to even skip through the section is it is prooving to be too challenging. As a reader, I find challenging sections of a book to actually be the most impactful and that if I skip over them, I am missing too much of the storyline to just jump back in. Normally, I force myself to get through the section that is troubling me while I am feeling all of the emotions the author intended me to feel. If I find that I need a, break afterwards I will take it after the section to gather up all of my emotions.

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1. Unanswered Questions

I don't actually have any unanswered questions about this book. Since this waws my second time reading the book, I found that it was a great way for me to tie all the loose ends that I was left with during my previous read.

1. Surprises

I was actually quite surprised about Engel in this book. From how Julie was describing her, I assumed that she shared similar views to Von Linden and that she showed very little compassion towards Julie as a prisoner. Upon hearing that she was actually very helpful towards Maddie and Julie I was taken aback. Her character developed so much depth from Maddie's perspective and I really like that about her story.

1. Recommend

I would recommend this book to ayone who has a slight interest in historical reads, that enjoys books split up into short chapters, and is willing to take some time to do some lateral reading in order to dissect all of the important moments, themes, and messages. This book is by no means an "easy read." In order to get anything out of the book, you must be ready to reread sentences and circle back to previous moments to understand the whole meaning.

1. Important Notes

I would say that the most important thing to note about this book is that even if the beginning might seem to be very slow paced, in the second section, all the pieces begin to come together to create an awfully exciting and emotional read.

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1. A memorable scene for me is when Julie is writing out her “confessions” under duress, to her kidnappers on scrap pieces of paper. It shows how she is brave and very intelligent, even under pressure. She manages to sprinkle clues, and misinformation into her confessions, tricking her captors and giving her a chance for survival.

2. After researching a little bit, I learned the author, Elizabeth Wein was a pilot herself. This explains the details of the plains and the knowledge the author added to the book.

3. When faced with a difficult area in the book, I would suggest breaking it down into smaller passages and take notes. Re-read the complex sections, talk to someone else and compare opinions. You can also take breaks when you feel overwhelmed.

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Unanswered questions:

How do Julia and Maddie maintain their hope throughout the book.

How does Julia’s fate unfold

Suprises: It was surprising to see the way this book was written with multiple perspectives, flashbacks, and weird timelines but I really enjoyed it.

Recommendations: I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially those interested in World War II stories and strong female protagonists. It's also suitable for readers who appreciate intricate plots and emotional depth.

Important things to share: This book focuses on historical factors and is set in a time period where a women pilot might be very rare. It also focuses on the importance of friendship, and working together. The character depth is also very important to the plot, as Julia and Maddie are slowly developing as the story progresses.

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Memorable scene

When Julia got shot. The reason this had such an impact for me was how and when she got shot. The fact that she wanted to get shot and the fact that she got shot by a friend made her death more impactful then if it was an enemy to me.

The author is a pilot and this fascination is shown in the characters as well as some of the information given(one character is a pilot). (Writing from experience/expertise is fascinating. )

Some readers may find the style of everything making sense only at the end dificult to manage. Reading in two different styles as well can be difficult(letter to Simi chapters). A way to navigate difficult text especially in this book for me was to reread parts to get a better understanding. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books where you have to solve it as it goes on.

3 important things. Firstly, reading the book twice or having recaps for references makes the reading much more digestable. Secondly, This book is written from two prospectives with different writting styles. Lastly, this book is one of two in a series so there's more to the story if it felt incompete.

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I chose the biographical lens.

The reason I chose this lens is because there are some links to both the characters and the author's own life.

Important questions.

Is she writing from experience?

Is the characters based on real people?

It's important to consider how the author places information. It's important to assume the author used some things from her own life to add to the story.

The author is a pilot and as such added information about planes and made one of the characters a pilot. Connection to Good Omens with its date system and almost mock seriousness.

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The first part of the book has no chapters. It is separated by dates and subtopics. These sections in the first part are greatly disproportionate in length. The second part of the book has simi chapters with no titles. These sections are more even in length. There are 2 authors one for the first half and one for the second half. The first part of the book has an anxious but almost mock serious tone to me. The first part is written as letters and has a disrupted fluence to the information presented.

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Verity- The word to me represents the differences of her information and fact, as well as her ability to "play a character".

Double drat- This word is described as the most fearsome oath Maddie ever swears. This to me brings into context the extent of her feelings of frustration and such.

Kittyhawk- To me this name like most of the code names helps describe the characters more like a nickname instead of a code name.

Gestapo- I find it interesting that they use this name instead of the SSS that they are more commonly referenced to as.

Luffwaffe- This name is fun because it just means "air weapon". I find the fact that the author uses the proper names for the aircraft fascinating and greatly encourages outside reading.

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While this novel highlights their courage, friendship, and their immense sacrifices, the article from Vogue provides a historical context to the fictional narrative of "Code Name Verity," showcasing real-life examples of women who, like Julie and Maddie, demonstrated remarkable bravery and resilience during the war. This article explores the often-overlooked contributions of women during World War II, highlighting the bravery and resilience of female spies, resistance fighters, and other unsung heroes.

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George Santayana wrote in 1905 that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. This universal truth is specifically poignant when we think about World War II and the pivotal role that many women played during this difficult time. Most countries banned women from being involved in physical combat, but this didn't stop plenty of iconic women from finding ways of playing pivotal roles in logistical and tactical initiatives.

1. Lee Miller: The Photojournalist of World War II

Lee Miller remains one of the best-known female photojournalists of World War II. Her legacy, as it stands, would not have existed if her son had not discovered the extent of her war photography in the attic of their rural English home after her death. Miller was a model, surrealist artist, and war photographer. When her modeling career ended she moved to Paris to seek out Man Ray, who became her lover and her creative partner. Their surrealist work in photography became the blueprint for her personal style that managed to capture the shocking realities of war.

While it was usually forbidden for women to be present in combat, Miller found herself present at the Blitz, in the aftermath of D-Day, during the liberation of Paris, the Battle of Alsace, and at the military's entry into Nazi Concentration camps at Buchenwald and Dachau. Her photography at the time was sent directly back to Vogue who would publish her visual stories throughout the war, marking Miller's efforts to merge the fashion publication with news reporting for the first time. From pictures of dead SS soldiers floating down a canal to starved Jewish prisoners at the death camps on the day of liberation, Vogue published extremely graphic content captured by Miller. This transformed the prime function of the magazine at the time.

Just after her famous photos of the liberation of the Dachau camp were taken, Lee and Life's photojournalist David E Scherman went to Hitler's apartment in the center of Munich. The timing of their trip would become known as the day when Hitler committed suicide with his wife. This fact was still unknown to Miller and Scherman who climbed into his tub to wash off the filth of the day. With soiled boots staining the white floor of the bathroom and propaganda pictures marking the wall, they photographed each other bathing in Hitler's tub.

There is very little that Josephine Baker didn't know about resistance. After leaving her native Louisiana to star in a French cabaret on the Champs Elysee she became famous in France. During her rise to fame in Paris, she became an iconic entertainer of the Jazz Age, transcending racial barriers and becoming the richest Black woman of the time. She was nicknamed The Creole Goddess of France and she became the first African-American woman to star in a motion picture and perform for an integrated cast at the American Concert Hall.

Her life in Paris made her particularly interesting to Jacques Abtey, the head of French counter-military intelligence. Her fame and her job allowed her to travel during the war without suspicion. Baker used her celebrity to gain access to high-ranking Axis officials and attended diplomatic parties to gain secret knowledge on German intelligence and troop movements in Paris. Abtey asked Baker to engage in espionage missions for the French after it fell to Nazi occupation, to which she said yes.

Baker smuggled hundreds of classified documents and visas for other spies and resistance workers who hid in her Chateau. When the Chateau was raided by German troops, she fled to England, with visas and secret information all written on her sheet music in invisible ink. Discovery of such information or any evidence of illicit activities at the Chateau would have meant certain death for Baker, yet she never stopped seeking out and gathering information.

By the time she left for England, she was basically public enemy number one of the Nazis. She was a successful Black woman in an interracial marriage with a Jewish man, who was also openly bisexual and had multiple long-term, semi-public relationships with other women. She returned after the war was over to raise money for the starving French people of Paris.

After the city had started to rebuild she returned to America to take part in the Civil rights movement. She was the only woman who gave a speech at the March on Washington in 1968. She dedicated her speech to other female civil rights activists around the world. Josephine was awarded with the Croix de Guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance. She was also named a Chevalier de Légion d'honneur, the highest order of merit for military and civil action in France.

Marlene Dietrich was a singer, actress, and dancer who began her career in Vaudeville skits in Berlin. Dietrich was known for her beauty, fame, and her incredible efforts during World War II. In 1937, while residing in the United States, she was approached by German authorities who asked her to star in propaganda films. Allegedly, she was personally requested by Hitler. After learning about this, Dietrich went on a radio show in Germany and said that Hitler was an idiot.

At the beginning of the war, she was one of the first celebrities who publicly joined the war effort. She hosted live gigs in order to raise money to support troops. Dietrich also worked with the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.), the predecessor of today's CIA, to record a series of anti-Nazi albums, using propaganda to weaken the morale of Nazi troops. During the war, she traveled and performed over 500 shows, suffering from influenza and regular episodes of frostbite. Many of these shows took place on the frontlines, putting her in direct danger.

4. Nancy Wake

Nancy Wake is another remarkable woman whose opposition to Nazi forces drove her to engage in missions that threatened her life on a daily basis. She was so good at escaping the German forces that she earned the nickname The White Mouse by SS Soldiers. Raised in New Zealand and Maui, she became one of the first-ever Mauri women to marry a European man. She relocated to France after traveling to Europe to study journalism. Like many women, Wake began driving ambulance cars at the onset of the war, but once France fell to the Nazi occupation, Nancy and her husband began working for the Pat O'Leary Escape Network, led by Ian Garrow and Albert Guerisse.

Their mission was to help the Allied airmen escape the German Forces and help them make their way to the neutral Spain. They successfully spared the lives of hundreds of soldiers. Once the Germans received intelligence about the Pat O'Leary escape network, Nancy and her husband fled to Spain too. Nancy arrived safely, however, her husband did not. He was captured and executed by the German forces.

Despite this shocking loss, Nancy continued with her espionage work. Nancy traveled from Spain to England to join the Special Operations Executive (SOE) under the code name Hélène. She jumped out of a plane and parachuted into occupied France to begin her new mission with The Maquis, a resistance guerilla group that had many factions around France. The Maquis were made up of mostly working-class young men who had escaped to the mountains in order to avoid deportation to Germany. At one point during her time in France, Nancy is said to have cycled up to 300 miles at once in order to deliver an emergency report back to London. She was a recipient of the George Medal, the Medal of Freedom, the Legion d'Honneur, the Badge in Gold, and the Companion of the Order of Australia. Her obituary in the New York Times included the title The Socialite Who Killed A Nazi With Her Bare Hands.

5. Virginia Hall: The Female Spy of World War II

Virginia Hall was inspired by the freedom and bohemian spirit of Paris during a visit in her early twenties. During her long attempts to become a diplomat, Hall faced repeated and explicit rejections of her applications to the U.S. State Department due to her disability. Hall had her leg amputated after a hunting accident. She spent many years traveling to Europe, following her diplomatic dreams and finding herself restricted to the administration desk.

She was scouted and flown to France in order to work as a secret agent during the occupation of France. This became a perfect way for her to use her intelligence, charisma, and ambition. She successfully rescued twelve of her fellow agents from an internment camp, evaded the treachery of a double-crossing priest, and undertook a journey over the Pyrenees into Spain-only to return to France to continue fighting for its freedom.

She also played a crucial role in recruiting large networks of resistance fighters. She regularly moved through occupied areas of France, taking big risks to find and guard safe drop zones needed for the delivery of food and medical supplies. Without the work of women like Hall, the efforts of resistance forces would simply have been impossible. She remains known as one of the most valued spies of World War II. Her bravery and innovative spirit contributed to the enlistment of women in the Secret Service. Sadly, Hall was stabbed to death by an ex-lover in Paris during a frenzied attack.

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Here are five stories about remarkable women who defied prejudices based on race, gender, disability, and religion during World War II.

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Form:

Factors like the arrangement of the chapters, the use of time changes, multiple narrators, and the length of the chapters all give the book such personality, and act as a unique form. Since the book is divided into two parts, with different narrators, Julia, and Maddie are the focus of the two parts. Julia’s part is arranged with dates as the chapters, while Maddie has aircraft terms to give her part a sense of identity. This is what makes the novel so captivating.

Style:

Tones, Narrative views, use of tenses, and imagery are all important to the novel's style.

Not only is the plot of the novel great, but it is all crafted with stylistic choices, and personal form to bring everything together.

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The characters in "Code Name Verity" are rich and nuanced, lending great plausibility to them. Despite the unique conditions of World War II, the two major characters, Verity (Julie) and Maddie, display traits and feelings that the reader may relate to. Maddie's fearlessness as a pilot, Verity's contemplative personality, and her battles with guilt and dread are all depicted in a realistic and approachable way.

Julie is the protagonist in this novel and can be viewed as both the hero, and the anti hero. She is creed to be a good character with heroic qualities as we see in moments of bravery throughout the book.

Overall, "Code Name Verity" does a fantastic job of developing likeable characters that make difficult choices between selflessness and bravery during World War II. Elizabeth Wein's use of narrative voice and characterization tactics helps the reader to  better comprehend and feel more emotionally connected to Verity, the protagonist, who represents both heroic and anti-heroic aspects.