I had such high hopes for Code Name Verity, after seeing this book listed on so many bloggers' End of Year surveys last year. Perhaps it was my unrealistically high expectations, but I didn't love the book as much as I had hoped that I would.I liked it, don't get me wrong. Elizabeth Wein definitely knows her stuff when it comes to aviation and WWII history. But perhaps it was the level of details throughout the book that distracted me from the actual story underneath. I appreciated that Ms. Wein did a lot of research in order to ensure that every detail was presented as accurately as possible; however, I was more interested in the characters themselves. It look a long time to get the story going and really get into Maddie and Julie's friendship, and that was where the book really shone. If it wasn't for so many bloggers assurance that, despite it's slow beginning, it would be worth it in the end, I definitely would have DNF-ed it. But, unlike The Madman's Daughter, where I felt disappointed that I'd wasted so much time on a book that really didn't wow me in the end, this one definitely did redeem itself by the end. It was the earth-shaking, unbelievable twist that I was expecting (it WAS a great twist, that's for sure, but I think my twist expectations were just too high).I wanted to like this book so much, since I have a fondness for WWII stories. I think it was just my expectations that brought the book down a little for me ... sometimes it's better to NOT know anything about the book before I start reading it, eh?
