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whazzleCodename Verity
Gah, I saw this recced all over the place, and when I saw the list of keywords, I immediately thought yes please! Because: spies, pilots, best friends with people who are nothing at all like yourself, war, intrigue, yes.
But for around the first... quarter? of the book, I was disappointed. It could have been that I was spoiled or that I had my guard up against the unreliable narrator convention, because I was constantly questioning the book, its validity, and that really destroyed my ability to get into it. The writing won me over though, especially because it was about the inception and core of friendship, and then the second half happened and - because of the drastic shift - I could immediately get into it and buy into it and empathize, and it destroyed me. It just destroyed me, god. And then I went back to the first half and I understood what it was accomplishing, because it was meant to be read with wariness and suspicion (considering who it was overtly meant for, as a type of confession), but that didn't make the - the meaning underneath the words any less true, the facts were obfuscated but the story itself - it was there. The friendship, the history and the sacrifice, it was all there and so powerful and heroic. It was so goddamn heroic.
And fuck, Anna fucking Engel. I mean, jesus, jesus.
This book is the book I would give to all the kids ever and stock in multiple copies in every library ever, because it got everything right, it was flawless and perfect and it hurt. It didn't punish women for being ambitious or heroic or strong, or for standing up for each other and protecting each other and saving each other and hurting each other, and it was just. Amazing. Every time I read it I'll be wrecked. Because goddamn.
And it definitely definitely rewards re-reading.
Gah, I saw this recced all over the place, and when I saw the list of keywords, I immediately thought yes please! Because: spies, pilots, best friends with people who are nothing at all like yourself, war, intrigue, yes.
But for around the first... quarter? of the book, I was disappointed. It could have been that I was spoiled or that I had my guard up against the unreliable narrator convention, because I was constantly questioning the book, its validity, and that really destroyed my ability to get into it. The writing won me over though, especially because it was about the inception and core of friendship, and then the second half happened and - because of the drastic shift - I could immediately get into it and buy into it and empathize, and it destroyed me. It just destroyed me, god. And then I went back to the first half and I understood what it was accomplishing, because it was meant to be read with wariness and suspicion (considering who it was overtly meant for, as a type of confession), but that didn't make the - the meaning underneath the words any less true, the facts were obfuscated but the story itself - it was there. The friendship, the history and the sacrifice, it was all there and so powerful and heroic. It was so goddamn heroic.
And fuck, Anna fucking Engel. I mean, jesus, jesus.
This book is the book I would give to all the kids ever and stock in multiple copies in every library ever, because it got everything right, it was flawless and perfect and it hurt. It didn't punish women for being ambitious or heroic or strong, or for standing up for each other and protecting each other and saving each other and hurting each other, and it was just. Amazing. Every time I read it I'll be wrecked. Because goddamn.
And it definitely definitely rewards re-reading.
