Review by Joy35 -- Code Name Lily by Julien Ayotte

[Joy35]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Code Name Lily" by Julien Ayotte.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Code Name Lily by Julien Ayotte paints a beautiful but hard picture of life in occupied Belgium during World War II. Not just the life of one woman, Lily, but of the many that worked with her and made up the Comet Line. It was an underground railroad of sorts that helped hundreds of downed aviator soldiers evade the Gestapo. Helping American and Canadian soldiers blend into the small European towns or get quick and proper medical care was no small feat. But then to travel with them from Belgium through occupied France and into Allied Spain was a huge and risky undertaking. We don’t often think of the daily lives of those whose countries were invaded and occupied by a foreign power. The daily sacrifices they had to make just to stay alive and the many that went above and beyond by helping Allied soldiers, total strangers, avoid capture. Hundreds of men, women, and even children helped to make this Line possible.

This novel is largely fictional but entirely based on the real-life Comet Line and true people, like Lily, that made it happen; sheltering these soldiers in their homes, donating clothes to help them blend in, or even providing medical care. We follow Lily and the other leaders of the Line as they teach the Allied soldiers tricks- like not putting their hands in their pockets, to blend in as Europeans, how they avoid capture themselves and how they adapt and change the Line as more and more of their members are arrested. The Gestapo is determined to infiltrate their Line and bring it to grinding halt.

In an emotionally charged second arc to this story, we also follow a modern-day man, Tony, who has just discovered that his father was one of the soldiers rescued by Lily. His father had died when he was little and he didn’t know much about him. In a strange turn of events, he finds that his father was not only wounded as his B-17 plane was shot down but that he was also awarded medals for his heroic acts towards his fellow airmen. Tony dives into researching who this man truly was, what these medals mean and how truly special is this “Lily”.

There is true heart in this historical fiction novel and I proudly give it 4 out of 4 stars. This book has been well-researched, bringing the Comet Line and those that served it to life. There is a map at the beginning of the book so you can visually comprehend how far these people had to travel to get to safety. At the end of the story, there is a synopsis on each of the key members that you read about. It gives a brief overview of their time on the Comet Line, but more importantly, what happened after you left them in the story and after the war. Like any great novel, you get invested in these characters. Knowing that they are real people and that their stories continue even after the ink ends, makes you want to know what happened to them.

There are a couple of mistakes in the storyline and only a couple of typos, but nothing that makes it any less of an adventure. This is a remarkable work of historical fiction. Anyone who loves history, especially family history and discovering one’s heritage, will love this book and not want to put it down.

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Code Name Lily
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[Dragonsend]

You did a very thorough review and conveyed the story line very well. Thank you, great job. I reviewed this novel as well and learned a few things about World War II that I had not previously known.