It's Monday-What Are You Reading?: Code Name Verity

Over the holiday break, my co-worker (a social-studies teacher) and I decided to start our very own book club.  We have noticed we have a mutual interest in historical fiction; he had heard of this young adult book set during WWII and well here we are.  

Both the social studies teacher and a math teacher who joined us found the book to be both dry and confusing (as far as they read into it anyway).  I'm embarrassed to say that I went into this book with my nose stuck in the air.   As an English teacher, I should be a superior reader, right?  Wrong!  ... After reading about 20 pages, I realized I was totally lost and then backtracked, taking notes on post-its.  (Which actually helped serve as a mini-lesson for my annotation lessons this week!)  Once I took notes and got all of the characters down, I slowed down with annotations and started to really enjoy what I was reading. 

So far I'm only on page 70, but I am into it!  This is what I can tell you so far...

Verity is a girl who's plane has crashed in Nazi-occupied France. She was on a British spy plane flown by her friend Maddie.  Her only chance of survival is to share the mission with the Gestapo through pen and paper.  

Verity's stories are written in 3rd person with a focus on Maddie as the main character. Her stories are interrupted intermittently with Verity's own take on her immediate surroundings, often complaining of hunger, the cold, the nasty female guard, or a broken pencil.  I'm thoroughly enjoying the sarcasm that seeps through each entry. 

So far, my favorite part has been when Verity was given only prescription pads to write out her entries of the mission.  Instead of telling hers and her friend Maddie's story, she writes out exactly what the female guard's problems are and what she could use to fix them.   Definitely not sharing this part with my sixth graders, but it was pretty funny!

Apparently as Verity continues her story, she tells the truth, but it is not what the Gestapo expected (paraphrasing the book jacket).   I feel that this is a book that will set me in a trance once I'm into the heart of the story!