It's Monday! What Are You Reading? July 22nd 2013

It's Monday! What are you Reading? is a meme hosted by 

Sheila at Book Journeys. It is a great way to recap what you

read and/or reviewed the previous week and to plan out

 your reading and reviews for the upcoming week. It's 

also a great chance to see what others are reading right now...

you just might discover the next “must-read” book!

I read two YA books this week in between some lovely outdoors time with my family.

Follow this link to see what others are reading.

First, I read Capture The Flag by Kate Messner.  This is a fun book that is something like National Treasure with twelve-year-olds as the main characters.  The day after the flag that inspired The Star Spangled Banner is stolen, three young kids are among the thousands of travelers trapped at a D.C. airport in a snowstorm.  All three have many things in common, despite their obvious differences, including that they have famous relatives and their families are part of the same secret society.  They become convinced that the flag thieves are stuck at the airport and a lively and somewhat believable investigation ensues.  It is fast paced, has good character models, complete with flaws and is told from the viewpoint of Anna, an aspiring investigative journalist, like her mom.  It's not an amazing piece of fiction, but it's fun and a good read for the average middle school student.

I loved the second book I read this week, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein. 
It is really two stories in one, told from the perspectives of two women fighting for Great Britain during World War II.  One woman, Maddie is a pilot, who through her own skills, initiative and some luck, is among the most experienced fliers of her time.  She befriends another woman with a subtler, less clear, but no less impressive set of skills.  The story of their friendship is full of passion and joy and told in a very touching and meaningful way.  The book is set in 1943, and they have both crash-landed in Nazi occupied France, with a mission to help the French Resistance.  The book opens with one captured friend writing a confession to the Gestapo.  The confession is part history of the characters, and part description of what’s happening during her confinement and torture.  The torture descriptions are real enough, but they are not overly descriptive.  They are however, for more mature readers.  But these scenes get mixed in among the writing and the story, both of which are amazing.  The story has plenty of clues and hidden messages and it is a wonderful challenge to try and accurately decipher the truth.  Both friends must make hard choices and while the ending is satisfying and well done, it is a war they are part of.  One great thing about this book is it gives homage to women in general and to them during wartime.  I loved this book and could not put it down.  I highly recommend it!