YA Lit Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In 1943, during the dark days World War II, a British spy plane is forced to make an emergency landing in Nazi-occupied France, its pilot and single passenger stranded on enemy soil with little hope for rescue. That these two managed to survive such a dangerous foray into enemy territory is enough to call them brave men indeed, but to do so might be inaccurate: the two agents conducting this critical spy mission into hostile territory were, in fact, women. Code Name Verity tells the story of how these two best friends became players in a covert operation that could turn the tide of the entire war and what happens when they find themselves in a situation that will test their honor, their courage, and their friendship.


Code Name Verity is a twisty mind-bending book that sucks you in and then proceeds to surprise you again and again, a gorgeous soul-grabber of a novel. Reading this wrecked my brain and my heart. The history-lover in me cheers, the feminist in me dances, and the part of me that adores a piece of well-crafted writing is just astounded. I simply love clever, intelligent writing like this that doesn't lose its beating heart underneath the brain. I found myself flipping back and forth between the pages feverishly to find clues that I had missed

Anyone who likes exciting, action-packed stories will like this book, but especially people who love historical fiction or stories about war, airplanes and their pilots, or espionage.

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POEM: Untitled Quote Poem

Today we wrote "quote poems," which basically means that students choose a famous-ish quote to repurpose as the first and last line of their own original poem. We recently read "So We'll Go No More A-Roving" by Lord Byron, so we talked a little bit then about why/how Bryon would borrow the lines of a Scottish folk song about a wandering, maidenhead-stealing "jolly beggar" to start of his own poem about how aging eventually forces all hard-partiers to slow down. (Bryon was 29 when we wrote this poem, so I am REALLY looking forward to this exciting stage in my life...)

In honor of Valentine's Day, the topic of the day was love, in its many forms (romantic, familial, disappointed, unrequited, joyous, even taco-based).

Mine is based off an Emily Dickinson line: "For love is immortality."

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For love is immortality--
A chance to be greater than
Our frail, weak bodies
An opportunity to make
A mark, a stain, a fingerprint
On the glass globe of universe.
We live in the memories of
    those we loved and
    those who loved us
And that love is passed from life to life--
A precious candle flame, cupped in trembling hands,
A blazing inferno whose skin-searing heat singes even from a distance
A glowing ember hidden under dusty, cold ashes, stubbornly refusing to go out--
For love is immortality. 

POEM: Liar, Liar

I know, I know... "Wait, she's still writing in this thing?" 

I've been horribly remiss in posting here, but I was re-inspired to write more in my hard-copy teaching notebook by a recent CAWP Saturday workshop, and so I have more material to use here. 

Also, now that we're studying poetry in my English 11 classes, I've instituted writing Fridays, and I'm trying to write a poem or two for each prompt as a model for my students. 

I also have a book review or two to post as I've been reading a lot of YA lit recently, so, keep an eye out for those posts soon, I guess, if that's your thing. 

Enough babbling. Here's some poetry. 

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Last week we read "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop, which is one of my favorite poems. EVER. (Look it up if you don't know it. Please!) In response, I asked the students to write a poem which used a similar trick to hers, using hyperbole and irony to show the reader that everything stated in the poem is actually a lie. "The art of losing isn't hard to master," she says, but we (and she) know better. 

I asked the students to write a poem that included at least five lies about themselves. Some of what they wrote was really fantastic--open and honest (well, you know) and well-crafted, experimenting with rhyme and repetition and form. Success! 

At any rate, here's mine: 

LIAR, LIAR 

I am the perfect daughter-- 
     I never disappoint my parents 
     or disagree with them. 

I am the perfect sister-- 
     I am never selfish or petty 
     or thoughtless of her feelings. 

I am the perfect teacher-- 
     I always have my lessons prepared weeks in advance 
     and I never fall behind on grading papers. 

I am the perfect friend-- 
     I never whine about one friend to another-- 
     and I am the best at keeping in touch. 

I am the perfect writer-- 
     I never run out of ideas 
     or get frustrated when choosing the right words to use. 

I am the perfect liar-- 
     even I believe 
     all the things that I say.