Code Name Verity

     I have a confession to make.  I am exercising my right to not finish a book.  This is a right I have used not very often in my lifetime.  I am always compelled to know how a book ends, but all the distractions from aspects I didn't care for stifled that desire in me for now.  After I was about one hundred pages in, I just couldn't do it anymore.  
     The story in this book is no doubt amazing and suspenseful.  It just wasn't for me though.  I am a little picky about an author's style when reading a book.  I just don't like the way Wein writes I think.  I also found it a little hard to follow.  I couldn't imagine being a middle school student trying to read this book. I wonder if maybe it would be better used for high school students or even adults. I was fascinated by the story, and I am going to try to finish it, maybe even next week over Spring Break.  I just felt like it wasn't something I could read over a few days or even a week. It was almost so much to take in that I felt as if I needed a fairly long period of time to read it. I also felt like I was reading it rather slowly, another reason why I couldn't imagine giving it to a middle school student.  My opinion may change after finishing the novel, but as of now, I'm not convinced that it's the most middle grades appropriate book.  I guess you could say I am choosing to take a long break from the book rather than not finishing it.  (Not finishing it is just too much for me to deal with perhaps).  Although I don't enjoy the author's style and am not sure of the appropriateness for age level, I would still offer it to my students if I found out it was readable for middle school students. I look forward to hearing what you and my classmates who read it (or tried to) have to say tomorrow.  I also look forward to trying to finish it if for nothing else than the challenge of finishing a book that presents a style that is not my favorite and a little confusing.