VoiceOver reading flags in mail such as unread when moving through messages in OSX?

Hi all I've looked in both VO and mail preferences and can't figure out how to make VO read the state of messages when moving through a mailbox. VO just reads the sender, subject and date. Is there a way for VO to read unread, replied etc before a message similar to how jaws/system access works? I remember VO use to read the message state in snow lepoard. When switching to classic mode in mail preferences, VO just says the word blank 2/3 times before reading the sender of the message. Also, in the mailbox list table, is there a way to show your deleted items? I wish there was a comprehensive getting started with Mac/VO tutorial out there, the apple getting started with VO guide has a chapter on safari but not mail, messages etc. Thanks