CODE NAME KINGFISHER, by Liz Kessler, Aladdin, May 7, 2024, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 8-12)
A teen learns about her grandmother’s life in Nazi-occupied holland while doing research for a school project in Code Name Kingfisher, by Liz Kessler.
Thirteen-year-old Liv’s beloved ninety-two-year-old grandmother, Oma, is moving into a home where she can be cared for as her dementia worsens. As Liv helps her father empty Oma’s house, she finds an old chest which opens up a whole world that Liv never knew about: the hidden world of Oma’s childhood.
Through the letters and other mementos, Liv learns that Oma, given name Mila, had a sister, Eva, that no one in Liv’s family ever knew about. In 1942, Mila and Eva are sent away from their parents to a non-Jewish family so they will survive the war. Twelve-year-old Mila believes that they will soon be reunited with their parents and go back to their normal lives, but fourteen-year-old Eva knows better, and soon gets involved in the Resistance. Eva takes on more and more dangerous assignments until a betrayal forces her to decide between running away with her sister or fully committing to mission. Tragedy strikes, and Mila goes to England on her own to restart her life from scratch, vowing never to talk about her childhood again.
In the present day, Liv reads how Mila builds something new from the shattered pieces of her childhood while giving beloved Oma all the support she can. Both Liv and Mila grapple with loyalty, family, and love as they discover what it means to be brave and go above and beyond to offer someone else a life of dignity, happiness, and freedom. —Synopsis provided by Aladdin
Code Name Kingfisher is the story of family and the bonds that reach through generations. The story unfolds through alternating time periods/points of view. While Liv’s story is interesting, it’s Mila and Eva’s stories that are the most compelling. But all address themes of bullying and learning to trust.
Author Liz Kessler’s writing is comfortable and accessible. Her work is thoughtful and well researched. And her characters are fully formed and feel authentic.
Code Name Kingfisher is a fast-moving historical fiction novel that would make an excellent classroom or personal read.
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