Code Name Kingfisher

"A stirring story that will give any reader a boost of bravery in the face of adversity." --Booklist

A young girl learns of her grandmother and great-aunt's involvement in the Dutch Resistance during World War II in this "intense story, gorgeously told" (School Library Journal, starred review) of family, history, resilience, and hope from acclaimed author Liz Kessler.

Thirteen-year-old Liv's beloved ninety-two-year-old grandmother, Bubbe, is moving into a home where she can be cared for as her dementia worsens. As Liv helps her father empty Bubbe's house, she finds an old chest which opens up a whole world that Liv never knew about: the hidden world of Bubbe's childhood.

Through the letters and other mementos, Liv learns that her bubbe, given name Mila, had a sister, Hannie, that no one in Liv's family ever knew about. In 1942, Mila and Hannie 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 Hannie knows better, and soon gets involved in the Resistance. Hannie 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 Bubbe 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.

Author: Liz Kessler
Publisher: Aladdin Paperbacks
Published: 05/07/2024
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.91lbs
Size: 8.56h x 5.82w x 1.16d
ISBN: 9781665929738
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.2
Point Value: 10
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 553712 / Code Name Kingfisher


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 02/12/2024
School Library Journal 04/01/2024 pg. 128
Kirkus Reviews 04/01/2024
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2024 pg. 143
Booklist 05/15/2024 pg. 56
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2024 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Liz Kessler is the author of twenty-three books for children and young adults. Her books range from Early Readers to books for Young Adults and include the internationally best-selling series about half-mermaid Emily Windsnap. She has an MA in Novel Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University and has been a full-time author for the last twenty years. Her new novel, When the World Was Ours, was inspired by her father's childhood escape from the Nazis just before the second world war. Liz lives with her wife and their dog in rural Cheshire.