Review: Code Name Kingfisher
Code Name Kingfisher
by Liz Kessler
Aladdin (imprint of Simon & Schuster), 2024
Category: Middle Grade
Reviewer: Rachel Aronowitz
Buy at Bookshop.org
Mila and Hannie are 12 and 15 year old Jewish sisters living in Holland during World War II. Their parents have no choice but to send them to Amsterdam to live with a non-Jewish family, to protect them from the Nazis. Hannie is a headstrong and strong-willed teenager and secretly joins the Dutch Resistance as an undercover agent while Mila tries to live a normal life by making friends and trying to manage her sister's sudden aloofness, and worrying about the fate of her parents. The chapters shift between this narrative and present day London where 8th grader Liv, who is Mila's future granddaughter, is navigating friendships and school and her aging grandmother.
The narrative structure of this book feels a bit uneven and the narrative shifts strike me as overwhelming for the intended audience. We have present day London, in which some of the characters are developed such as Bubbe and Liv, and some are mere outlines such as the never-present Mother. When we meet Bubbe, she is wandering around lost in her nightgown, but later she is lucid and recalls incredible detail, which stretches credulity. In the present day narrative, the conflict is a typical story of middle school mean girls, trying to navigate your way to meaningful friendship, and finding your voice.
We also have the storyline in 1940's Holland interspersed with the letters Hannie writes to her mother (but never sends) detailing her assignments for the Resistance. This storyline is told in great detail; it must have entailed a lot of historical research and includes much vivid description of the period. I found these sections the most compelling and I was captivated by the bravery of the young Resistance fighters.
This is an important story and readers will feel the suspense and precariousness of the young Hannie and her work for the Resistance. They will wonder about present day Liv and her growing close and loving relationship with her 90 year old grandmother. However the passion and driving force of the narrative really lies with the sections set in 1940's Holland and feels like the real purpose of the book. I can see young adults and adults enjoying this story but I think it would be a hard sell for middle grade readers.
Besides the beginning of the book, which describes what a Jewish family was facing in early 1940's Holland such as rules being enforced by Nazis, this book doesn't contain a lot of Jewish content. The narrator mentions that her family was never very religious, so I would describe the Jewish representation as casual and not at the center of the story, although it is the underlying historical context. Non-Jewish readers will easily be able to understand the story and learn what measures were necessary for Jews living in Holland during World War II.
Mila and Hannie are 12 and 15 year old Jewish sisters living in Holland during World War II. Their parents have no choice but to send them to Amsterdam to live with a non-Jewish family, to protect them from the Nazis. Hannie is a headstrong and strong-willed teenager and secretly joins the Dutch Resistance as an undercover agent while Mila tries to live a normal life by making friends and trying to manage her sister's sudden aloofness, and worrying about the fate of her parents. The chapters shift between this narrative and present day London where 8th grader Liv, who is Mila's future granddaughter, is navigating friendships and school and her aging grandmother.
The narrative structure of this book feels a bit uneven and the narrative shifts strike me as overwhelming for the intended audience. We have present day London, in which some of the characters are developed such as Bubbe and Liv, and some are mere outlines such as the never-present Mother. When we meet Bubbe, she is wandering around lost in her nightgown, but later she is lucid and recalls incredible detail, which stretches credulity. In the present day narrative, the conflict is a typical story of middle school mean girls, trying to navigate your way to meaningful friendship, and finding your voice.
We also have the storyline in 1940's Holland interspersed with the letters Hannie writes to her mother (but never sends) detailing her assignments for the Resistance. This storyline is told in great detail; it must have entailed a lot of historical research and includes much vivid description of the period. I found these sections the most compelling and I was captivated by the bravery of the young Resistance fighters.
This is an important story and readers will feel the suspense and precariousness of the young Hannie and her work for the Resistance. They will wonder about present day Liv and her growing close and loving relationship with her 90 year old grandmother. However the passion and driving force of the narrative really lies with the sections set in 1940's Holland and feels like the real purpose of the book. I can see young adults and adults enjoying this story but I think it would be a hard sell for middle grade readers.
Besides the beginning of the book, which describes what a Jewish family was facing in early 1940's Holland such as rules being enforced by Nazis, this book doesn't contain a lot of Jewish content. The narrator mentions that her family was never very religious, so I would describe the Jewish representation as casual and not at the center of the story, although it is the underlying historical context. Non-Jewish readers will easily be able to understand the story and learn what measures were necessary for Jews living in Holland during World War II.
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Reviewer Rachel Aronowitz currently works as a librarian at the
Springfield Public Library near Eugene, OR, and spends many delightful
days each week working in the children’s room. Before that, she spent
almost a decade working as a librarian in her hometown of San Francisco,
CA. When not at work, she enjoys baking, playing music, gardening,
listening to political podcasts, and spending time with her husband and
young daughter.
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