Code Name Kingfisher - by Liz Kessler (Hardcover)

About the Book

While helping her father empty her beloved grandmother's house, 13-year-old Liv finds an old chest that reveals Oma's involvement in the Dutch resistance during WWII and learns what it means to be brave and go above and beyond to offer someone else a life of dignity, happiness, and freedom.

Book Synopsis

"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.

Review Quotes

* "An intense story, gorgeously told."-- "--School Library Journal, starred review"

"Alternating points of view and time jumps add compelling perspectives, and though there are truly tough moments, the fierce familial bonds and loving friendships lighten the load. A stirring story that will give any reader a boost of bravery in the face of adversity."-- "--Booklist"

"A rewarding read." -- "--Publishers Weekly"

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.