Code Talkers

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Book Review:

 “I’ve long been fascinated by the story of the Navajo code talkers and the role they played in World War Two. In that part of the conflict that was fought against Japan in the Pacific Ocean, Navajo Marines used their native language to create an unbreakable code. Because they were Marines, that part of the U.S. military that leads all others into the thick of battle, they also saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war. If any American servicemen deserve to be honored, it was these Navajo.”

(Joseph Bruchac)

“Code Talkers” is a good read, pitched at middle grade kids but enjoyable for older ones as well. It is a straightforward account of the Navajo code talkers valor and ingenuity during WWII told from the point of view of a 16-year-old recruit who lived to tell the tale. As a war story, it neither glamorizes combat nor moralizes over the atrocities of battle. Rather, it attempts to tell the tale as a teen boy may have experienced it, proud, scared, confused, and deeply bonded to his mates. And as an indigenous novel, it celebrates the Navajo way of being in a manner which feels authentic.

Recommendation: a welcome addition to the war fiction genre. Definitely worth a read.

 

Mr. Wedel

 

Author – Joseph Bruchac

Publishing – Dial Books, New York, 2005

Genre – Indigenous/war Fiction

Pages - 224

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