Code Name Kingfisher
Amsterdam, 1942. A boy crawls into a concealed compartment behind a kitchen cupboard. There, he waits, alone in the dark. In the present day, thirteen-year-old Liv cringes with embarrassment as the police deliver her dishevelled, dressing-gown clad grandmother into her father’s care.
Liv has never been close to her grandmother. Even before she began losing her memory, Liv had felt locked out. When her schoolteacher demands a family history project, Liv gets nowhere. But when her grandmother goes into a care home, Liv must help clear the house. Locked away in the attic, she discovers secrets.
So begins a dual timeline story that is complex in scope, with multiple points of view and many themes. But it is so skilfully written that it is easy and engaging to read. Historical characters are relatable. Families are alive and believable, with both past and present facing teenage frictions.
As Liv suffers bullying at school, another girl, Mila, witnesses Nazis persecuting citizens in Amsterdam in 1942. The horror is all the more palpable for sparing the usual political explanations. Readers are left thinking: why would people do such things?
With themes of bullying, friendship, love, family, memory, courage – and dogs – Kessler brings multiple characters’ stories to a satisfying conclusion. But the book is not preachy – it’s a book you read to discover what happens next, a powerful story that brought me to both tears and smiles. Highly recommended for adults as well as kids.
