Code Talker

A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

By: Joseph Bruchac

Narrated by: Derrick Henry

Code Talker, with starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus Reviews, is a Booklist Top-10 Historical Fiction for Youth.

Although the mission school bans all that is Navajo, Ned secretly clings to his native language and culture. Proudly joining the U.S. Marines in 1943, he becomes a top-secret Navajo Code Talker. During bloody battles for Japanese islands, Ned and his brave band of code-talking brothers save thousands of lives using Navajo encryption the enemy never cracks.

©2005 Joseph Bruchac (P)2006 Recorded Books

Chapter number problems

Chapter number shown is not the chapter if audible says chapter 20 it is actually chapter 19 but the chapter numbers that the narrator was saying was correct

historical novel of WWII Code Talkers

This is an excellent book geared to young adult and teens. The main character is Navajo and was sent to Indian schools as a child, where the children were forced to speak English, cut their hair, and ignore their culture. When the USA entered World War Two suddenly Navajo speakers were in demand as Code Talkers. The character isn’t old enough to sign up right away, but he eventually enlists and becomes a Marine and Code Talker. These men weren’t sitting in offices relaying messages – they were fighting in the battles of the Pacific Theater.

This book doesn’t go into a lot of gory details of war, and indeed doesn’t even go into explicit details of the school experience. This makes it an appropriate book for older kids, teens, and the squeamish. There is a memoir by Chester Nez that hits a lot harder. I give this book four stars for story, readability, and character development. I would add an extra quarter star for the enormous amount of research that went into it. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Derrick Henry. It seems to be his only audiobook.

How he tells the story it’s beautiful

I loved this book so much it truly moved me. I would love to read more of the author’s books

Enjoyable read about an important historical event

Every American should read about and understand the important role the code talkers have played in our history. This is a beautiful and well presented story that will capture the audience's attention as well as their hearts.

The facts and experience of the dine code talkers.

The history of the code talkers in WWII was respectfully told. Their story shares valuable lessons learned.