Code Talker

I saw Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac at my parents' house and decided to borrow it.  It is a novel about the Navajo Marines in World War II.  During WWII, Navajos were recruited by the Marines to create and then use a code using the Navajo language.  The code made it possible for the US military to have an unbreakable code to keep their intercepted messages from being understood by the Japanese and other enemies since Navajo was virtually impossible for non-natives to learn.  This book follows sixteen-year-old Ned Begay who joins the cause (a fictional character but based on all real-life events).

This book was really interesting.  I wished there was more on the code talking and less on the war itself, but I guess it makes sense that it was written the way it was.  The Navajo Marines were really in the heaviest fighting of the war even though they were such important resources to the military.  It was really interesting to read about the way Navajos were treated--both positively and negatively--and to see the incredible part they played in WWII.  I would be interested in reading in more detail on just the code talking part of the story.

Rating: * * (2/3 = Liked it)