Code Girls: The True Story of the American Women Who Secretly Broke Codes in World War II (Young Readers Edition)

by Liza Mundy

Overview

In the tradition of Hidden Figures and The Girls of Atomic City, Code Girls is the amazing true story of the young American women who cracked German and Japanese military codes during World War II.

More than ten thousand women served as codebreakers during World War II, recruited by the U.S. Army and Navy. While their brothers and boyfriends took up arms, these women moved to the nation's capital to learn the top secret art of code breaking.

Through their work, the "code girls" helped save countless lives and were vital in ending the war. But due to the top secret nature of their accomplishments, these women have never been able to talk about their story—until now.

Through dazzling research and countless interviews with the surviving code girls, Liza Mundy brings their story to life with zeal, grace, and passion. Abridged and adapted for a middle grade audience, Code Girls brings this important story to young readers for the first time, showcasing this vital story of American courage, service, and scientific accomplishment.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316353779
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	10/15/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	118,756
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 7.60(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Liza Mundy is a former reporter at The Washington Post and contributes to numerous publications including The Atlantic, TIME, The New York Times, The New Republic, Slate, Mother Jones, Spectator (UK), and The Guardian. She is a frequent commentator on countless prominent national television, radio, and online news outlets.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Introduction: The Secret Letters 1

Chapter 1 The Most Difficult Problem 19

Chapter 2 "I Have Something to Show You" 26

Chapter 3 Magic 36

Chapter 4 "It Was Heart-Rending" 44

Chapter 5 Midway 58

Chapter 6 The Most Important Secret 64

Chapter 7 WAVES 72

Chapter 8 Uncle Sam Wants You! 83

Chapter 9 "Q for Communications" 92

Chapter 10 MacArthur's Secret Weapon 104

Chapter 11 "That's It! That's It!" 114

Chapter 12 A Major Break 122

Chapter 13 Twenty-Eight Acres of Girls 133

Chapter 14 The Largest Clandestine Message Center in the World 144

Chapter 15 "I'm Saving It!" 153

Chapter 16 So Many Girls 162

Chapter 17 Operation Vengeance 171

Chapter 18 Sugar Camp 182

Chapter 19 Breaking Shark 193

Chapter 20 The Tables Turn 202

Chapter 21 Pencil-Pushing Mamas Sink Japanese Ships 213

Chapter 22 One Sad Shoe 221

Chapter 23 Department K 228

Chapter 24 "Enemy Landing at the Mouth of the Seine" 237

Chapter 25 D-Day 246

Chapter 26 Teedy 255

Chapter 27 The Surrender Message 263

Chapter 28 Peace 272

Epilogue: The Mitten 284

Acknowledgments 289

Timeline 293

Code Girls Glossary 299

Bibliography 303

Further Reading 311

Index 313

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Code Girls: Young Readers Edition:

* "The book reads like a movie script, with interesting characters and non-stop action bringing to life the history these women were making and living...excellent."—School Library Connection (starred review)

"Mundy highlights the lives of the many brilliant women who secretly served the code breaking mission against Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.... A solid resource for younger researchers."—School Library Journal

"An entertaining presentation on a fascinating topic."—Kirkus Reviews

Praise for Code Girls:
A New York Times bestseller!


"The book is a winner. Her descriptions of codes and ciphers, how they worked and how they were broken, are remarkably clear and accessible. A well-researched, compellingly written, crucial addition to the literature of American involvement in World War II."


—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Similar to Nathalia Holt's The Rise of the Rocket Girls and Margot Lee Shetterly's Hidden Figures, this is indispensable and fascinating history. Highly recommended for all readers."—Library Journal (starred review)

"Mundy strikes historical gold in this appealing tale of wartime intelligence work."—Publisher's Weekly

"Fascinating.... Addictively readable.... [Mundy] displays a gift for creating both human portraits and intensely satisfying scenes."—Boston Globe

From the Publisher

2018-08-27

When the United States entered World War II, it quickly became clear that, in order to win the war, the military must break enemy code.

With so many men serving as soldiers, smart women were called upon to join this secret effort. Initially, upper-level female college students were invited to apply. As the need for codebreakers grew, schoolteachers, especially those skilled in mathematics and sciences, were also called upon. The work was top secret. For many participants, these jobs offered opportunities that far surpassed their culturally circumscribed expectations, since young white women were, at the time, mostly viewed as destined for lifelong roles of wives and mothers. While the text acknowledges the existence of the Army's segregated, black codebreaking unit, it focuses on the work of the white women. In this adaptation of Mundy's book for adult readers, the text alternates between descriptions of the progress of the war and the lives of a few of the codebreakers. Sidebars offer additional information, but much of it is later repeated in the narrative. Well-integrated black-and-white period photographs (the adult version's are presented in one sheaf of plates) and the additions of a timeline, glossary, and further reading in the backmatter round out this adaptation.

It's an entertaining presentation on a fascinating topic, but given its length, it doesn't extend the audience too much beyond what its original could expect to reach. (timeline, glossary, bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 11-15)

Kirkus Reviews