Liz Kessler tells the lesser-known story of feminism and defiance during the Holocaust in this powerful and unpredictable novel

Liv is a year-eight student in present-day UK. She's shy and uncertain and currently navigating between wanting to fit in and wanting to be herself. She's been tasked with creating a family tree, which leads to all sorts of problems when she realises her only port of call is her stern Bubbe (grandmother), who Liv describes as “brittle, like a sharp frost”. What she doesn’t know, is that Bubbe was shaped into the cold, closed book she is today by her turbulent past.

Flash back to 1942, Amsterdam, where we meet Bubbe as a child. She's a quiet, compliant 12-year-old named Mila and is the polar opposite of her defiant older sister Hannie. The pair have been sent to live with a new family, the Van de Bergs, along with forged identities and the promise to never reveal their Jewish identity to anyone.

Hannie, a head-strong 15-year-old joins the resistance under the code name Kingfisher and is quickly appointed the task of escorting Jewish infants to safety. Determined to play her part in beating the Nazis, she selflessly risks her life along the way. Documenting her dangerous missions in a journal, with every entry composed as a letter to her mother, Hannie begins to drift, albeit unintentionally, from her sister, leaving Mila with the emotional scars that remain as painful and heavy in her later years as they were in her youth. And as the story progresses, the reasons why become ever more clear.

Liz Kessler's technique of flitting between past and present allows a clear correlation between Liv and her Bubbe when she was the same age. The author also shifts standpoints by alternating chapters between Liv, Mila, Hannie and other characters encountered along the way, giving a good insight into the mind's eye of a child. The plot twists are emotive and support themes of uncertainty, fear of the unknown and courage. The characters, although fictional, are relatable and were in fact based on Dutch sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen and their friend Hannie Schaft, teenage members of the resistance who made it their mission to sabotage the Nazis and save victims from torture at all costs.

Aimed at older primary school children to young adults (YA), Code Name Kingfisher unravels key events of the Holocaust while informing its readers on the ways in which their generation might have experienced the persecution. Its message is imperative in today’s society. With a decreasing number of survivors left to tell their story, Kessler succeeds in passing down their encounters and highlights the more undisclosed, but very real, fight of the Dutch resistance, especially form the perspective of the women involved.

This 4th YA novel from Kessler is at once educational and empathetic, while promoting a message of courage throughout. It's a gripping, heartbreaking and empowering read that you'll struggle to put down.

By Dani Silver

Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler is published on Thursday 14 September (Simon & Schuster, £12.99, suitable for ages 9+). simonandschuster.co.uk