Code Talkers: a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War II by Joseph Bruchac. Dial Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, March, 2005. 9780803729216. (Own.)
From the age of six, sixteen year old Ned attended an Indian boarding school where he was taught English and beaten whenever he spoke Navajo. He was taught to be ashamed of his language and his culture. When WWII broke out and the Japanese were cracking every code the American Armed Forces could come up with, the Marine brass turned to Ned and other Navajo volunteers to come up with an unbreakable code using their language. They did so and were sworn to secrecy. For more than twenty-five years, the code talkers went unrecognized for their contribution to America winning her war against Japan. Bruchac's careful, measured writing conveys the sacrifice and danger of Ned and the code talkers in a gripping story of World War II.
I read this a while ago and though I liked it, I found it a little dry in places. Still, it is an imoirtant book that should be read.
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