Code Name Badass

June 1, 2021
Grades 8-12 After several unsuccessful attempts to work with the U.S. Foreign Service, Virginia Hall resigned from her low-level job with the Department of State and became an ambulance driver for the French army during WWII. A chance meeting with a British intelligence officer led her to a new career as a spy, first with England's newly created Special Operations Executive and then with the Office of Strategic Service, a U.S. wartime intelligence agency. Hall, known as "the limping lady" by the Germans, accomplished all with a prosthetic leg. While this sounds like the basis of a movie script, it's the true story of one of history's greatest spies, documented in this well-researched biography. Using a conversational style replete with expletives (which might appeal to reluctant readers but turn off traditionalists), Demetrios blends necessary background information on WWII with detailed accounts of Hall's espionage and reconnaissance missions in Vichy France. The author also notes throughout the bias towards women and persons with disabilities during the time period. An enlightening account of a heroine worth knowing.

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July 15, 2021
A long-overdue biography of the only female civilian to win the Distinguished Service Cross in World War II. Virginia Hall--called Dindy all her life--was born in 1906 to a life of privilege and adventure. Class president of her private girls' school in Baltimore, she also loved shooting and riding on the family farm. She studied at Radcliffe and Barnard, then in Paris and Vienna, acquiring knowledge of French, Italian, and German before coming home to take the Foreign Service exam. Family lore says she passed it but was disqualified due to her gender. She became a secretary in the Warsaw embassy instead and continued to attempt the exam even after a gun accident blew off her left foot, requiring amputation below the knee. Dindy named her wooden prothesis Cuthbert and, when World War II began, joined Britain's Special Operations Executive as one of its first female spies. She not only survived the war, but was among SOE's most successful operatives--and then entered the CIA. Demetrios tells this fascinating story in an uber-modern narrative voice that is snarky AF, LOL, with plenty of hits to the patriarchy and a glorious sense of celebrating Dindy's badassery. It's breezy and lighthearted in tone but meticulously well-researched, including interviews with Dindy's surviving family. A remarkable telling of an extraordinary woman. (biographies, research note, code names, selected bibliography, endnotes, index) (Biography. 12-18)

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November 1, 2021

Gr 7 Up-Bringing together rigorous research and a vibrant writing style, Demetrios shares the trials and triumphs of a little-known WWII hero Virginia (Dindy) Hall. With relevant references to today's culture of espionage (clandestine operations, misinformation), the author does not hide her dissatisfaction with male-dominated politics, nor her endearing and genuine admiration for Hall. Demetrios notes the privileges the subject had, and how money, travel, and education supported her future efforts as a spy. She creates a solidarity rooted in feminism ("girls are pretty good at watching our backs") and affectionately breaks the fourth wall ("Personally, I think Dindy would have enjoyed The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck") to engage teens to keep reading. It's a creative liberty, reminiscent of Jason Reynolds's Stamped. The flippant tone is a tribute to Hall's unconventional life: it's breezy but not shallow, informative but lighthearted. This is a fun, illuminating read. VERDICT A delightful account of an epic spy: recommended for most libraries, especially those building a "shero" collection.-Pamela Schembri, Horace Greeley H.S., Chappaqua NY

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