The Codebreaker's Daughter

By: Amy Lynn Green

Hennepin County Library hardcover 371 pages plus author's note and discussion questions

Published: 2025

Genre: Christian historical fiction

 

This was a delightful book set during both WWI and WWII. Lillian (Lily) and her daughter Dinah are the main characters. 

 

Page 38: "War isn't romantic."

 

I loved this curt comment by Lily to young Maud back in 1917. It reminded me of Stephen Crane's Red Badge of Courage.  I think young people are especially prone to having mistaken notions of the heroism, glory, and "romance" of war.

 

Page 42: Lillian tried to work up a convincing smile. "That was . . . thoughtful of you."

 

Oh, my heart went out to her! Her mother-in-law had rearranged her kitchen and done her baking for her! Good intentions but awful results. I don't think I could have forced / faked that smile.

 

Page  67: But sometimes, life was so very far out of one's control, and there was no one to appeal to but God.

 

When Lillian offers to pray for William to get better soon (1944), Elizebeth's heartfelt reaction surprises her. It's interesting how your mindset can change when you become accustomed to turning to the Lord in times of trouble and others are surprised or grateful for the grace that comes with trusting God.

 

Page  77: "On the contrary. I'm a journalist first, Miss Kendall." . . . "As such, I believe truth is the most powerful force on this earth."

 

It was interesting that one of the discussion questions dealt with if the reader would prefer working in the codebreaking unit or the Morale Operations (basically, making up lies that sound realistic to demoralize the enemy troops). Like Mr. Agnew's character, I value truth. So how could he effectively do his job at MO? I liked Mr. Agnew. He was a well-written character.

 

Page 88: Mama's terrors were back again, surfacing, as they often did, in moments of stress or exposure to the unknown.

 

Lily is such a sweet, tortured young woman in 1917. I loved that she had Elizebeth and Margot as friends. I loved that she learned to take deep breaths to calm herself down. I loved that she taught herself to focus. This author did a very nice job dealing with issues of mental illness.

 

Page 127: "You see . . . mental neurosis runs in William's family as well. Two of his brothers have sought treatment for debilitating melancholic moods, with varying success. It's a rather difficult subject, isn't it?"

 

It was great that both Elizebeth and Lily had someone to talk with about their struggles related to living with someone with mental illness.

 

Page 158: "He's a religious fellow - aren't you, Kendall?" the captain asked, a note of derision in his voice. "Can't stomach the idea of lying, or even withholding the truth."

 

I loved this scene! And right from the get-go, I really liked Lieutenant Roger Kendall. What a wonderful man! I'm so glad he and Lily got together.

 

Page 164: "But I guess I'm old-fashioned. My father taught me that when you're not sure what's right, do the most honest thing you can and let God sort out the rest. So that's what I aim to do."

 

I liked that even though Roger's philosophy was "simplistic," it worked well for him. As Lily was tormented by whether or not to tell the Friedmans what she had overheard, Roger was straightforward and unconflicted. (I don't care that that's not a real word. It says what I want to say.) Nice.

 

Page  184: No one glancing at the photograph would realize the rows of students and teachers spelled out a secret message - alternating side and front views of their faces arranged carefully to form, in a bilateral cipher: "Knowledge is power."

 

I love that these smart codebreakers did this! The codes, ciphers, crossword puzzles, . . . I loved it.

 

Page 193: "For the next generation," Elizebeth always said, though Margot insisted the next generation would be so sick of war they wouldn't dream of starting another.

 

That's a lovely idea. I wish we would get sick of war and learn to work together. How sad that so many of those who haven't had to risk their own lives are the ones eager to fight them? I can't imagine having lived during both world wars, especially when so many people called WWI "the war to end all wars."

 

On page 253, when Lily shared (though obliquely) that she had been sterilized at age 14 along with her mother, Roger is horrified that anyone would do that to a child. I loved that he remained 100% on her side. She was so worried that he would reject her because she couldn't have children. (On page 285, we get more info on what happened to her.)

 

Page 267: "But our lives and all of history are made up of small things done by small people."

 

I love that Elizebeth is helping Lillian accept that her role as mother and wife is just as important as a job breaking codes. So many of us feel that our worth is diminished if we aren't doing "big" things.

 

Page  371: The future was a cipher for everyone, really, a jumble of unknowns.

 

Yes! There were a number of places in the book that I thought about the dangers of putting too much trust in our own plans for the future. There are so many unknowns we may face.

 

There were lots of other post-its I decided not to blog about. I liked the character of Winora, though I thought she and Dinah were a bit foolish to play detectives the way they did. I was so glad that Lillian and Dinah finally had a good conversation about their relationship after too many years of strain. I loved Mrs. Agnew and her sneaky way of helping Dinah! This was a delightful book.