Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall by Heather Demetrios (review)

Serving as a spy during World War II, American-born Virginia Hall navigated Vichy France on a wooden leg and aluminum foot after an accident necessitated the partial amputation of her left leg. Steadfast and independent, Hall confounded the Nazis time and again for both the Britain Special Operations Executive and American Office of Strategic Services, amassing vast information networks, transmitting wireless messages, and even organizing armed rebellion. Author Demetrios (Dear Heartbreak, BCCB 12/18; I’ll Meet You There, BCCB 2/15) openly admires the spy, whom she regularly calls by her childhood nickname Dindy, and that personal connection results in a conversational recounting of Hall’s heroism. Frequent first-person asides and ample pop culture references make even the more mundane details highly readable, while enabling Demetrios to call out the sexism and ableism Hall experienced both during the war and later at the CIA. Though readers not keen on the #girlboss characterization of Hall may turn to Don Mitchell’s The Lady Is a Spy (BCCB 12/19), Demetrios provides a thoroughly researched history of “La dame qui boite,” and those just discovering Dindy will be convinced that she was, in fact, a badass. Black and white photos appear throughout; extensive back matter maintains Demetrios’ tone and includes descriptions of other “Espionage Sheros,” an author’s note on research, a bibliography, an index, and surprisingly readable endnotes.