The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse (review)

Reviewed by: The Brightwood Code by Monica Hesse Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Hesse, Monica. The Brightwood Code. Little, 2024 [336p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780316045650 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780316045711 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 8–12 It's been two months since Edda returned from the frontlines of World War I, where she served as a "Hello Girl," facilitating wartime communications through [End Page 282] switchboards with a series of daily changing codes. Now, she's a telephone operator for Bell Systems in Baltimore, trying to forget the mistake she made in France that cost thirty-four men their lives. Unfortunately, her past comes roaring back when an unknown caller begs her to tell the truth and yells "Brightwood," the very code name that she was unable to remember at a critical moment in the war. Quickly spiraling, Edda drunkenly ends up telling her neighbor Theo what happened, and, after she receives a second ominous call, he agrees to help her track down the caller and find out what they want. Their search, however, also sheds light on a war that was violent in ways the world had never seen before and that scarred an entire generation. Hesse yet again proves herself to be a master in matching a compelling mystery with a vividly detailed historical setting, and here she goes further into the emotional lives of her characters, delicately but insistently delving into their deep traumas. The result is a book that is an absolute page-turner, as well as a painfully honest argument that while each war is uniquely devastating, they are all built upon humanity's universal willingness to gain power through violence, an act that is played out every day on smaller scales. The constellation of pain that links every character is slowly illuminated as the mystery unfolds, and the connection between Edda and Theo is depicted with particular nuance and grace, as both work toward healing in messy, inconvenient ways. This easily deserves a spot next to Wein's Code Name Verity (BCCB 6/12) as an exemplar of the wartime drama.