Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall

by Heather Demetrios

“Bringing together rigorous research and a vibrant writing style” (School Library Journal), Code Name Verity meets Inglourious Basterds in this riotous, spirited biography of the most dangerous of all Allied spies, courageous and kickass Virginia Hall.

When James Bond was still in diapers, Virginia Hall was behind enemy lines, playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Hitler’s henchmen. Did she have second thoughts after a terrible accident left her needing a wooden leg? Please. Virginia Hall was the baddest broad in any room she walked into. When the State Department proved to be a sexist boys’ club that wouldn’t let her in, she gave the finger to society’s expectations of women and became a spy for the British. This boss lady helped arm and train the French Resistance and organized sabotage missions. There was just one problem: The Butcher of Lyon, a notorious Gestapo commander, was after her. But, hey—Virginia’s classmates didn’t call her the Fighting Blade for nothing.

So how does a girl who was a pirate in the school play, spent her childhood summers milking goats, and rocked it on the hockey field end up becoming the Gestapo’s most wanted spy? Audacious, irreverent, and fiercely feminist, Code Name Badass is for anyone who doesn’t take no for an answer.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Biography, War, World War II, Teen, Feminism

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2021

About the author

Heather Demetrios is a critically acclaimed author, writing coach, and certified meditation teacher. She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is a recipient of the PEN America Susan P. Bloom Discovery Award for her debut novel, Something Real. Her novels include Little Universes, I’ll Meet You There, Bad Romance, as well as the Dark Caravan fantasy series: Exquisite Captive, Blood Passage, and Freedom’s Slave. Her non-fiction includes the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection Code Name Badass: The True Story of Virginia Hall, and she is the editor of Dear Heartbreak: YA Authors and Teens on the Dark Side of Love. Her honors include books that have been named Bank Street Best Children’s Books, YALSA Best Fiction For Young Adults selections, a Goodreads Choice Nominee, a Kirkus Best Book, and a Barnes and Noble Best Book. Her work has appeared in LA Review of Books, Bustle, School Library Journal, and other fine outlets.

In addition to her writing, Heather is passionate about bringing words and mindfulness to women in the refugee community as well as "helping the helpers" on the ground through mindfulness and therapeutic writing. She works in communications and mindfulness outreach for Becky’s Bathhouse, a wellness center and safe space serving refugee women in Lesvos, Greece. Find out more about how you can support their work here.

Find out more about Heather and her books at heatherdemetrios.com.

Reviews

[Holly]

Well y'all it happened. For the first time in my life, I read half a book and didn't finish. This is the one and only book with the tag dnf in my goodreads list because I had to create a dnf tag for this book.

A bit of explanation about me: I have what I term "completion syndrome". Once I start a book I feel compelled to finish it. It doesn't matter if I don't like it, or am annoyed or bothered by it, I must finish it. I'm like this in other aspects of my life--TV shows, jigsaw puzzles, movies, work projects (I have a very hard time delegating tasks to other people or transitioning projects in the middle of a cycle) etc.

I've read numerous articles and see posts all over this site and on social media extolling the virtues of abandoning books that don't bring you joy, but I have a very hard time doing it. I always think I picked this book up for a reason and there's got to be some merit to it or it's going to get better by the end. It doesn't always happen though.

I'm getting better though. I am able to watch 5 seasons of a show and give it up once it no longer brings me joy (this is huge for me). My husband and I abandoned a jigsaw puzzle in the middle because the colors were muddled and the picture was no help (again, huge for me).

Except I just couldn't do it with this book. I would have abandoned it far earlier if it wasn't a book that someone had chosen for my book club. I was so relieved when the person who chose it contacted the group via text last night and said "I'm 40 pages in and I'm recommending abandoning this choice in favor of something else". Whew. Not only do I have completion syndrome, but I've always finished book club books. Always. So when the text came in I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders. I could abandon this book and not feel bad about it.

I didn't like it from the start.

I suspect that whether or not you like this book depends solely on how you feel about the narrative/author's voice. The book is told in a very colloquial and casual style. This is not necessarily a bad thing--a casual, colloquial style can sometimes help a reader to better understand the topic, but that was definitely not the case with this book.

The author peppers pop culture references and phrases in liberally. She uses phrases like adorbs, whatevs, on the regular/on the reg, which doesn't endear me to the book or to the subject matter. The author is also fond of reiterating things in shouty capital letters.

The book is about Virginia Hall, a very kickass spy in WWII. The author wants to convey a "you go girl attitude", but then often calls Virginia (and other women in the book) gal, or dame, or broad. It would be one thing is the author was trying to write the book in a 1940s style, but with her use of modern slang and pop culture references these terms for women are even more jarringly annoying.

And I know that I am so far from the demographic of this book (by a lot), but the thing is I read YA books all the time and love them. Just not this one.

The author makes references to Virginia's looks, her "smirk" in photos, and other kind of degrading comments about this woman that convey an odd sexism even though you can tell the author admires the hell out of her subject.

The book is well researched, but it's cited/noted to death. A 5-page chapter at one point has 43 end notes. It just seems excessive. Then on the other hand, the author speculates about things that Virginia might have done in a very stereotypical manner.

Maybe it's because I come from a reference book/publishing background and we're taught to write as if a book will sit on a shelf for many years. Do I think this book will hold up in 10, 20, 30+ years? Even 5 years? Unfortunately, no. I don't think it holds up even now.

I don't mean to rag on this book. The author has done something that I could never do: written a book and gotten it published. I just feel like Virginia deserved better and it's a shame, because it's obvious the affection the author feels for her subject.

4.5 stars for the subject (Virginia Hall--look her up)
1 star for the writing.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you ever wondered if you could write a book and publish it, this book proves that even the worst writers can be published.

An amazing historical subject who is butchered by the author. I would love to read a book that does Virginia justice.

[Paul Nelson · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unreadable. The author is apparently a 17-year-old on a Red Bull jag. Here's a typical utterance: "every dude who kept Dindy out of their ranks can all go suck it."

Thee's a good story in there hidden by the author's delusions of her own cleverness.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why aren't all history books written like this?

This was rollicking good fun, like sitting around a fire with a bottle of wine and a friend telling you all the craziest stories from history. Virginia Hall's life keeps getting more and more dangerous and thrilling as you get deeper into the book, and it's truly astounding what she was able to pull off. With no training whatsover, she taught herself all manner of sabotage, explosives, jail breaking for dummies, and went on to lead her own unofficial armies. A civilian woman. Leading armies. In the 1940s. I kept having to read one more chapter, then another, then another until I ran out of wars and pages. Wish this was an entire series of lady spies.

This is nonfiction that reads like the most page-turning of novels. If you like tough women taking out Nazis, this is the book for you!

[Margaret (xoxoLibro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hereby nominate Heather Demetrious to rewrite every textbook ever! I estimate that the average testing scores of high school students would rise 110% across the board. No, seriously.

Ever since I read the opening line of the synopsis, I knew this book was going to be EPIC...

"When James Bond was still in diapers, Virginia Hall was behind enemy lines, playing a dangerous game of cat and mouse with Hitler’s henchmen."

Oh, and the author got security clearance to do research in the CIA?! WHAT.

WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED, PEOPLE?

To be honest, I'm a fan of everything Heather writes, so I knew I'd love this book too, but I don't think I was prepared for just how much I would LOVE it. It is saucy and feminist and full of curse words (all traits I admire), but it was also beautifully researched and informative. It taught me so much about an incredible woman who's been nearly lost to history and the entire French Resistance. It was fascinating! Who knew history could keep you on the edge of your seat?

There's also this special layer woven into these pages that is a little harder to describe. I got the sense that the author found a deep bond with Dindy, a love and respect for this friend she'll never truly meet but knows so well. I think this is what truly brings the book (and Dindy) to life.

All around 37 out of 5 stars. Could not put it down. Immediately yelled at 3 different people to pre-order it. And I will be rereading. Many times. Actually, I get the sense that this is a book I could pick up, flip to a random page, and read for a quick injection of strong, feminist, idgaf vibes. Goddamnit, this book is so good!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The woman Virginia Hall is definitely worth five stars. The writing style however, was not. This book was written very similar to how Drunk History is preformed. There is so much slang and meme language in this book that will make it dated very quick. Fictional or even historic fiction can be dated and still be readable. I truly believe in 40 years this book will be unreadable due to language choices. I was fascinated to learn about the amazing woman but I don't believe it gave her the respect that she deserved.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love this, Hall is such a fascinating figure and really needs more recognition. The choppy, overly conversational tone of the narration removed me entirely from Dindy's story though. I don't want to detract from how cool Virginia Hall actually was, and I still recommend this book to anyone that get through the narration. I'm just not sure that Hall was done justice with this.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Imagine if the Steve Buscemi “Hello Fellow Teens” meme and a Buzzfeed article got together and decided to try to write a biography for teens. This is what it would be. Cringey. Not sure what the author was intending but I would never hand this to a teen to read unless I wanted to insult them.

[Dana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this but I really did not like the style. It’s YA but it seems insulting to teens to write with so much slang and in such a casual style. Too bad because the topic is interesting and Virginia Hall is a fascinating woman.

[Martha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. Virginia Hall, an American woman who served as a spy aiding the French resistance during World War II, deserves much better treatment than she receives at the hands of Heather Demetrios. Hall’s story is important, dramatic, and daring, which kept me reading despite Demetrios’ annoying writing style. Her passion for her subject is evident, and the writing could rightly be described as lively, but Demetrios’ voice is far too casual, with incessant use of such street vernacular as douchebag, shitstorm, and clusterfuck. The book also relies heavily on speculation; Demetrios prefaces many scenes with qualifiers (assume, perhaps, likely, might). Worst of all, there’s at least one factual error: on page 44 Demetrios claims FDR contracted polio as a child; in fact, he was 39. Rather than inserting herself into the story through her constant asides and interjections, Demetrios should have taken a page from Hall’s book and gone undercover so that her subject could shine. A worthy story diminished by juvenile storytelling.

[Anjali · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would guess readers will be sharply divided on the readability of this book. Yes, Virginia Hall was a remarkable woman, all-around badass, and heroine of WWII. Virginia Hall, the person, gets 5 stars. This super-informal, conversational, swear-laden, highly-speculative-at-times biography of her was refreshing for the first 10 minutes of my listening experience and then quickly veered into a very painful listen. I probably just should have DNF'd it, but it wasn't too long and I was driving for most of it, making it difficult to safely switch to another book. If you want your history/biography in the form of what you would imagine a tween text exchange to be, try this book, you might love it.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book hard to read. It's told very conversationally with a lot of speculation on the part of the author. It's obviously well researched. It just ended up being difficult for me to stay entertained by.

[MaryAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Virginia Hall. Hate the author’s flippant and irreverent writing style. Now I need to read Purnell’s version of the story in A Woman of No Importance.

[Fiona · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF at page 21 because I cannot abide the gossipy tone and find the digressions tiresome.

[Mayela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Demetrios is one of the rare authors who can do it all. She can write heart-wrenching contemporary, inventive fantasy, prose that reads like poetry, and now a feminist, fun biography.

Code Name Badass is written as if you were having a conversation with a very knowledgeable friend. It's nothing like the stuffy, pompous biographies we're used to so I'm sure anyone 14 and up will enjoy it. There's wit and fire enough to keep you reading for a long time.

Virginia Hall was an impressive woman who sadly is not as well known as many of her male counterparts from the WWII period, I'm glad Code Name Badass is setting out to change this.

Highly recommend to anyone, literally anyone. Whether you like history or not, consider yourself a feminist or not, like biographies or not. There's bound to be something in here for you, be it the intrigue, the action, the badassery, the power grabs, the suspense. Or maybe it's the footnotes. Some of us really like footnotes.

[Matt FritzMiller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. I love the premise and the biographical nature. What I didn’t like was the constant opinion thrown in that had nothing to do with the history.

Also, I love some good profanity in a book when it serves a purpose. But this book read more like a teenager who was just given the green light to use all of the words, and therefore uses them excessively.

I’m hoping to find another book on the life of Virginia Hall that is more biographical, less opinionated, and has a better writing style.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an awesome read. I often avoid books about WWII because I feel like there are so many with such similar plots and themes, however, I am so glad I read this one. Virginia Hall was an incredible person, and it was fascinating to learn about her. And I immensely enjoyed the writing style - it turned a biography into more of a conversation with the author. I can't wait to read a section of this to my students tomorrow.

[Wisty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daaaang. I think with this book, you either love the writing style or you hate it, and I loved it. This was like having coffee with Heather Demetrios, and she, full of references and personal opinions, relays the story of a badass WWII spy. So freaking cool.

What do we need to do to get Demetrios writing high school history textbooks? Not only was this fun and readable, but it was so easy to retain the information. It felt like Demetrios was Virginia Hall's best friend, and now, having read this book, I get to join their clique.

I think I saw Virginia Hall's name in Time Magazine once, but didn't know much about her. Now she's my favorite. I am so astounded by her humor and grit and bravery and just everything. And not just her; I can't believe so many women and men but their lives on the lines to be dangerously sneaky and help the war effort. I probably would've just curled up in a ball and hid in a corner until the scary times had passed.

I learned so much, I'm still reeling! And I've given Demetrios 2 stars before and 5 stars before. Regardless, her passion for what she's writing always ALWAYS shines through in a remarkable way. Seems like a really cool person to know and learn from.

Oh, also, the endnotes were awesome, such excellent extra information. I was flipping back and forth like a maniac. I want more!!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This spirited feminist biography of Virginia Hill was excellent in enthusiasm and in research. Demetrios used mostly primary sources and the niece of Virginia Hill. She also translated many French and German sources herself as well as getting security clearance to access CIA material.
However, there is a reason why it is strongly recommended not to use slang in writing. This book is going to get dated very quickly by all the pop culture comments and hashtag comments added unnecessarily to the book. It also is strongly suggested you keep your personal opinions out of a book. I don’t know how many guys are going to make it through this book with feminist opinions thrown onto virtually every page. Which is a shame since they need books to read too and this would have been popular otherwise with many boys. I’m not necessarily disagreeing with her opinions but I am saying the opinions didn’t have to be so over the top. The research work was of the highest caliber. And I did love how enthusiastic the author was. I’m looking forward to reading a more conventionally written book about Hill. Highly recommended for a woman who deserves to be better known, with the above reservations.

[Corrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Virginia Hall. The tone of the book and the clever pop culture references were fun for awhile, but they got old for me as the book wore on. I found myself having to take breaks. The author related each event in Virginia’s life to a present day situation or reference. While this may help the target audience relate to her situation, it felt overdone and drew out the story a bit too long. I would have rather learned the facts of her life and reacted through my own lens instead of the authors, at least some of the time.

I’m also concerned that the book might feel dated fairly quickly because of the pop culture references.

[S.A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a biography that doesn't feel like your typical biography. You feel like you're sitting next to Heather, drinking as she tells you these true stories about an amazing woman: Virginia Hall.

The immense amount of research that went into this book really shows and I especially appreciate that Heather seemed to capture some of Virginia's own tone, voice and unique turns of phrase (Cowardly salad!)

In this book, you'll also explore institutional racism, sexism and abelism in our society.

[Anna Schlueter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was so excited to learn more about Virginia Hall and her tremendous storyline and career. But the authors writing style was crap and that’s putting it nicely. She tried to be witty and funny and bring in new world opinions/views and I was not here for it.

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing.

My main drawback was: there were a lot of pop culture references throughout which makes me wonder if this account will stand the test of time. Otherwise I really liked it.

[Sarah Benham · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unreasonable amount of foul language means I can’t add this otherwise excellent nonfiction book to my classroom.

[Barbra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This account of Virginia Hall is uniquely told in conversational pop style, complete with tons of humour, and mature content, which includes some profanity. Nicknamed Dindy, she worked as a spy for Britain’s Special Operations Executive and the American Office of Strategic Services. She also was the first female civilian to win the Distinguished Service Cross in World War II. Dindy was smart, courageous, and determined to fight, even with a wooden leg. This highly readable historical account includes code names, bibliographies, and extensive end notes. A wonderful tribute to a most extraordinary lady.

[Alison · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’d say most of what we celebrate Virginia Hall for is audacious courage and the ability to stay calm, cool, and collected in the face of personal tragedy and under enemy fire…”

Anyone who says they hate nonfiction should give this one a try. Snarky, saucy and at times hilarious, Demetrios is no neutral narrator but a great champion of Virginia Hall and commenter on all the problems of the time she faced as an ambitious woman attacking the world of foreign service in the theater of WWII and the Cold War after a partial leg amputation.

As a former history teacher I deeply understand the power of engagement with topics that feel absurdly removed from real life. I appreciated the accessibility of Demetrios’s storytelling. Engaging readers in their emotional core guarantees the story never gets boring. Because she harnesses the assessment of context from the perspective of 2021 while acknowledging the realities of the period in which Hall lived, Demetrios deftly writes the importance of Hall and other women back into the events of WWII without falling into a revisionist trap that would detract from the value of her telling.

“What made her a trailblazer in the field was her strategizing. Dindy played a long game, her slow and steady maneuvering in the French countryside laying the groundwork for a whole new kind of large-scale approach to battle that would be useful decades later in wars in which armies no longer clashed on fields but fought with small teams of soldiers in alleyways and rocky mountain passages. She was audacious and daring, ready to carve a place for herself when none was offered, fighting for her seat at the table of SOE and OSS agents who distinguished themselves as leaders.”

It also allows her to comment on both the challenges Hall faced and the opportunities provided by her status, money and race.

With chapter titles like “Hell Hath No Fury”, “Girl Boss”, “It’s Raining Men”, and “Broads, Brothels and the Boches” and header quotes like, “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” - Maya Angelou, Demetrios grabs readers’ attention then continues to engage with writing littered with current cultural references from movies to social media. All, while guiding readers to understand the vast difference between the realities of 1950 and now. Demetrios’s conversational tone strikes the right chord for the audience she looks to engage: teens looking to harness their own inner Badass.

“WHO DOES THAT? Who is like, Hey, I want to help, so I’m going to enlist in another country’s army and drive an ambulance on the front lines even though I have one leg, no medical training, and probably not a lot of experience driving an ambulance? Dindy. That’s who. The rest of us just give to UNICEF and call it a day.”

While the extensive profanity makes this a 9-12 book rather than a middle school read, it doesn’t detract from the value of the history. It works to make Codename Badass more accessible to Demetrios’s intended audience. Fans of John Green’s Crash Course history series will find much to love here. Looking to expand your fiction / nonfiction pairings? Code Name Badass would make a beautiful nonfiction pair for Code Name Verity. I’ve been a fan of Heather Demetrios since I read I’ll Meet You There. Reading Codename Badass cements her as a “must read” author for me. I’ll preorder whatever she writes next.

[Deanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was looking forward to a book celebrating Virginia hall. But her brilliance and heroism is overshadowed by the author’s raging feminist rhetoric. I’m a woman and I don’t stand for sexism don’t get me wrong. But the “this one can go suck this or some sucker whatever *ss” is relentless and takes away from Virginia’s grace in responding with brave action and not bitter foul language. The author wore me down 78 pages in and sadly made it impossible for me to learn more about Virginia much as I really wanted to. I will try to find another book about her and the war heroes.

[Camille DeAngelis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily the most entertaining biography I've ever read! (More TK.)

[Sarah]

I really wanted to like this, but the author's very conversational tone, gratuitous use of swear words, and juxtaposition of calling Virgina Hall a badass and a dame/broad at the same time just put me off. Perhaps, listening to the audiobook version intensified these issues, but overall the writing just didn't hold up for me. It felt like the author was pandering to teens and trying too hard to be cool with all her swear words and modern colloquialisms (reg, adorbs, etc). The teens I know would not appreciate this writing style and would have given up long before the end because of it.
Virginia Hall is a fascinating woman, but all of the daring things she did get lost in the writing style.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this more than I thought I would but not as much as I'd hoped - I was listening to the audiobook and so, I found it kind of hard to follow along at times but the writing is engaging with a touch of sarcastic humor and the narrator did a great job bringing the author's words to life. I probably would have preferred this in a visual adaptation. Overall, I did enjoy hearing about this badass lady's life story a lot!