--- description: Find out why 'Code Talker' by Joseph Bruchac is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time. title: 'Code Talker' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447ff284b647e8b5/698a1bc2457a521532d6561f/code-talker-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 11, 2021 # Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  In his acclaimed 2005 novel, prolific author Joseph Bruchac, winner of the Native Writers Circle of the Americas’ Lifetime Achievement Award, brings to life the extraordinary story of the [Navajo code talkers of World War II](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/american-indian-code-talkers "undefined"). Bruchac’s narrative following fictional Navajo Marine Ned Begay weaves more than two decades’ worth of research into a dramatization of the real story of the group who helped the Allied forces win the war by using their tribal language to send secret, uncrackable messages across battlefields in the Pacific theater. Thought-provoking and action-packed, _Code Talker_ is narrated by Ned, now an elderly grandfather, recounting his struggles as a young man called to fight for a country that marginalized him throughout his entire life. Bruchac deftly sheds light on the harrowing circumstances that Indigenous people faced during an already arduous time period.[ In his own words](https://cynthialeitichsmith.com/2005/09/author-interview-joseph-bruchac-on/ "undefined"): “I tried very hard to neither glorify war nor demonize the enemy, but to see it all through Indian eyes, which is a very different way of seeing.” —_Megan McCluskey_ **Buy Now:** _Code Talker_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780142405963 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0142405965/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0142405965&linkId=a914b3212d1ee37ebbc72a7c982b3a00 "undefined") Code Talker: 100 Best YA Books of All Time ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084512/code-talker/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084512/code-talker/"},"headline":"Code Talker","datePublished":"2021-08-11T11:36:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:52:36.288Z","description":"Find out why 'Code Talker' by Joseph Bruchac is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084512/code-talker/","keywords":["Books","list","best YA books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447ff284b647e8b5/698a1bc2457a521532d6561f/code-talker-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt447ff284b647e8b5/698a1bc2457a521532d6561f/code-talker-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084512/code-talker/","name":"Code Talker"}}]}] ```