A stunning collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, this middle grade historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother’s death.
Remember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act…
Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister Lizzie share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they’re living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amidst one of the greatest secrets of World War II—Britain’s eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley’s top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.
The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler’s invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother's disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?---from the publisher
400 pages 978-0593527542 Ages 10 and up
Keywords: mystery, detective, action/adventure, thriller, spy, military fiction, historical fiction, World War II, mystery, codebreaking, missing people, brother and sister, 10 year old, 11 year old, 12 year old, 13 year old
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What would you do if you thought your mother might still be alive and everyone in authority was telling you she had died in an explosion in Warsaw? What would you do if you had the chance and the ability to help the war effort? This is the story of a brother and sister who rise up under incredibly dangerous and daunting circumstances.
As the story opens, Lizzie Novis, age 14, is about to board a ship along with her chaperone, to sail to America. She is running a step ahead of the German invasion of London because her grandmother has commanded her to head for safety and the prospects of a good marriage.
Well, after about two chapters you will know that anyone who knew Lizzie could have told her grandmother that Lizzie was not going to make it to the U.S. of A. Instead Lizzie outwits the chaperone and makes a mad dash for it, leaving the ship, racing through the city armed with her own agenda which means she is going to find her older brother Jacob and tell him what she knows.
For our younger readers, 8- 12, this may be a first glimpse of Bletchley Park where the British gathered geniuses and set them to work to solve the puzzle of how the German Enigma machines work. Just like those readers Lizzie is going to find her brother having no idea what he is doing at Bletchley Park and about to learn he works in "communications." In the process she will be brought on to the team at "The Park" to run messages from one Hut to another as different teams tackled their piece of the puzzle. Secrecy was of the utmost importance.
As the history unfolds through the eyes and cares of this talented brother and sister, there are a few sinister characters who do not trust the two young people and they also are casting doubt on the loyalty of their mother - now presumed deceased. Jacob is utterly determined to help win the war. Lizzie is utterly determined to prove her mother is alive. Others are determined to watch their every move.
Lizzie is one of the most memorable female characters you will ever read. She reminds me of Max in Adam Gidwitz's Max in the House of Spies. You've really got to meet her. These are unflinching kids, brilliant kids, and kids who can figure out who to talk to when they need help, kids who have the courage to make a plan and see it through.
Brothers and sisters have their ups and downs and so do these two. But when your mom is missing and clues keep coming your way that tantalizingly suggest she just might be alive, what would you do? This is a mystery, set on a stage built out of courage and love, and surrounded by the backdrop of the war that is creeping slowly and fiercely toward them with thousands of lives hanging in the balance. Can they find their mother? Can they break the Enigma puzzle? Will they survive? A wonderful question to ask ourselves today - what would we do?
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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“Listen
Do you want to know a secret?
Do you promise not to tell?”
– Lennon/McCartney (1963)
In a time of secrets, Jakob and Lizzie’s mom Willa has disappeared.
“‘Willa was here. She traveled all the way to Bletchley to tell you about her trip. She seemed different, worried. And you…you didn’t think to mention that to me?!’
‘I dove into my work as soon as I arrived. Days turned into weeks, and Mum didn’t come home. What should I have said?’
‘Are you really asking that? Our mother appears out of nowhere and is acting strange, very unlike herself. Instead of being concerned and trying to gather information, you dove into work and just forgot about it? That makes no sense!’
I began pacing, trying to untangle things. ‘The question is–why was she so worried about the trip to Poland in the first place? That’s an important clue. And why did she need to see you to announce the trip? She barely mentioned it to me, just told me to mind Viola while she was gone.’
Jakob shrugs. ‘She probably didn’t want to worry you.’
‘No. She wanted to share the information–go on the record somehow–that’s certain. So she told you, the emotionally distracted child, because she knew you wouldn’t probe deeply. And then she hid–’
No.
I’m not going to tell Jakob what I found beneath the floor. He doesn’t deserve to know. He clearly doesn’t care enough. And if he can withhold information, I can too.
‘She hid what?’ says Jakob.”
Mystery, danger, and excitement abound in this stellar piece of historical fiction about WWII code breaking, when a pair of teen siblings in Britain seek to discover what really happened to their missing mother.
Fourteen year-old Lizzie Novis and brainy big brother Jakob have no idea what really took place when Willa traveled to Poland, to help disassemble the American embassy there, and apparently got caught in a German bombing raid. They are told she is dead, but Lizzie doesn’t believe it.
It’s 1939, and Jakob has been recruited to work in Britain’s Nazi code-breaking operation in Bletchley Park. Meanwhile, in one of several comedic facets of this enlightening tale, Lizzie successfully and repeatedly evades Mr. Fleetwood, her wealthy American grandmother’s hired hand, who is tasked with traveling to London and returning to Cleveland, Ohio with Lizzie in tow.
In a compelling mystery, written by two award-winning authors, and told in two voices, the dark cloud of their mom’s disappearance hangs over vivid, well-researched depictions of the Bletchley Park code-breaking operation. The story incorporates many of the significant, real-life, historic heroes who, together, arguably shortened WWII by years. It also depicts life in London at the onset of the war. It’s topped off perfectly with a sweet dash of adolescent crushing.
In sum, THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE is a first-rate historical fiction read for tweens and teens, and an absolute must-have for collections serving young people.
For those readers who seek to delve further into the history behind Bletchley Park, or are intrigued by the tale’s brief and subtle denunciation of the U.S., for failing to step up promptly and help fight Hitler from the onset of WWII, I strongly recommend Candace Fleming’s related 2024 nonfiction gem, THE ENIGMA GIRLS: HOW TEN TEENAGERS BROKE CIPHERS, KEPT SECRETS, AND HELPED WIN WORLD WAR II (which, undoubtedly, is also in the running for upcoming year-end awards). I also recommend Ms. Fleming’s nonfiction THE RISE AND FALL OF CHARLES LINDBERGH, which graphically depicts the famed aviator’s oversized role in promoting American isolationism during Hitler’s ascendance.
Recommended by: Richie Partington, MLIS, California USA
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