by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
publisher’s synopsis
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?
In my opinion, WWII is one of the most written about time periods, and it can be hard to write about something that feels new. However, Sepetys and Sheinkin have done that, focusing on the work of codebreakers at Bletchley Park.
Lizzie’s character voice sparkled. Her frankness and comments about being half-American made me smile. I also really liked Jakob’s character.
Since this is middle grade rather than YA, it’s less complex and heavy than Sepetys’s other works. However, the writing is still strong and what you would expect from Sepetys, just at a middle grade level. I haven’t read anything by Sheinkin, so I can’t say how it compares to his novels.
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable novel about a lesser-known part of WWII.
Cautions: four blasphemies; three swear words; one British swear word
I received an eARC through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The Bletchley Riddle releases October 2024.
Hailey Huntington 
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