27 December 2924 THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, Penguin Random House/Viking, October 2024, 400p., ISBN: 978-0-593-3527542-352754-2

“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. 

Richie Partington, MLIS

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