1937. Stella North has been chosen to represent Britain in Europe’s first youth air race. As the only female, she wants to do well for her gender and for her adopted country. Having been born in Russia before the Communist takeover and raised in England, Stella is “stateless” and travels with a Nansen passport. On the first leg of the race, Stella witnesses one airplane fly close to another, harassing the pilot until the harassed plane crashes into the sea. Not knowing whom to trust, Stella tells of the crash but doesn’t mention the murderous pilot. Hazards abound on each leg of the journey, and slowly, Stella learns whom she can trust, creating a small band of youth pilots hunting for a murderer.

This is an exciting, fast-paced story with many plot holes. Why do the young pilots tell nobody there is a murderer in their midst? The “reason” isn’t believable, nor is the character of Stella’s chaperone, a groundbreaking female pilot who seems to have no understanding of anything and who refuses to listen to Stella. When the murderer is finally discovered, and even the police know who it is, why is that person neither arrested nor watched? To be able to create the exciting havoc that ends the story, I guess. I liked the young characters, and Stella’s and another pilot’s struggle with identity and allegiance to country on the brink of WWII is interesting. The story’s setting is brilliantly brought to life, as are the details and excitement of early flight. However, my frustrations with aspects of the story make it difficult for me to wholeheartedly recommend. Young Adult.

Well written but could have been 150 pages shorter. I think this would take a reader, high school age and up, who was interested in history and women breaking through barriers.

Elizabeth Wein has long been one of my favorite authors due to her superb writing and the uniqueness of her characters. I also always enjoy how her books usually center (or have mention) of flying. This gorgeously written historical mystery was amazing. IT was absolutely lovely! There are so many teen books in the market nowadays, but this one stands out from the rest. Every phrase was poetry, and the descriptions were so vivid it was like I was there with the characters in the cockpit.
This book was everything I had been wanting and missing. Excellent dialogue, solid world building, an independent, likeable heroine, a hint of romance. I just savored each page and was very sorry when it ended. I will definitely be buying this book in print! TEN STARS!

I remember reading Code Name Verity, and just finding it okay. Yet I really wanted to give this one a shot, because I do love history and studied that time period a lot while I was doing my BA in History.

I'm glad I did, because I enjoyed it quite a lot. It actually makes me want to read Code Name Verity again and see if I enjoy it more this time.

Wein created a really intriguing story that married the mystery of who is trying to sabotage and kill some of the pilots with historical details. And I quite enjoyed Stella as the main character, so that always helps me enjoy a book.

Overall, I think that if you enjoy a story rooted in history that does include details that are clearly not historically accurate, you will enjoy it. I enjoyed it enough to revisit Code Name Verity and check out some of her other books.

I wanted to love this one because I've loved just about everything Elizabeth Wein has written. But with this one I didn't like any of the characters. Though I did love the story and the setting.

Stella is the only female pilot in an air race. She is representing Great Britain. There is an incident that occurs during this event and everyone is a suspect. A thrilling historical fiction story with a mystery. This story has superb writing, interesting characters and a great plot.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for this review copy and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Wein’s Code Name Verity is a heartbreakingly perfect book and so, I will read everything she writes. This is not that, but it is good. It needed to end a few chapters sooner or we needed a few chapters taken out of the middle. Either way, I learned something new, as I always do when I read one of her books.

Stella North is the only female aviator competing in an international Youth Air Race in 1937. She represents the UK and there are 11 others from different European countries including France, Belgium, Germany, Italy and more. The race was conceived as a showcase of international friendship during a time when political unrest in Spain, Italy and Germany is of great concern to all of Europe. The young participants range in age from 16 to 20.

Stella is not the best pilot but she is smart and takes advantage of every opportunity to be competitive. But on the first leg of the contest, she sees someone tragically interfere with another contestant. Stella is unsure who is guilty and she fears she cannot trust any of the other aviators or the chaperones. As more attempts to tamper with the aircraft occur, she and two other pilots join together to discover the identity of the saboteur.

The 1930’s was a time of aviation frenzy. Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart were two pilots who were huge celebrities. People rallied around the feats of flying expertise. But the world was enmeshed in Fascist rulers rising up and causing chaos. The threatening events at the competition were further signs of the issues plaguing Europe. Stella and the other pilots have complicated pasts. They’re young but some have seen evil firsthand.

Wein cleverly weaves her tale of mysterious sabotage into a world on the brink of collapse. Her youthful characters are more fully developed than the adults who are generally stereotyped. The young aviators are mature for their years and deeply committed to their flying expertise. Their anxiety due to threats on their lives, is only further heightened by the political tension.

The book imagines a sports contest that flies above the political tensions of the day. But in a world immersed in turmoil, can that possibly exist? Wein is expert at writing historical young adult novels. This doesn’t quite rise to the level as some of her other books and the rating indicates the disappointment after the high expectations. Still, it has intrigue, youthful prowess, camaraderie, and a mysterious threat.

I’ve been a fan of Elizabeth Wein’s books since first reading CODE NAME VERITY. I missed a few of her books since then, but when I saw that STATELESS was coming out this spring, and that it was about a lady pilot, I had to read it!

This book delivers a rich historical setting in a 1937 Europe still reeling from the first World War. Already, the tension is building toward World War II. The whole story is from Stella’s point-of-view, which I loved.

Stella has both a sharpness and a softness that I really liked. She’s a woman, a rarity in the world of aeroplanes and pilots of her day. She’s aware that everyone from her colleagues to the press to her own family members will treat her differently because of her gender. Sometimes she second-guesses herself. Sometimes she worries about being too emotional. But she also recognizes her strengths and finds ways to create space for herself.

When Stella witnesses one of her fellow race participants attacked by an unidentified plane, she realizes reporting everything she saw may place her own life at risk. Instead, she begins to quietly investigate the other racers and support staff, trying to identify the murderer before he or she has a chance to strike again. That part of the story had me turning pages as quickly as I could. The tension ratchets up so quickly in some scenes. I held my breath as all the pilots gathered, ready to take off from one of their stops. I felt like I couldn’t breathe until I knew they would all escape.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a little bit less violent than CODE NAME VERITY, but still delivered that same rich historical setting and unforgettable characters. I think Elizabeth Wein’s fans and fans of historical fiction will be absolutely delighted with this one.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

STATELESS is another excellent piece of historical fiction written by Elizabeth Wein; some of her other titles include Code Name Verity, Rose Under Fire, and Black Dove White Raven. She sets her latest novel in August 1937 where a dozen young adults are promoting peace by participating in an air race with separate legs between a variety of European cities like Salisbury, Brussels, Hamburg, Venice, and Paris. Initially, all of those characters (and their planes) need an introduction, but Wein swiftly concentrates the action around Stella North, who represents the UK, Tony Roberts, who represents France, and Sebastian Rainer, a Luftwaffe pilot flying for Germany. They have to learn to trust each other when another competitor disappears (possibly murdered) and it seems that someone involved with the race is now targeting them. The race itself moves the story along, of course, but there is much more exciting action and danger in this historically accurate mystery. Be sure to read the author's note where Wein not only explains the title and some of her sources, but also draws parallels to today's issues, especially the situation in Ukraine. STATELESS is highly recommended and received a starred review from School Library Journal.

I've been an Elizabeth Wein fan since Code Name Verity, and this was an excellent addition to her work! I loved the slightly-earlier time period from her earlier books, and as heartbreaking as it was to know how much the characters would likely suffer over the next decade I really appreciated the author's intention to write Stella as an optimistic heroine who doesn't know what the future holds for her. I enjoyed figuring out the mystery that was set up and thought the pacing was great, with the action starting off right from the beginning.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for access to this arc.

It's August 1937 and the era of all kinds of "first flights" with glamorous and daring aviators and aviatrixes vying for records - the first to fly this route, the fastest to fly there. Journalists compete almost as intensely to cover the flyers as the flyers compete to complete their flights and all the while the general public is lapping up the headlines and news. The latest stunt has been dreamt up and arranged by a wealthy British aristocrat with the goal of fostering peace amongst youthful flyers (as you say, using the heady exuberance of youth) from all across Europe. Twelve older teen aviators will start from Salisbury then crisscross the continent in a friendly contest with a sizable, for the day, cash prize.


Stella North - who is representing Britain, although she is not a British subject - is the only female. While she must field silly questions from the press and realizes that there will be intense interest in how well she does, surprisingly her fellow flyers respect her skills and treat her well. Of all of them, only Tony Roberts - flying for France despite speaking execrable French - seems to have many years of flying experience (most were chosen based on essays). He (and also Stella) has strong views on the Spanish Civil War which leads to some ruffled feathers with the German contestant and Tony chafes at being told to remain quiet about the Great Powers staying out of that conflict.


On the first leg of the contest, Stella is horrified to watch what appears to be one plane diving at and forcing down another over the Channel. She circles the wreckage but after seeing no sign of the pilot, she hurries to Brussels to report it. Something makes her hedge on telling all she saw and she soon realizes that there are undercurrents all around her and hidden aspects of her fellow contestants. Did she see a murder and if so, who committed it and why?


There are a lot of details about flying in this book. It's to be expected and does contribute to the competency of the flyers. My attention wandered when the specific planes were mentioned but I still managed to catch what I needed to know. It's definitely prewar Europe when conventions require that Stella wear long gloves with her silk frock for the fancy events as well as have Lady Frith as her chaperon. There is also a section in Hamburg that allows all kinds of cool historical details (decadent American jazz, the popularity of Coca-Cola) to be included yet drags just a bit. I did Google Roborovski and now I kind of want a robo dwarf hamster. I'd also never heard of Nansen passports which were very interesting.


Stella knows what she saw over the Channel and soon other acts of sabotage begin to be found. Are they connected? Is someone merely trying to fix the race or is there another reason behind them? The clues and red herrings are scattered nicely. I like that Stella uses some aspects of her aviation skills to eliminate some of the other flyers from her list of possible suspects. She then takes a leap of faith in trusting someone which fortunately pays off for them both.


The underlying reason for the contest, to promote peace in Europe employing a fascinating new technology as used by youth, is an attempt to defuse some of the political tensions simmering across the continent. One character has been in Spain fighting the Italian and German air forces. Many flyers decry how Europe isn't standing with Spain or Ethiopia against the aggression, and bombs, directed at them. There is a definite feeling of people desperately trying to not antagonize certain countries in the hope of avoiding another war - similar to the one that several of the older aviator chaperones fought in twenty years ago. Knowing what was coming made me ache that as these young men know how to fly, many will probably die in the coming war. And yet, I think the book manages to stay away from heavy foreshadowing (the setting is before Kristallnacht or the takeover of Austria and Czechoslovakia) and ends on a hopeful (and yet, we know, doomed) note. I liked the end but yeah, it still left me sad anyway. B

Stateless was an un-putdownable thrill for me! I loved getting a glimpse of the between-the-wars period and Stella was a heroine to root for. I'm also excited because while I think this will appeal to readers of all ages, I can see my younger teens really getting into it.

The tension in this book didn’t let up until the very end. Near the beginning, Stella witnesses what she thinks is one plane ramming another plane which then crashes into the ocean during the first leg of an international air race she’s competing in. When one of the other contestants doesn’t make it to the first stop of the race, she knows what she saw, but from where she was, she couldn’t see details of the plane that knocked the other one out of the sky, so she doesn’t know who to trust. Will she survive to finish the race?

In 1937, Stella North is thrilled to be competing as the only female pilot in Europe's first air race for young adults. Between Spain's civil war and the Nazis gaining power, the world is looking for something uplifting to follow. But the competition quickly turns cutthroat when a competitor is killed and each of the pilots has their own dangerous past to hide.

Elizabeth Wein, the author of Code Name Verity, delivers another fun and cute young adult WWII historical fiction novel. Stella makes for an excellent female protagonist: sharp, clever, and confident. I found the descriptions of flying fascinating; they were explainable without being overpowering. The high-action plot and the cute romance keep you flipping pages trying to guess the mystery. Yes, Stateless is a bit over the top, but in a good YA kind of way.

Elizabeth Wein is a fantastic storyteller. Stateless was an absorbing, fast-paced story with an intriguing premise - pilots from several European countries competing in a race in the name of peace, all while there's someone sabotaging the competitors. I couldn't put this down because I was anxious to figure out who was the saboteur and, then, how it would all end. Along the way, there were lovely relationships developed among some unlikely friends.

Elizabeth Wein is a master of both historical fiction and action and intrigue that keeps you turning the pages.
I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Stella, Tony, and the rest of the high flyers are an amazing and compelling cast not to be missed

I wouldn’t call myself a patient reader, unless I know my patience will pay off. Having read Wein’s other works and having been familiar with her style of storytelling, I expected the pay off to be good. And it was!

Out of all her books I’ve read, this was probably the most thrilling. I had so much fun, I couldn’t put it down. I say this as a cat-and-mouse and car chase scene enjoyer in action movies. If you are one too, imagine that in the air. It had me on the edge of my seat. The mystery was carefully laid out, I was aware of how Wein wrote her twists and I tried my best to pay attention to details so I could guess the “culprit” or anticipate events but I was still left surprised. I felt the need to stare at the wall for a few minutes and think about the things I’ve missed and brushed off as unimportant. At the start of this book, I thought this was the type of book that had the protagonist alone against the world but I was wrong in that regard, too. I loved how Wein wrote platonic relationships and was very glad to see it here again. Aside from that - and as expected - there was still something to learn from this book, such as the Nansen passports, which could explain the title.

My rating stands between to a 3 and a 4 star (I am thinking about raising it; we shall see). Endings could make or break a rating for me, and the way this book ended was fitting but somehow felt too abrupt. I still had questions, which I won’t be putting on here because of spoilers. To say the least, I thought there was a whiff of convenience. Brushing that aside though, I’d still call this a thrilling page-turner. Stella North was a another good addition to Wein’s brave heroines.

Elizabeth Wein cemented her way into being one of my favorite authors with Code Name Verity. I also really loved the subsequent books I've read from her. Thus, I was so excited to get my hands on Stateless. And so, I made sure to dive into this book WAY before the release date. Stateless follows Stella North who is representing Britain in this air race during the pre-World War II era. Competing in the race are representatives from across Europe. Stella is the only young woman. On one of the first legs of the race, there is a dogfight and one of the young pilots dies. Stella witnesses this and now has no idea who to trust or if she will be sabotaged. And so, this book is all about Stella trying to find out who did it while also staying out of the crosshairs of the murderer.

I really had hoped to be more into Stateless than I was. Maybe it's my currently stage of life as I had been really stressed during reading. I just didn't feel as into this book as I normally would a book from Wein. Of course, this book is well written. It brings together different interesting elements -- particularly the time period and the concept of giving up one's citizenship. I liked the romance aspect too and how it was such a slow burn. However, the pacing was just not it for me. That's okay though, I think I may try this again once I am in a less frenzied stage of life and hopefully will enjoy it much more.

Features: enemies to friends, rivals to lovers, 1940s airplanes, a big competition, perfect worldbuilding, jazz clubs in Germany, tragic backstories, and a lil bit of murder.

Fantastic amazing showstopping and all those sorts of words.