You just cannot go wrong with Lois Lowery and this is another winner. I can't wait until our copy comes in and I can share it with my kiddos. Fabulous read.

I didn't know what to make of this when I started reading it as it starts with the author seemingly speaking directly to the reader in a nonfiction type of way. I didn't really think I wanted that, and I was kinda bummed. Even when the story fully began, I was still skeptical of this, but then I actually saw what Lowry was trying to do here and I really enjoyed that. I can see the need for the idea to be explained, I don't think you'd get the full impact of what is happening without the explanation. Having said that, I really don't think this is going to be for everyone. I do think that, given how short this is, we don't get enough of either storyline (or even of Lowry's explanation) to make this a fully-fledged narrative. If you don't connect with the message, you will not get it, because there isn't enough of a storyline to make this strong on only the plot. By the end, I totally bought into the premise and enjoyed it.

I requested this book because I love Lois Lowry's work; ever since I read the Giver as a child. I was skeptical at first given that the content was based off of a bog body (not my typical read) but hopeful for Lowry's storytelling to whisk me away to another era. I enjoyed the book, but felt it was lacking.

The book is not a simple telling of Estrild story. Instead, Lowry utilized multiple different story lines and added a lot of extra exposition. This divided the book into six sections of stories, making it more difficult to enjoy the story line. The story structure was not my favorite. I loved the plot and the characters but would have enjoyed it more with a single view storytelling arc.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lois Lowery is excellent and this one did not disappoint. Lowery uses the concept of bog bodies (my first knowledge of this) to write a character drive story to fill in the gaps and questions history left unanswered. Ultimately tragic which we know it will be but somehow also touching and comforting to know our characters fate.

The Windeby Puzzle is one of the most magnificent books that I have read. It is a pure work of art. The different stories of the Windeby find are amazing. However, what separates this book from any other I have read, are the author's notes. I loved how Lowry explained her writing process and the choices she made. This book is a treasure!

The Windeby Puzzle

History and Story

By: Lois Lowry

Publication Date 14 February 2023

Publisher: Harper Collins children’s Books, Clarion Books

Children Fiction

#TheWindebyPuzzle#NetGalley

100 Book ReviewsProfessional Reader

I would like to thank both Harper Collins and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Good Reads Synopsis:

Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body.

Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in?

Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woolen blindfold over its eyes.

This suspenseful exploration of lives that might have been by a gifted, intellectually curious author is utterly one of a kind. Includes several arresting photos of archeological finds, including of the Windeby child.

Review:

I gave this book 4 stars. I had a great time reading this and I really enjoyed the history part of the book.

The book starts out with a team finding parts of bodies and then a whole body in the bogs of Germany. At first, they thought the body was of a young girl around 13 years old. They thought she was sacrificed because there were no wounds or any signs of ill health. So, Lois made a story of what she thought happed to this young girl. The story was great and inspiring for the future of women of the time. Of course, the ending wasn’t going to be happy because we know the young girl will die but she tried to make it upbeat.

After this story they actually find out something different, so she writes a different story. This story was just as good and just as sad because we know how the story will end.

I have always loved Lois Lowry writing and she didn’t disappoint me. She made history come to life in this book. I highly recommend that everyone should read this book. You will learn something new, like I did.

This was one of the most unique reads, which makes it difficult to rate. It tells the tale of a real deal 2,000-year-old bog body found in northern Germany. The first version is told from a girl, Estrild, who desperately wants to become a warrior. The second version follows an Orphan boy, Varick, who helps her to train. Is it even possible for these two to have a happy ending?! I think this a book you just have to experience for yourself!

BOOK REVIEW: The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry
2023 Publication Date: February 14

⭐️⭐️⭐️️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books Of 2023

Pages: 202
Genre: Children's Books
Sub-Genre: Historical Fiction
Reading Age: 10 - 12 years | Middle Grade
Time Period: 1952 | Iron Age
Location: Windeby (Northern Germany)
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books | Clarion Books

PUBLISHER BOOK SYNOPSIS
Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive.

In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body.

Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in?

Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000-year-old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany in 1952.

BOOK QUOTE
"Each of us has a story" — The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry

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All my book reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at thisismyeverybody.com/blog/what-book-should-i-read

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

It's difficult to review this one because I'm not the target age group, so while I appreciated what the author did here, I'm not sure a middle grade audience would feel the same way.

This isn't a straightforward story. It is based on history, namely the discovery of the Windeby bog body, which fascinated the author and had her mind spinning with stories about the person who once lived there so long ago. In this book, she tells us two different versions, and describes her thought and writing processes to explain how she came up with them. It's half nonfiction, half fiction, which makes it a weird one. While it was nice to get insight into how her brain works, the stories themselves were just fine, and not ones that will stay with me.

Lowry was fascinated by the bodies of people discovered in bogs. She researched the history and theories of one, the Windeby child. She takes readers through the facts and her writing process of the body and then creates stories filling in the gaps of history. This storytelling is creative and might just change the way authors write historical fiction and historical nonfiction for young people. I loved the fact that she explained the history and her thought process. This book would be a great addition to a classroom, especially as a readaloud, full class, book club choice.

I've read and enjoyed several other books by Lois Lowry, so I was excited to hear about The Windeby Puzzle. This book is quite different from any other that I've read - the author engages directly with the reader in a few sections, and also tells two variations of stories about The Windeby Child. It's an interesting story, but I felt that the execution missed the mark. All of the sections - fictional and true - were wordy and slow-moving. I think many middle grade, and even YA, readers would find the explanations too long and slow to hold their interest. I think that's too bad, because the idea is so creative and interesting, and I'd love to read a more engaging story about it. This has inspired me to find out more about The Windeby Child though! Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the advance digital copy!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Clarion Books for my copy of The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry in exchange for an honest review. This publishes February 14, 2023.
The premise of this book was so interesting, I loved the conversational history parts. However, I found the stories themselves to be a little boring. I didn't really care for either of the main characters. I felt like the stories were short enough for a younger reading level, however, I felt like the subject matter in the history portion might be too grown-up for said reading level.
I would love to read more of the history chapters in they ever existed!

This was an interesting book that the author comes up with after hearing about the Bog people and what the author really thinks happened to the bog person(s). It is part history and part fiction but not exactly historical fiction. Estrild is a girl who’s only friend is a orphan boy named Varick. Varick is disabled as his back is twisted so he will never become a fighter while Estrild is a girl who desperately wants to become the first female warrior in her village. This book is what the author thinks their stories would have been like.

The Windeby Puzzle by Lois Lowry (Clarion, February 2023) is unlike any children’s book I’ve ever read before. With a mix of history and inventive storytelling, Lois Lowry tells of the young 2,000-year-old body discovered in a German bog, first by explaining the facts of what is known and then by inventing the story of the person found. Then, since analysis has changed in the past years, Lowry rewrote her story to meet the descriptions of the new facts. Her compelling stories left me wanting to know more of her ancient world and the loveable characters I read of.


As I already knew, Lowry is a masterful storyteller. The compelling storytelling section told of Estrild’s dreams and her self-training to become more than just another girl of her society. I loved her friendship with the disabled Varick, and I felt I knew them. I wanted to keep reading Estrild’s story. Lowry obviously did extensive research to create such an accurate German settlement from the early years A.D. Although I am not familiar with the era or locale, it seemed clear to me that she had researched traditions, and the descriptions of life and rituals of the small society rang true.

First, the beginning section of the book was an informational section. This described how a body was found in a bog, the condition it was in, and Lowry’s desire to figure out the person who had once lived in the body. So, because Lowry explained that her story was written to explain the body, I knew even as I read, that Estrild was going to end up dead at the end. This made the reading of the story sad, and when the story did end, it felt abrupt. I was almost mad.

But, this was not all. The most unique aspect of this book was Lowry’s continued expansion. After she told Estrild’s story, Lowry returned with more historical facts about the bog body. Following that history, she returned with another fictional creation, this time adapting the story based on the facts that had been learned. I really enjoyed seeing how Lowry could take the same village and characters and create two unique explanations for the bog body.

Even with the unique blend of fact and fiction, though, The Windeby Puzzle was simply not my favorite book to read. It is usually pretty difficult to end a lovely story with the death of the loved main character, and death was ultimately the destiny for the character in this story, since it is based on the young bog body that was actually found. Knowing these facts going in made for an interesting archeological and historical thought experiment, but it did not make it a satisfying children’s story.

I received a digital review copy of this book.

Based on a body found in a bog in Northern Germany, this book is told through Lowry's voice as she sets up a story - and then again as she changes the story when new details about the body are discovered. This is a book that will have a very limited audience. The audience is mostly going to be in the classroom if teachers use it as a prelude or companion to students writing their own historical fiction pieces.

This was a very interesting concept of a book in taking the facts of archaeological findings of a child's body found in a peet bog in Germany dating back to the first century, and making two fictional stories of what might have happened to her or him.
Both stories are sad, as we know from the beginning that it ends with the death of this child.

Both stories were beautifully told, and give the idea of what life might have been like for someone living during Iron Age.

Thank you to Harper Collins Chdrens for sending me this eARC in exchange for an honest review

When beginning this book I had absolutely no clue what it was about. I saw an ad that Lois Lowry was appearing in person near me, bought the tickets, and then prayed to the NetGalley gods that my advance copy request would be granted. I’ve never been more grateful that it was ,except perhaps in finishing this book. This book takes what you think you know about storytelling and turns it on its ear. The author provides fascinating insights on the story in an unconventional manner. In addition to this the story unfolds in a way that makes you care about the characters before backtracking and unfolding on itself again. A fantastic read

A middle-grade story that seeks to solve the mystery of two bog bodies in Germany. I appreciated that Lowry talked openly about her research about the bodies and what life would have been like for them during the iron age. I didn't nessecarily appreciate the story of trying to push gender norms.

Typically a huge fan of Lowry's work, The Windeby Puzzle fell a bit short for me this time. The concept is fascinating, particularly the emphasis on the diverging storylines, doubling back on what might have been true in light of new information, trying to make sense of something, but while the framing device was interesting, it was also unclear. The book doesn't specify if the writer, speaking directly to the audience, is Lowry or a character of her creation, leaving you on edge to see if the writer will eventually engage in the story beyond just relaying scientific fact and their own fiction. The book also might be confusing to younger readers when Lowry openly admits that her versions of these stories are unrealistic- Estrild likely not having the time or inclination to act the way she does here, and Varick's story being an unlikely and lucky one. This is a good confession and one that raises a lot of questions, opens many doors for conversations, about our perception of history, projection of modern ideas, whether the past needs to be relatable for us to connect to a dead child- but this might have worked better as a story for older readers that focuses on younger characters. Still, I admire the ambition and the storytelling, though the stories certainly wouldn't stand on their own nearly as well as they do within the context of the bog child, and if they need that gimmick to be worth reading, maybe that says something about reading them.

Basically, Lois Lowry is a legend for a reason. Only she could take a topic and format like she used here and pull it off.
That said, I wasn't a fan of this one. I think it will find some adult readers who will absolutely love it, but I have a hard time seeing it appeal to children. For me, the iron age feminist girl was a hard sell. I tried not to feel personally offended by the claim that a woman's body and spirit had grown old and tired prematurely because she had several children, but being a mother of eight may have made me sensitive to such a comment!