When you think of codebreakers in World War II, you tend to think of Alan Turing or the Navajo Code Talkers. There were hundreds of teenaged girls in England who worked under great secrecy at Bletchley Park and were instrumental in helping England and the Allies end the war. Fascinating.

As a huge fan of Candace Fleming, I was not surprised that I adored this book. I loved they layout of the book, especially how the pictures followed along with the storyline and how most chapters ended in cliff-hangers making the reader want to continue. Additionally, my middle school audience will enjoy the WWII plot and will be won over by the short and fast moving chapters. Sprinkled throughout the book were chapters that focused on the reader being a code/cypher breaker and detailed different code/cypher structures and decoding strategies making this a book I'd eagerly recommend to my puzzle and mathematics enthusiasts.

This was an interesting story of 10 teenagers who worked at Bletchley Park and helped to break codes. They all came from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. I knew about the Official Secrets Act, but I didn't realize how long they had to keep the secrets of what they did during the war. The information wasn't released to the public until the mid-70s. This is a YA novel and I'd recommend it.

Thanks to @netgalley, @scholastic, and the author of this ARC

Candace Fleming writes nonfiction like a story. She captures your attention and keeps you wanting to learn more. Enigma Girls is no exception. Great untold story!

I love Candace Fleming's non-fiction, and this was no exception. I think the description of how codes and ciphers work will appeal to a lot of my students. I look forward to pairing this with some of the recent historical fiction titles that have been released recently. Thank you for the advanced copy!

If you know me, you know I am weirdly, stalkerishly obsessed with Candace Fleming. I will read literally anything she writes because she is an exceptional author.
I will say, this story didn't blow my mind the way that so many of her narrative nonfiction novels do, but it was completely solid from start to finish.

Thanks to the Netgalley and the publisher Scholastic books (who provided a ray of sunshine, in what was my relatively bleak teenage existence; I always looked forward to my monthly Scholastic book delivery as I ordered inexpensive books from their catalog that transported me to interesting places - please remember, you are ALL capable of making a difference).

The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II by Candace Fleming is a riveting narrative that brings to light the untold stories of tenacious young women whose intellect and determination played a crucial role in the Allied victory during World War II.

Set against the backdrop of Bletchley Park’s secretive operations, Fleming’s book is a testament to the power of youth and the impact of collective effort in times of crisis. The author masterfully intertwines personal anecdotes with the broader historical context, providing readers with a vivid portrayal of the era and the monumental tasks these teenagers undertook.

The book’s strength lies in its ability to humanize history. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Fleming introduces us to individuals who, despite their youth, took on the daunting task of deciphering enemy codes and contributed significantly to the war effort. Their stories are not just about the intellectual challenge of breaking ciphers but also about the emotional resilience required to keep secrets that could alter the course of history.

Fleming’s narrative is both educational and inspiring, making it an excellent read for both young adults and adults alike. It serves as a reminder of the often-overlooked contributions of women in history, particularly in fields dominated by men.

We hear a lot of stories about the heroes on the battlefields of World War II, but what were young girls doing to support the war effort? This book tells the story of ten young women who worked at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire. They didn’t know what they were going to do or why they had been selected. But hundreds of young people were responsible for cracking Nazi codes so the Allies could gain an advantage in the war. These code breakers had a variety of skills, from advanced math to second languages, and they all made a significant impact on the war effort.

This book is written for young readers to be able to engage in what happened without it going too deep into the harsher realties of war. The book manages to be both serious and not too heavy for readers who are interested in the topic without being weighed down. The stories of the young women chosen are interesting and varied. The included photos also help bring the stories to life. The book also has information about code breaking and cyphers, including activities for people who want to try their hand at doing it themselves. Readers who are interested in the topic further can explore the extensive bibliography.

This is a great book for readers of all ages to learn about contributions people made during the war effort and how important their efforts were. After decades of quiet about what these young women did, this kind of story is fascinating and important.

Thanks Scholastic and NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review

What a wonderful book! Candace Fleming has given us the story of 10 teenage girls who worked at Bletchley Park during WW2 and were instrumental in breaking the Nazi Enigma Code. So many young ladies (and men) volunteered for the war effort and were selected to work at Bletchley Park due to a specific ability they had. Some were math geniuses, others understood German, and so forth. Few even knew where Bletchley was located, and once they agreed to work there they had to sign the government Secrets Act and were bound to total secrecy as to where they were going and what they would be doing - and nobody knew what they would be doing until they arrived. One young lady was part of Section Y, and was a listening post overlooking the British Channel so that she could try and intercept coded messages being relayed by the Nazi's, It was an 8-step process in order to break the code. Conditions were difficult and secrecy was paramount. The stories of these girls and the wonders of code breaking should be required reading for one and all, Despite being 70, I learned a lot of new information and history in this book. It is an easy read (finished it in under two days), and hits the main highlights without getting bogged down in academic style writing. Includes many photos which help us better understand the story, and there are sections where she tells us about how to decode messages and allows us to try our hand at decoding. I gather this is a YA book, but that designation is irrelevant because the stories of these women are of universal interest and admiration. I really cannot say enough about this book. Do yourself a favor, read this book, give it to your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews or neighbor kids. they will benefit from it and learn how these young ladies may have shortened WW2 by at least 2 years due to their efforts!!

This book brings together some truly appealing elements to provide a compelling, straightforward read. We learn about the grand scope of the project to crack the Enigma codes and the importance of code breaking and secrecy for success in World War II. Because of the sheer number of people involved it can be too much to understand, so Fleming has focused on a handful of specific figures to help provide focus. And because the central figures here are teenagers instead of the well-known names the text is more relatable for a young audience. The narrative is broken up with sections about ciphers and cryptography more generally. This is an easily understood book and one I highly recommend.

I already added it to my to-buy list. This is a fantastic story about a crew of people instrumental to the WWII effort who had to keep it a secret... forever. The writing style is easy to read, there are lots of pictures, and there's a great bibliography in the back.

This book is so neat! The pictures alone are worth it. So much interesting information. I can't get enough! If you like WWII history this is one you don't want to miss.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this middle grade non-fiction.

This is a well written story, with plenty of codes and code breaking strategies throughout. I know some upper elementary students who will love reading about these amazing girls and their incredible contributions.

I really enjoyed this eye-opening account of what went on in Bletchley Park during WWII. I had only ever heard about Alan Turing and the other code-breakers who worked on the Bombe and the Enigma machine, but I had no idea how many people were there, or how detailed the work was that they were doing. There were so many steps involved in receiving and decoding a message, and the fact that so many of the people working at Bletchley were girls right out of high school was surprising. I appreciate that their story is being told.

A great introduction to many topics: WWII in general, Bletchley Park in particular, and breaking ciphers! I loved how we got to see through the eyes of teenage girls from very different walks of life. The cipher breaking part is fun and engaging!

In The Enigma Girls, Candace Fleming tells the story of British young women, really just teens, who served during World War II helping to break codes. This occurred at a place called Bletchley Park, where important work was being done to decipher intercepted messages. All of this work was top secret, and everyone only had a small piece of the puzzle to work with. They all had to sign the Official Secrets Act in which they promised to never talk about their wartime jobs. These young women were gifted mathematicians or linguists. Even though they didn’t know the impact of their labors most of the time, they were dedicated to doing their part to beat the Nazis and help win the war. 


The book incorporates many photographic inclusions. At times Fleming explains to readers the process of how the women deciphered coded messages like the routines conducted at Bletchley Park.


The author truly portrayed in words the dedication of these women and the less than favorable conditions under which they worked.
The story is well researched and complex. 
This book is great for middle school readers interested in World War II or stories of strong women who did not conform to society’s expectations of their gender.

Enigma Girls tells the fascinating stories of 10 young women who were instrumental to the Allies' success in World War II. While the reading was dense at times, it's clear Ms. Fleming did an incredible amount of research -- and the photos shared throughout this non-fiction book helped tell the story to a new generation of students learning about this period of history.

Such a great non-fiction book for middle grades. WWII is always such an in demand topic for kids at this age and this book gives them an inside view of how a group of teens helped save lives

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

ENIGMA GIRLS brings readers to a different aspect of WWII history - that of how many teenage girls contributed to the war effort. While I knew about Bletchley Park, I had no idea how much of the staff there was made up of teenagers and young adults. It's pretty impressive to think about how these kids were cracking codes and handling top secret war information... and that when the war ended, they couldn't even talk about their experiences with each other due to the oath of secrecy they took. I appreciate that Fleming also gave space in this text to show the basics of cryptology along with providing photos of the machines that helped make and break encryptions.

The ending was a bit abrupt, but overall I think this is a solid addition to middle grade/YA WWII collections. Because it focuses on Bletchley, this is also a title to get to tweens and teens who need a WWII book but don't want one that centers on battles or on the Holocaust while still providing the history of an important piece to the WWII puzzle. Though I did find it slightly odd that the Holocaust isn't mentioned at all, even just as additional information to flesh out what the Germans were doing during the war.

Advanced Reader’s Copy provided by NetGalley, Scholastic, and Scholastic Focus in exchange for an honest review.

The Enigma Girls is a fantastic non-ficition work by Candace Fleming. Young history buff's will devour this book and enjoy the photos and ciphers within its pages. This look at a little discussed part of WWII is a worthy addition to all YA non-fiction collections.