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The Bletchley Riddle is a thrilling historical fiction novel set during World War II, blending mystery, suspense, and intrigue with the fascinating world of code-breaking at Bletchley Park. The story follows two siblings, [Character 1] and [Character 2], who are part of the British code-breaking effort. Amidst the war, they are faced with an urgent personal mission: to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of their mother, whose death has been reported, but whose body was never found. As the siblings unravel a series of cryptic riddles, they must navigate dangerous secrets that may have been hidden for years.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book for several reasons. The author does an excellent job of balancing historical detail with a gripping, fast-paced plot. The mystery is captivating, filled with twists and turns, as the siblings decode hidden messages and confront the possibility that their mother’s death may not have been what they were led to believe. The riddles add an extra layer of intrigue and kept me engaged, as I found myself trying to solve them alongside the characters.

What really stood out to me, however, was how the book seamlessly integrates historical fiction into the mystery genre. The depiction of Bletchley Park and the code-breaking efforts during WWII felt authentic, giving readers a real sense of the stakes and the intelligence work that took place during the war. The suspense builds beautifully throughout the story, with moments of high tension balanced by quieter, emotional scenes that highlight the siblings’ personal journey.

Overall, The Bletchley Riddle is an enjoyable read for anyone who loves historical fiction with a strong mystery component. It’s a perfect blend of intrigue, history, and family drama, and I highly recommend it for readers looking for a book that keeps them on the edge of their seat.

Thank you to the publisher, Penguin Teen Canada, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nineteen year old Jakob Novis is a cryptologist working at Bletchley Park. He receives an unexpected message from his sister Lizzie, who is supposed to be on her way to her grandmother in America, given that their mother, who worked for the US Embassy in Poland, has recently been presumed dead. But Lizzie is certain she is still alive, and through a series of events, ends up at Bletchley Park, working as a messenger. As she begins to track down a series of clues that she believes might provide a lead to her mother’s whereabouts, the war continues to rage, and with Hitler’s invasion seemingly imminent, Jakob’s work is more important than ever. When more cryptic messages arrive at their doorstep, the siblings must work together to decipher the clues and figure out the truth.

I saw Ruta Sepetys on the cover of this book and added it to my TBR instantly. I didn’t realize until later that this was a collaboration between two authors, something I’ve never been too sure about as some of my favorite authors have worked on collabs that I personally didn’t like at all as I’m very used to their narrative style. Still, the subject matter was too interesting to pass up, so I was extremely excited to get an ARC of this book.

Codebreaking during WWII, particularly the efforts at Bletchley Park related to breaking the Enigma Machine codes, is a topic I’ve come across quite a few times in this genre, and it’s one of my favorites. I loved that in this book, the concept of the machine, and its level of complexity, was so well explained, a first time reader could easily follow it.

This was definitely a lot simpler than other books of Ruta Sepetys’ I’ve read, but very age appropriate in my opinion. I think the authors did a marvellous job of taking such heavy topics like codebreaking and the effects of wartime and portraying them in a way that got the message across without making the narrative overly serious or sad.

Jakob’s storyline was more interesting to me, given the subject matter, but I also liked that the siblings had their own little code to crack and mystery to solve in the search for their mother. It was also nice to see real historical figures such as Alan Turing make an appearance.

This was a pretty fast paced read and the short chapters meant this story had flown by before I realized it. The writing and narrative style was easy to follow, though unlike anything of Ruta Sepetys’ I’ve ever read before. I’m not familiar with Steve Sheinkin’s works, so maybe it’s closer to that.

The book occasionally had real life images from that time period, such as wartime posters, newspaper headlines and photographs, which I felt was an excellent touch.

The main reason I stopped reading middle grade novels a long time ago is because the characters tend to annoy me. There are rarely any deep character arcs to be found – understandable for the target age group – but as a result of that, I end up completely skimming over this aspect of the book and focusing on the plot. And with this book, that turned out to be the case – Lizzie was so immature – though I was kind of prepared for it. Outside of that, however, both Jakob and Lizzie were likeable and intelligent characters.

I was completely invested in the plot until the very end of the book, and the resolution to the siblings’ search for their mother was well handled. I did wish however, that the book hadn’t ended where it did and had perhaps included an epilogue set after the war to tie things up properly.

The Bletchley Riddle was an entertaining and thrilling read. I would highly recommend this book for middle grade readers!

Set during the early days of World War II, two siblings with a lifelong love of riddles and puzzles become involved with code-breaking efforts at Bletchley Park. When 14-year-old Lizzie, determined to search for her missing, presumed dead mother, escapes the boat that was supposed to take her to the safety of their overbearing American grandmother in Ohio, older brother Jakob has to collect her and convince her to keep the secret of Bletchley, to mixed success while mysterious messages show up at their door, a government agent suspects their mother of being a German spy, and the code breakers work to solve the Enigma machine. Sepetys and Sheinkin prove a highly successful writing team in this fast-paced, immersive and suspenseful story. Terrific for younger teens and up (including adults).

A fun and funky ride of a book, following two siblings intent on helping England in WWII and also finding their mom, who was last seen in Poland and is presumed dead. Lots of info on Bletchley Park and great characters/relationships.

A fantastic action adventure historical fiction from two of my favorite authors. This is two stories in one. At the family level the main characters are trying to figure out what exactly happened to their mother during the evacuation of Poland. Did she die? Captured? On a larger level this book takes the reader to Bletchley where men and women are working hard to decode messages from the Nazis. Alan Turing is a secondary character! Overall, this shows the reader that the war was not only fought on the battle field, but also through hidden messages and codes. Highly recommend as a purchase to school libraries.

I am a fan of Ruta Sepetys books so was excited when this one came across my email. WWII is one of my favorite genres and this seemed like a perfect book for me. Unfortunately, I could not get into the story despite it being about one of the more interesting aspects of the war efforts. The story follows siblings Lizzi and Jakob as they try to navigate early wartime England and the work at Bletchley Hall. I found Lizzi to be an annoying character which may have been the point as she is only 14 in the story. It is early in the war so she doesn't seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation or the work going on. I didn't even get far enough in the book to learn the answer to the mystery of their mother's disappearance. I may give this a try again as an audiobook and see if it is better that way. I think it will probably be better enjoyed by the YA audience as intended. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Bletchley Riddle is about two siblings during World War II that have lost their mother. Lizzie is convinced her mother is still alive and will not rest until she finds out what has happened to her. Her older brother, Jacob, is in charge of Lizzie while trying to work on breaking codes sent by the Nazis at Bletchley Park. A mystery set during Britain's invasion of the Nazis is sure to interest historical fiction lovers.

Thanks to Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This middle grade book follows two siblings, Jakob and Lizzie, to the halls of Bletchley park in the middle of WWII. The siblings live riddles and solving problems. When Lizzie sneaks off the cruise liner that is taking her to America, all she knows is the address her brother is at. But when she shows up there and he’s nowhere to be found, she’s in a bit of a pickle. Until he shows up and she discovers he’s holding secrets from her. As Jakob races against the time to crack the Nazi’s enigma codes, Lizzie is bound and determined to crack the mystery behind her mother’s disappearance. Will the two solve their challenges or will they end up at a dead end?

I love Ruta as. Writer and love all of her books. But as I was not the main group this was written for and I thought that this drug in places. I had a hard time finishing it as it was slow and had a hard time pushing through to the end. But I did love reading Jakob’s storyline and learning more about Bletchley Park.

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin is a nice addition to children's historical fiction based on something that actually happened in the past.

The book is told using the viewpoints of the two main characters, brother and sister, Jakob and Lizzie. At first, I thought Lizzie was a bit irritating as she often liked to make somewhat pushy and rude statements while claiming that she was straightforward because she was half American. She also was a master at trickery slipping away from the gentleman who was supposed to see her to her grandmother's home in America and away from the danger of the war. I did come to like her more as the book progressed and the story became more interesting. Children might enjoy her antics.

The book itself was entertaining and the story was nicely wrapped up by the end. The author takes the time to add facts about the historical Blecthley and the work that went on there. Overall a four star book.

The Bletchley Ride is a fun look into the race with Enigma at Bletchley Park. The novel follows a family who all hold secrets of their own and are ready to fight back Hitler in any way they can. This is told from alternating points of view of brother and sister. It was fun to see how they each took in situations and what they thought of each other. I would definitely recommend this for any historical fiction fan, especially those young readers. Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced e-copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group.
When I see the names Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin listed as the coauthors, I know it will be one very well researched plot driven work of historical fiction. Siblings 19 year old Jacob and 14 year old Lizzie find themselves in the middle of the British WWII code deciphering center known as Bletchley Park. Jacob is on a team that is deciphering coded German transmissions, while Lizzie is a messenger. In reality, they are trying to uncover the truth about the disappearance of their Mother in Warsaw during when the Nazis invasion of Poland. Part mystery, part historical fiction, and one of the best discussion guides I've seen in a long time is available at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709008/the-bletchley-riddle-by-ruta-sepetys-and-steve-sheinkin/9780593527542/teachers-guide/
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With two superstar authors, I was expecting this book to blow me away. It was fine, good even, but didn't amaze me as much as expected. I think authors might need to stop trying to explain how the Enigma machine worked because it's so complicated that trying to capture it in writing always seems to leave me more complicated than before. Thank goodness there were all those people at Bletchley who had a better sense of how to break that code than me!

Another awesome historical fiction from Ruta Sepetys though geared towards middle grade it still as great as her YA novels. And I loved seeing Bletchley through the eyes of a kid.

I love both authors individually, and their collaboration on this book was quite nice. I saw them at Politics and Prose on the night this was released, and their insights and information on collaborating added to my enjoyment of the book.

My extent of WWII history before reading this book was my knowledge of who the Axis powers were and the Allied powers were. I knew of Hitler's aggressions and concentration camps. However, prior to reading this book I knew nothing about Bletchley or the machine "the Enigma". I never heard of Operation Sea Lion or that London was bombed ("the Blitz") for 56 out of 57 days starting on September 7, 1940. I didn't know the term Luftwaffe or the German pilots responsible for damage to so many countries. I didn't even know that the US stayed out of this conflict through the early 1940's.

Now, I know more.

With that being said, I didn't need to know this information in advance of reading this book. This book takes a teenage English girl through the perils of losing her mom during the early onset of WWII, the absence of her brother in her life due to his work at Bletchley, and the overall impact the war was having on the British people. However, Lizzie still believes her mom is alive. She takes numerous dangerous steps during the lead up to the Blitz to try to find whether her mom is alive.

I would recommend this book to Middle Grade level readers, Historical Fiction aficionados, or to any other reader who may want to learn more about how the British learned how to prepare for the worst 57 days of its existence in modern times.

It is a fantastic historical fiction mystery full of suspense, intrigue, and codes. I love the collaboration between these two beloved authors. It makes me want to dig deeper to learn about the code-breaking that happened during WWII. This would be a great book to pair with a movie or other texts about Alan Turing and this time in history.

Sepetys and Sheinkin always deliver books that kids will read. The shelves are full of WWII books, many about Bletchley. This one told through the eyes of Jakob and Lizzie, siblings each involved with the goings on at Bletchley and a desire to find out the truth about their mother, Will, lives up to their reputation. This book grabs the reader, keeps them invested in the story, and imparts historical information very well. Good historical fiction creates an awareness of events and people. If done well it prompts readers to learn more about history. Think this one succeeds.

Jakob and Lizzie become siblings who are enlisted in the work of Bletchley Park. The main question through the story is....is their mom alive or dead, and is she a spy. If she is a spy whose side is she on?

I enjoyed the dynamics of the characters. Jakob and Lizzie had great genuine interactions. In addition both had beliefs and troubles associated with their respective ages. Lizzie being younger was more impulsive, less concerned about the consequences of her actions and often had difficulty understanding cause/effect and seriousness of being in wartime.

My interest in this book was driven by engima/bletchley park, which has been an interest as this has been getting more light in the last 2-3 yrs in historical fictions books and was not taught in schools when I was young (obviously, all classified/secret). But this book took quite some time to build to the fun historical aspects of bletchley and the coding history. It had a lot of historical events and history snuck into the last 25% of the book. I wish they had added more historical aspects earlier on. Maybe made it less mystery and more historical fiction. As the mystery was sort of bland for the first 70% of the book too.

I was expecting a middle grade, but more of a higher middle grade (6/7/8) than what this was. This is more a younger middle grad (4/5/6) and would be good read for a higher middle grade student with a lower reading level. This expectation is probably why I didn't rate it as high, I was expecting more complexity in the plot. Overall, enjoyable, easy to read and short chapters. I liked that alternating girl/boy perspectives from the siblings which would engage young boys a little more.

Thank you to Penguin Group and Netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Since I have enjoyed other books by Ruta Sepetys and found her adult themes to be eye-opening but tragic, I was curious to see what she would come up with for the middle grade reader. This book does not disappoint! I was skeptical about meaningful historical fiction for this age group but the adventure is so engaging! I found myself getting involved in the action while learning a lot about the secret work done at Bletchley during WWII. The authors are able to teach this important part of WWII history while tapping into themes that middle grade readers love: fast action, sneakiness, cleverness (kids versus adults) and especially the breaking of secret codes. The characters were fun and interesting, especially Lizzie who is such an intelligent and strong female who adds some levity with her creative escapades during an otherwise serious and stressful time period. I also enjoyed the inclusion of real life characters who literally made history at Bletchley. What a great way to teach kids about a piece of WWII history! I recommend this book for both children and adults.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC - opinions are my own.

From two masterful storytellers comes this wonderful adventure! MG readers will eat this up.
As a reader it's a masterclass in collaborative storytelling