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/
#TheBletchleyRiddle #NetGalley

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

This is a middle grade/young YA historical mystery novel set during World War II at Bletchley Park, a secret British facility dedicated to decoding German communications. It was fascinating to learn about a real piece of history through a fictional lens. Although the main characters are entirely fictional, several real people appear in the book such as Alan Turing and Gordan Welchman.

I liked that the story was told by both Jakob and Lizzie. Although they’re siblings, they are at a point in life where their five-year age gap is very evident. Jakob is a newly minted adult trusted with state secrets due to his math prowess. Lizzie is a young teen who barrels her through life with the help of her ingenuity, keen observation skills, and sheer determination.

The historical note at the end was very interesting. I had heard of Bletchley Park and the Enigma machine before, but it was great to hear about the topic by someone who is passionate about it and has done extensive research.

I think this would be a great book for middle grade or junior high readers who are just starting to learn about WWII or would like to know more about the British war effort. The subject matter is serious but engaging and both main characters are very relatable.

I have loved everything Ruta Sepetys has put out, and I really enjoyed this book as well. The historical setting is rich and immersive, the characters are unique and relatable, and the story is well-paced and interesting. While I enjoy Sepetys's YA works more, I definitely think this book is a good intro to her writing for middle grade readers (or those who want a WWII novel that's not as gory or frightening as some can be).

I loved The Rose Code about Bletchley Park, so when I saw this book I immediately requested it. The fact that it was coauthored by one of my favorite middle grade authors, Ruta Sepetys, was icing on the cake.

There were so many elements to love about this book: the brother and sister, a strong female character, the puzzles to solve and it was set at Bletchley Park. I actually learned quite a few new things I didn’t know about the Park even after I read an adult book that featured the codebreakers. A fun story with very serious undertones. I highly recommend this book.

4/5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for an eARC of this book.

What an awesome collaboration between two great authors. This book has all the feelings of Ruta Sepetys's novels, with all the detail of Steve Sheinkin's nonfiction titles. I like that they each took the lead on one of the main characters, as it makes each character's viewpoint more novel. It was interesting to hear more about this aspect of World War II. I enjoy that historical period, and it was a fresh look at a lesser known front. I also liked that it is written for middle grades, and does not include any scenes that would make it inappropriate for elementary students. This is great for my more advanced readers, where it can be a challenge to find interesting, yet age-appropriate reads. This one knocks it out of the park!

When two of your favorite authors combine to write about one of your favorite topics, expectations are high! The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin did not disappoint!!!

Since reading The Rose Code by Kate Quinn I have become a little obsessed with Bletchley Park. So a middle-grade book set there? Count me in! Jacob and Lizzie are siblings during WWII. Jacob is working at Bletchley Park assisting the code breakers when Lizzie shows up. Their mother is presumed dead and is being accused of spying for the enemy. Lizzie was supposed to go to America to live with their grandmother, but ran away and now signs up to be a message runner at Bletchley Park. She believes this will be the best way to gain information and prove her mother’s innocence. Jacob is more focused on his work and the book gives a lot of the intrigue surrounding Bletchley Park. This story has adventure, mystery, friendships, and family that develop throughout the book making it a win for middle-grade readers. I rated it five stars as an adult and would recommend it to any age.

When one of your very favorite YA fiction authors (Ruta Sepetys) joins one of your very favorite YA nonfiction authors (Steve Sheinken) to write a book together, there is just one possibility for what to do. I requested the advance copy from Net Galley and began what promised to be a good read.

The story is set in Bletchley Park in the summer of 1940 with World War II on the horizon. Protagonists are nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky fourteen-year-old sister Lizzie. It opens with their father dead, and their mother missing and presumed dead. Their American grandmother demands that Lizzie come to America where she can find a more conventional life leading to a suitable marriage. Lizzie outwits the messenger sent for her and joins Jakob at Bletchley Park.

The setting, based on a real home for World War II codebreakers and using real codebreaking heroes as characters, is home to a riveting life for the two siblings. They switch, in a very normal manner, between bickering and supporting each other as they join forces to help the codebreakers and seek the true account of what happened to their mother. They begin to wonder if the two problems are connected and become engrossed in strange messages that are either clues or a trap. In this effort they must also sort out which people are trustworthy. The reader will be torn between wanting quick resolution to the tension and wanting the book to last longer.

This was a tough read for me. I have loved Ruta Sepetys from her first book [that made me ugly cry like I never knew I could] and her involvement in this book [as well as the subject matter] made me really want to read this book.

*SIGH*

I loved Jakob's story and his work on the Enigma Code [made me want to find some good nonfiction about this topic]. He is a really good character, who you can sympathize with, and when he and his crew were working on the code and brainstorming, well, that was some of the best parts of the book. I almost wish the whole book had just been that.

Then, there is Lizzie - sigh - I WANTED to like her [Even though she makes is so darn hard; I did admire her belief that her mother wasn't dead and I also would have wanted to pass on living with her grandmother] but she makes it nearly impossible, in fact I have no idea how Colin and Hannah [?] put up with her and her shenanigans and snotty attitude. Most of the time, I just wanted to smack her.

And then there were the parts that were just...meh. When all the excitement of the Enigma wasn't happening, and when Lizzie wasn't running around causing havoc, it was [for me] a very boring story.

I expected so much more [I have read quite a bit of excellent children's- middle grade books so I DO have seriously high expectations, especially with an author I have previously read and loved] and this book, for me [I will acknowledge here that I am a huge minority and I will still be recommending this book to others because of that], just never delivered, and I am left fairly disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ruta Sepetys, Steve Sheinkin, and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group/Viking Books for Young Readers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My daughter has loved the historical fiction by this author in the past, so I was intrigued by a foray into a slightly different genre with a historical mystery. This was such a perfect middle grade mystery. My son actually really enjoyed this book as well, and we had a lot of fun guessing the plot as it developed. I would absolutely recommend this one to middle grade teachers or parents of middle grade kids. It gave me Karina Yan Glaser vibes, and had a totally different feel than her other books which shows so much literary talent.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this advance copy.

I've read almost everything Ruta Sepetys has written and was excited to try her new middle grade novel, co-written with Steve Sheinkin. This novel is part adventure story, part mystery and part historical fiction, all centered around Bletchley Park during WWII. I've read a few books about Bletchley Park so am pretty familiar with the code breakers there, but I think this would be a compelling novel for middle grade readers. It was my least favorite Sepetys book, but I still enjoyed it.

I ended up really enjoying it! I did have to remind myself that this needs to read for a younger audience a few times. Lizzie was definitely a little naive and immature at points but I had to remember she was only 14. As a book intended for MG, I think this is a great introduction to Bletchley and code breaking and historical fiction in general! Definitely a book I’ll be recommending to others!