The Bletchley Riddle

by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

“We shall never surrender.”

Winston Churchill (quoted on p. 118)

We survived the first week. Feels like years, doesn’t it? It was more horrifying than I had imagined. And it’s only been one week.

But we got through it.

Many wiser heads than mine have talked on Substack about the first week of the new administration. If you want to read some of them, please check out Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Scott Dworkin, The Contrarian, and others.

What I do best is talk about children’s books. And The Bletchley Riddle has it all: a thrilling plot, a dual point of view, lively descriptions, and likeable teen characters finding their own way to fight Hitler through riddles and secret codes. It might be set in 1940 England, but it’s surprisingly timely for today’s atmosphere in the US.

Fourteen-year-old Lizzie and her older brother Jakob, a mathematician, both find jobs in Bletchley Park. Lizzie tries throughout the book to learn more about their mother, who disappeared on a trip to Poland in 1939. As a messenger, Lizzie quickly makes friends with young Marion, another messenger, and with Colin, son of the pub owner.

Meanwhile, Jakob, along with other mathematicians including Alan Turing, tries to figure out the Enigma machine. But an MI5 agent keeps following Jakob.

“You see, we’ve got plenty of enemies right here at home. Folks who’d rather give in to Hitler than fight him. Might even want to give him a helping hand.”

That quote, on p. 106 to 107, is Agent Jarvis talking to Jakob, wondering what he knows about his mother’s disappearance. Why did I quote this? I think you can figure it out.

Never give in! The next few years are going to test us all.

Stay strong!