Awards

• Commended for Golden Kite (Middle Grade Fiction) 2025

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A thrilling mystery and collaboration between award-winning and bestselling authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin! This historical adventure follows two siblings at Bletchley Park, the home of WWII codebreakers, as they try to unravel a mystery surrounding their mother's disappearance.""Break out your Enigma machines! Sepetys and Sheinkin have written a thrilling World War II code-breaking adventure filled with ciphers, secrets, and spies.""--Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of RefugeeRemember, you are bound by the Official Secrets Act...Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his quirky younger sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. And now they're living inside of one. The quarrelsome siblings find themselves amid one of the greatest secrets of World War II--Britain's eccentric codebreaking factory at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins Bletchley's top minds to crack the Nazi's Enigma cipher, fourteen-year-old Lizzie embarks on a mission to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother.The Battle of Britain rages and Hitler's invasion creeps closer. And at the same time, baffling messages and codes arrive on their doorstep while a menacing inspector lurks outside the gates of the Bletchley mansion. Are the messages truly for them, or are they a trap? Could the riddles of Enigma and their mother's disappearance be somehow connected? Jakob and Lizzie must find a way to work together as they race to decipher clues that unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?

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Table of Contents

Reviews

Break out your Enigma machines! Sepetys and Sheinkin have written a thrilling World War II code-breaking adventure filled with ciphers, secrets, and spies.-- ""Alan Gratz, New York Times bestselling author of Refugee"" [A] suspenseful, informative wartime adventure for readers ages 10 and older.-- ""The Wall Street Journal"" A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" A truly enthralling and brilliantly researched novel about the famous codebreakers of Bletchley Park in WW2.-- ""Books for Keeps"" Brilliant! A seamless collaboration produces a genius tale with incredible historical twists! I loved reading this book.-- ""Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, author of The Night War"" In a gripping and surprisingly funny World War II historical novel, siblings at a top-secret cryptography center break codes and investigate their mother's purported death in a bombing raid...This middle-grade novel is sure to transcend age ranges and is both mystery and historical fiction, with a healthy dose of adventure and the tiniest hint of young romance.-- ""Shelf Awareness"" Part mystery, part history, this book by two award-winning authors is a page-turner.-- ""The Washington Post"" Sepetys and Sheinkin deftly weave the desperate urgency of the days before the Blitz with the real history of geniuses like Alan Turing who bent their brilliance to stop Hitler.-- ""The Christian Science Monitor"" Such a unique and amazing book! Sheinkin and Sepetys have layered impeccable research into a very readable, engaging story. I'm so happy that we will have this amazing adventure historical available for young readers. They clamor for books like this!-- ""Rae Ann Parker, Director of Books for Young Readers, Parnassus Books in Nashville"" With genuine emotionand a richly developed historical setting, this has all the hallmarks of cowriters Sepetys and Sheinkin, sofans of either author will be pleased here.-- ""BCCB"" ""With genuine emotionand a richly developed historical setting, this has all the hallmarks of cowriters Sepetys and Sheinkin, so fans of either author will be pleased here.-- ""BCCB"" ""In a gripping and surprisingly funny World War II historical novel, siblings at a top-secret cryptography center break codes and investigate their mother's purported death in a bombing raid...This middle-grade novel is sure to transcend age ranges and is both mystery and historical fiction, with a healthy dose of adventure and the tiniest hint of young romance.-- ""STARRED REVIEW, Shelf Awareness"" *""A master class in suspense...With its expert pacing and characterization and its careful delineation of historical and family stories, this is historical fiction at its best.-- ""The Horn Book, starred review"" *""Swift, snappy, and suspenseful storytelling.-- ""Publishers Weekly, starred review"" [This] formidable pair is sure to mesmerize middle grade readers with The Bletchley Riddle.-- ""BookPage"" ""Part mystery, part history, this book by two award-winning authors is a page-turner.-- ""The Washington Post"" ""A master class in suspense...With its expert pacing and characterization and its careful delineation of historical and family stories, this is historical fiction at its best.-- ""STARRED REVIEW, The Horn Book"" ""Swift, snappy, and suspenseful storytelling.-- ""STARRED REVIEW, Publishers Weekly"" ""A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""An impressive joint effort between Sepetys and Sheinkin . . . With broad appeal to both WWII and mystery enthusiasts, this highly recommended title is a first purchase for all libraries serving tweens and teens.-- ""STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal"" *""An impressive joint effort between Sepetys and Sheinkin . . . With broad appeal to both WWII and mystery enthusiasts, this highly recommended title is a first purchase for all libraries serving tweens and teens.-- ""SLJ (starred review)"" *""Two powerhouse authors collaborate on an enormously entertaining, expertly researched WWII novel with broad appeal...The authors successfully blend genuine suspense, sibling relationship issues, and humorous hijinks to create a tone both heartfelt and playful...Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz, this is an excellent fictional companion to Candace Fleming's The Enigma Girls (2024)...Both masters of their craft, Sepetys and Sheinkin's collaboration will draw fiction and nonfiction fans, not to mention a code-breaking coterie.-- ""Booklist, (starred review)"" I loved every single page of this book. The Bletchley Riddle is exquisite historical storytelling! I only wish I could read it again for the very first time.-- ""Jennifer A. Nielsen, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author"" In The Bletchley Riddle, two of the absolute best writers in kid lit have come together to craft an amazing work of historical fiction. This book has adventure, excitement, humor, heroism, and heart set against a backdrop with the highest stakes imaginable.-- ""James Ponti, New York Times bestselling author of City Spies"" Two powerhouse authors collaborate on an enormously entertaining, expertly researched WWII novel with broad appeal...The authors successfully blend genuine suspense, sibling relationship issues, and humorous hijinks to create a tone both heartfelt and playful...Perfect for fans of Alan Gratz, this is an excellent fictional companion to Candace Fleming's The Enigma Girls (2024)...Both masters of their craft, Sepetys and Sheinkin's collaboration will draw fiction and nonfiction fans, not to mention a code-breaking coterie.-- ""STARRED REVIEW, Booklist""

Author Information

Ruta Sepetys (www.rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a ""crossover"" novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys. Ruta Sepetys (www.rutasepetys.com) is an internationally acclaimed, #1 New York Times bestselling author of historical fiction published in over sixty countries and forty languages. Sepetys is considered a ""crossover"" novelist, as her books are read by both teens and adults worldwide. Her novels Between Shades of Gray, Out of the Easy, and Salt to the Sea have won or been shortlisted for more than forty book prizes, and are included on more than sixty state award lists. Between Shades of Gray was adapted into the film Ashes in the Snow, and her other novels are currently in development for TV and film. Winner of the Carnegie Medal, Ruta is passionate about the power of history and literature to foster global awareness and connectivity. She has presented to NATO, to the European Parliament, in the United States Capitol, and at embassies worldwide. Ruta was born and raised in Michigan and now lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @RutaSepetys. Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers, including The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights; The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery; Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon; Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War; and Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal, and three National Book Award finalist honors. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children. Steve Sheinkin is the acclaimed author of fast-paced, cinematic nonfiction histories for young readers, including The Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights; The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism & Treachery; Bomb: The Race to Build--and Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon; Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War; and Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian School Football Team. His accolades include a Newbery Honor, three Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards, a Sibert Medal, and three National Book Award finalist honors. Sheinkin lives in Saratoga Springs, New York, with his wife and two children.

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