Review: The Bletchley Riddle

The Bletchley Riddle

by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

Viking Press (imprint of Penguin), 2024 

Category: Middle Grade

Reviewer: Judy Greenblatt

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The time is 1939, the place England. Jakob, age 19, has been recruited from Cambridge to work as a code breaker at Bletchley Park, while his 14-year-old sister Lizzie is to go to their grandmother in Cleveland, Ohio. Their father is dead, and their mother Willa has supposedly died while working in Poland in the early days of the German invasion. Lizzie, determined to stay in England and find answers to the questions about her mother’s death, is soon working as a messenger at Bletchley Park. The drama builds, plots and subplots emerge as Jakob and Lizzie tell their stories in separate chapters.

The stories in this rich historical novel are beautifully and clearly told. The tension that builds in 1939 England is palpable, but the authors manage to write with humor. The characters are well-rounded. Lizzie and Jakob, their Gram, their friends Colin and Marian, and Willa emerge as real people. Cameo characters are also a delight. The authors include historical figures who were important to the code breaking, such as Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman.

The book is not illustrated per se, but does include historical photographs. 

Jakob and Lizzie’s late father was Jewish, but did not raise his children as Jews. Lizzie befriends Marion, a Jew who escaped from Vienna who serves as another Bletchley messenger. Other than such passing mentions of Jewish identity, and the WWII setting, there is little explicitly Jewish content in the book. The book is about breaking German codes to help defeat Hitler, and the grave importance of doing so. It’s also a dramatic tale of crisscrossing investigations and riddles. It would be easy for a non-Jewish reader to miss the explicit Jewish content of The Bletchley Riddle, as well as the implicit Jewish values that are an important part of the story.

Sepetys and Shenkin skillfully bring to light an important and often overlooked part of history.

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Reviewer Judith S. Greenblatt says: I hold a Master of Library Service from Rutgers-The State University, and a Master of Arts in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College, Newton, Ma. I started my career as a Judaic Librarian as Librarian at the Michael Lichtenstein Memorial Library, Temple B'nai Israel, Toledo, Ohio. as Director of Library Services at the Bureau of Jewish Education of Rhode Island, served as Vice President and President of the School, Synagogue and Center Division of AJL. Publications include: 1985-86 Book lists; for young children, for 3rd to 6th graders, for young adults, 100 Plus Books For The Children's Library: A Basic Collection. Weine Classification Scheme for Judaica Libraries. Revised by Judith S. Greenblatt, Chairman. 8th edition. Association of Jewish Libraries, Synagogue, School and Center Division, 1994.