“What good is a story that can never be told” (Sepetys & Sheinkin). Authors Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin recently collaborated to deliver a new historical fiction and mystery novel. The book came out Oct. 8, 2024. Set in Britain during WWII, The Bletchley Riddle follows Jakob and Lizzie Novis as they attempt to find their mother and solve the “Nazi’s Enigma cipher” in Bletchley Park. I had high hopes for this novel, and while it was good, it was a letdown.
The book is set during the summer of 1940, putting the reader into Great Britain during the war effort. Included in the story were numerous historical figures who played a role in cracking German codes during both World Wars. It was fascinating to look into a world that, for years, was hidden in the folds of history. The book was very accurate to its source material. However, as interesting as this story was historically, I found it disappointing plot-wise.
While I am not familiar with the works of Sheinkin, I have been a fan of Sepetys’ books for some time now. Sepetys has become known for Salt to the Sea, Between Shades of Gray, and I Must Betray You. Sheinkin has written books within the non-fiction genre and his work includes Bomb and Most Dangerous.
Sadly, The Bletchley Riddle pales in comparison to Sepetys’ prior works. Between Shades of Gray is a very heavy book about a young girl trying to survive becoming a prisoner of war, while The Bletchley Riddle follows a teenage girl working inside a code-breaking center. The difference in topic and setting plays into the lack of emotional weight. This book had the makings of a great thriller and mystery novel based on secrets but cannot live up to its predecessors. For example, I Must Betray You tackles life as an informer in a dictatorship and is a rollercoaster filled with plot twists. The Bletchley Riddle can’t build up enough tension to match I Must Betray You, and in turn, is unable to keep the reader on the edge of their seat.
Another issue with this book is the age rating. This book is classified as “middle grade,” which means the target audience is children ages 8-12. This was clear in the way the book was written. Language was dumbed down and the book was more of a fun detective novel, instead of a tense mystery. It was common that information would be glossed over, and some of the more thrilling moments were over before they even began. Obviously, I’m not upset that a children’s book is written in a way that would appeal to children, that would be dramatic. I just find it strange that an author who typically writes very high-level fiction taken from moments of history would produce a book of a much lower caliber merely for a younger audience.
It’s not all bad. After the characters had room to grow they became extremely likable. The dual perspective aspect of the book allowed the reader to experience two main characters with distinct voices within the same book, and not one perspective was utilized more heavily than the other. The codebreaking was interesting and gripping, it would have been nice to see more. A codebreaking center is not the typical setting for a WWII historical fiction novel, and the change was refreshing.
In conclusion, this book is a good introduction to the historical fiction genre for younger readers. It included many elements that make the books of Sepetys great and flawlessly embedded real history into a piece of fiction with the help of Sheinkin. The main issue was that I expected more, and disappointment was the largest factor in my inability to rate this 5/5.
