Remember, 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 amidst 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 which unravel a shocking puzzle that presents the ultimate challenge: How long must a secret be kept?
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
October 8, 2024 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593945780
- File size: 273999 KB
- Duration: 09:30:49
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Publisher's Weekly
Starred review from July 22, 2024
This dynamic collaboration from Sepetys (I Must Betray You) and Sheinkin (Impossible Escape), set in May 1940, is marked by swift, snappy, and suspenseful storytelling narrated by Polish Jewish siblings Jakob and Lizzie. Nineteen-year-old Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge University by Britain’s Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park to help decipher messages encrypted using the German Enigma machine. When his self-described straightforward-speaking 14-year-old sister Lizzie eludes their American grandmother’s (first, but not last) attempt to bring her to Cleveland, she, too, ends up at Bletchley Park, assigned to carry packages between departments. Now, Lizzie endeavors to disprove the apparent death of their mother, who worked at the American Embassy in London and disappeared in Poland during the 1939 German attack. Short chapters make for fast-paced narration through simultaneously developing mysteries and relationships. Especially well depicted—and explained—is the excitement, as well as the daily drudgery, of codebreaking, culminating in a seamlessly entertaining and edifying read. Most characters, all portrayed as white, are fictional, but historical figures such as U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy and mathematician Alan Turing play minor roles. Includes b&w archival photos and an endnote. Ages 10–up. -
AudioFile Magazine
Louis Hill and Georgina Jane narrate chapters featuring two British siblings who are doing unique sleuthing during WWII. Hill portrays serious 19-year-old Jakob, who is consumed with finding solutions to Germany's Enigma codes at Bletchley Park. While Hill portrays Jakob's straightforward focus, he hints at how his work distracts him from his grief over the loss of his mother, whom he believes to be dead. Georgina Jane narrates the chapters focused on spunky, adventurous 14-year-old Lizzie, who refuses to accept this reality and is determined to learn her mother's whereabouts. Jane depicts Lizzie's excitement at turning up clues, while Hill shows Jakob's continual doubts. Finally, they learn how their skills complement each other. At the story's end, the authors energetically deliver historical background and acknowledgements. S.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
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Formats
- OverDrive Listen audiobook
Languages
- English
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