Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2
Games and Entertainment
App
** Winner of 5 Webby Awards - Draw a Stickman Franchise ** ** Played over 100 Million Times around...
Progress to 100
Games and Entertainment
App
Interact with your iPhone or iPad in ways that you never thought possible! Get ready to be puzzled...
I Spy With Lola HD: A Fun Word Game for Kids!
Games and Education
App
Join Lola Panda™ as she travels around the world in her first I Spy adventure app! Visit Lola’s...
Spider Solitaire by MobilityWare
Games
App
The classic Spider Solitaire card game you love is now available to play on your Apple device!...
YAHTZEE® With Buddies
Games and Entertainment
7.5
Rate It
App
Play the world’s #1 dice game wherever you are! A family board game classic, YAHTZEE® With...
1st grade activity to practice spelling words
Education and Games
App
ABC learning is a perfect educational Learning app for your kids for kindergarten or preschool....
The Guides
Games
App
Featured by Apple in: 15 Most Mind-Bending Puzzlers, 15 Most Mysterious Games, The Best Games...
Words to Emojis - Trivia Quiz
Games and Social Networking
10.0
Rate It
App
One of the most thrilling & challenging emoji games of the year. See the word, words or sentence and...
Ali A (82 KP) rated The Bletchley Riddle in Books
Oct 14, 2024
While the Novis siblings work hard on their tasks, messages and codes begin to arrive under their doorstep. It doesn’t help that while they try to figure out if the messages are truly for them (and possibly from their mother), that there is an inspector lurking outside the gates of the park, watching Jakob and Lizzie’s every move. They must figure out a way to put their bickering aside and work together to decipher the clues if they want to uncover the answers to the puzzle.
As usual, I will pick up anything Ruta Sepetys touches and learn about a part of history I hadn’t known about before I read the book. This book is no exception as we take a deeper dive into the codebreakers Bletchley Park during WWII. I knew there were codebreakers during WWII, but what I didn’t realize is that they consisted of mathematicians, chess champions, and librarians (which, as a librarian, this absolutely makes sense why they were needed!).
Though this book is aimed at middle grade, I will say it felt like it would be more for upper middle grade / younger high school age. Lizzie is fourteen and Jakob is nineteen so their voices were a little older, but nothing major or graphic happened that would make the novel need to be young adult.
Even as an adult, when it came to the description of the codes’ breakthroughs or the ins and outs of the Enigma machines, I would get lost, but overall I just assumed the characters knew what they were talking about and trusted them.
Overall, I loved the twists and turns that kept the pages moving for me. I know I had a hard time as an adult solving the clues, so young readers who like spies and code cracking, are sure to love this too.
*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and BookishFirst for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated Changeling (Order of Darkness, #1) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
For the most part, I enjoyed it. I liked the mysteries that seemed difficult to explain, and the sense of injustice felt at Isolde’s plight (a very plausible situation, back then) kept me interested throughout the book at what would become of her. It was also good when various characters (and not just Luca) were able to shed some light on the piece of the puzzle – it made it seem a little more realistic. I really liked the character of Freize, and how he reacts around pretty much everyone!
However, there was some sort of sparkle missing, especially given my expectations of the author. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was this morning, when I finished the book, but I think I’ve got the gist now. This may be my natural cynicism, but it seemed as though Luca and Isolde were both a little too perfect – they’re both great looking and have sexual chemistry, which, given that it’s supposed to be staying relatively historically accurate, doesn’t seem entirely appropriate, unless in later books they manage to resist each other.
Then, there are some moments that are only half-arsedly explained. <spoiler>Firstly, it is suggested that Freize did not, as he said, release them from the dungeon, but no reason is given for this. Then, the werewolf is given as a little boy lost years before. All well and good, but can a wild child really be mistaken for an animal? I must admit, it stretched my imagination a little far!</spoiler>
Despite my criticism though, it wasn’t a bad book, and I probably would read the other books in the series. The Changeling aspect was barely touched upon, which is odd considering it’s the title of the book! The plot was good, and if the character development gets a little better, I will probably be rating them higher than this one!
This review is also on my <a href="http://awowords.wordpress.com">blog</a>;. If you liked it, please check it out!