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Ali A (82 KP) rated The Bletchley Riddle in Books

Oct 14, 2024

Nineteen-year-old Jakob Novis and his fourteen-year-old sister, Lizzie, share a love of riddles and puzzles. As WWII gets closer and closer to Britain, the siblings find themselves amongst the greatest secrets of all - Britain’s codebreaking facility at Bletchley Park. As Jakob joins the country’s top minds to crack Nazi’s Enigma cipher, Lizzie transfers notes between departments in the park and tries to solve the mysterious disappearance of their mother in her off time.

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

Kudos

Are We There Yet?

Kathleen West

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

A breezy yet affecting read filled with struggle and hope.--People Among fake Instagram pages,...

Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional in Books

Jun 16, 2018

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional by Glenn Hascall is a wonderful devotional. I am a teacher at a private Seventh-day Adventist school. I read this devotional to my students and they really enjoyed it. This devotional is colorful and easy-to-read, focusing on 50 Bible characters; such as, David, Mary, Ruth, Daniel, and Samson and something heroic about their lives. There are also some less familiar people included which will teach children their stories, too. The format is nicely laid out with a Scripture reference, devotion, and a short prayer followed by five questions to encourage individual introspection.

This is an educational and encouraging devotional for girls and boys aged 7 to 12. The reading level is 2nd/3rd and the message is not only interesting but thought provoking. This devotional shows kids that heroes are everyday people. God uses and loves us all. It would make a great devotional for grade school children and even lower middle schoolers. The book could be very useful in shaping the character of young lives as they look at real heroes from the Bible.

Kudos

Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Jerry's Mystery in Books

Jun 18, 2018

Jerry's Mystery by W.W. Rowe is the 3rd book in the series. The book is about Jerry, who is now in 7th grade. This year there is a new kid in the school who is from France. The girls go crazy over his accent and good looks. Jerry has to deal with jealousy and revenge. Jerry's friend, Wilcox, helps him through the difficult time with meditation and looking for the Higher Self. Jerry soon realizes that not everything needs to be dealt with and to always be his better self.

A wonderful book for those in the middle grades having to deal with not being the popular kid anymore, or just dealing the jealousy. This book also helps to teach compassion, even when it is thought it should be given.

In this novel, jealousy, deception, revenge and betrayal are explored in this novel.. Advice is given that helps Jerry come to grips with his feelings. There is also more exposure to what the soul is. This story gives one the opportunity for the reader to think about what to do if in the situations that Jerry has.

Kudos

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Mar 19, 2020

Are you a fan of Middle Grade and/or historical fiction? If so, you have got to check out BLUE SKIES by Anne Bustard! This is one book you won't want to miss. As a bonus, I've also got a playlist for the book on my blog, and you can enter the #GIVEAWAY to #win your own signed copy - three winners! https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/03/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-blue-skies.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Ten-year-old Glory Bea Bennett believes in miracles. After all, her grandmother—the best matchmaker in the whole county—is responsible for thirty-nine of them so far.

Now, Glory Bea wants a miracle of her own—her daddy’s return.

The war ended three years ago, but Glory Bea’s father never returned from the front in France. She believes Daddy is still out there.

When reports that the Texas boxcar from the Merci Train—a train filled with gifts of gratitude from the people of France—will be stopping in Gladiola, Glory Bea just knows Daddy will be its surprise cargo.

But miracles, like people, are always changing, until at last they find their way home.

Kudos Comment

We Should Hang Out Sometime

Josh Sundquist

(0 Ratings) Rate It

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Josh Sundquist had only ever had one girlfriend. For 23 hours. In eighth grade. Why was Josh still...

Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Nov 10, 2020 (Updated Nov 10, 2020)

Sneak a peek at the mature Middle Grade realistic fiction novel ARACELI'S PATH: AMONG ANGELS AND DEVEILS IN JUAREZ by Marion Surles on my blog. Read about her cause Love and Literacy in her guest post. (It's a fantastic cause!) Enter the GIVEAWAY to win autographed copies of Araceli’s Path and Grit in Juarez (choice of English or Spanish) by Marion Surles, Day of the Dead shopping bag & plate, Mexican coin purse, and Mexican candy - two winners!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/11/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-aracelis.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
Araceli comes from a blended, dysfunctional family held together by the love of a grandmother. Rubí is being raised by a single mother who works as a prostitute. Both young girls are affected not only by their mothers' choices but also by the violence and culture of Juarez, Mexico.

Can they overcome the cards they have been dealt, or are they destined to follow the same paths as their mothers?

Follow the lives of Araceli and Rubí from childhood to young adulthood and listen for children everywhere who are voiceless, trapped in their own cultures.

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Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) created a post

Sep 28, 2020

Sneak a peek at the Middle Grade historical fiction novel THE DIARY OF ASSER LEVY: FIRST JEWISH CITIZEN OF NEW YORK by Daniela Weil, and read the titular character's top ten list on my blog! Enter the GIVEAWAY to win a SIGNED hardcover copy of the book!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/2020/09/book-blog-tour-and-giveaway-diary-of.html

**BOOK SYNOPSIS**
For twenty-four years the Dutch colony of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil was a safe haven for Jews who had escaped the Inquisition in Europe. Recife, its capital, was known as “Colonial Jerusalem,” and it was from this religiously tolerant town that Asser Levy tells his story. When the Portuguese recaptured the territory in 1654, they brought the Inquisition and its torments with them, forcing Asser and his family and friends to flee to Holland. About fifteen ships arrive safely in Holland; Asser’s ship does not.

Through imagined diary entries based on real events, Asser tells the harrowing story of the Jewish refugees who arrived on the island of Manhattan and of some of the first court battles fought to allow religious freedom in America.