Showing posts with label Steve Sheinkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Sheinkin. Show all posts

Monday, December 16, 2024

Middle Grade Review: Bletchley Riddle

 


With the war ramping up in England, Lizzie is supposed to traveling by ship to her grandmother in America. But at the last moment, she gets off the ship. She's too focused on discovering the truth about her mother. Lizzie doesn't believe that her mother's dead. She shows up at the address her brother gave her - an office in London. Her brother is actually at Bletchley Park working on breaking codes.

Lizzie gets herself a job as a messenger in the park. During her nonworking hours, she's desperate to uncover information about her mother's whereabouts. She must work fast because there's someone from MI6 hanging around the Park talking as if her mother were a spy - a traitor. Lizzie's determined to get answers and she's not afraid of asking for help - even if her brother isn't interested.

When a coded message appears, Lizzie knows the truth. Her mother isn't dead. A meeting is set. Could it actually be her mother or is it a trap?
My Thoughts: I loved this book! It's the perfect blend of mystery/thriller and historical fiction. It's set-up as a dual narrative between the siblings. I loved how different they were - and yet how they did come together. I loved the moments at Bletchley Park. I found them fascinating. I loved reading about the real people and how things worked at the Park. While this is a longer book, I didn't want to put it down. I needed to see how everything turned out. 

Cover Thoughts: Fantastic
Source: My Library
Library Recommendation: A must have middle grade historical mystery for your school and public library's collection. 

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Mini Review: Bomb

After learn that this book won a ton of awards (Winner of the 2013 Sibert Medal, Winner of the 2013 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, A 2013 Newbery Honor Book, 2012 National Book Award Finalist for Young People's Literature), I picked up Bomb.


The Good: I didn't know anything about the building of the atomic bomb, but this book kept me fascinated. I really liked how the book was set up - almost as a story. It definitely caught and kept my attention. An engaging read.

The Bad: It's not bad, but I wished the photos at the beginning of the sections had been sprinkled throughout the pages as it would have kept me from flipping back and worth.


Also doesn't Robert Oppenheimer remind you of an older Sheldon Cooper?