Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers, Kept Secrets, and Helped Win World War II
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- Author：Candace Fleming
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Summary
From award-winning author Candace Fleming， comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies， with their hard work and determination at Bletchley Park。 Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched， beautifully written， and thoughtfully designed works of narrative nonfiction aimed at middle-grade and young adult readers。 These books help readers learn about the world in which they live and develop their critical thinking skills， so that they may become dynamic citizens who are able to analyze and understand our past， participate in essential discussions about our present， and work to grow and build our future。 "You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park， Buckinghamshire， in four days time。。。。That is all you need to know。" This was the terse telegram hundreds of young women throughout the British Isles received in the spring of 1941， as World War II raged。 As they arrived at Station X， a sprawling mansion in a state of disrepair surrounded by Spartan-looking huts with little chimneys coughing out thick smoke―these young people had no idea what kind of work they were stepping into。 Who had recommended them？ Why had they been chosen？ Most would never learn all the answers to these questions。 Bletchley Park was a well-kept secret during World War II， operating under the code name Station X。 The critical work of code-cracking Nazi missives that went on behind its closed doors could determine a victory or loss against Hitler’s army。 Amidst the brilliant cryptographers， flamboyant debutantes， and absent-minded professors working there， it was teenaged girls who kept Station X running。 Some could do advanced math， while others spoke a second language。 They ran the unwieldy bombe machines， made sense of wireless sound waves， and sorted the decoded messages。 They were expected to excel in their fields and most know how to keep a secret。 Candace Fleming is the award-winning and highly acclaimed author of Crash from Outer Space ， The Curse of the Mummy ， and many other nonfiction books for young readers。 With her canny and compelling narrative voice she makes history come alive。 Thick with tension and suspense， this is an extraordinary and relatively unknown story of World War II that will fascinate readers who will be thrilled to see young people playing such an important role in the wartime effort。
Reviews
Kelly
，
Well done book， though I'd expect nothing less from Fleming。 The only thing I have to say is that it seemed like Ann was 20 when she started， not a teenager。 Granted， there were plenty of other teenagers she could have been talking about。 Amazing that there are primary sources on this with all the secrecy。 Well done book， though I'd expect nothing less from Fleming。 The only thing I have to say is that it seemed like Ann was 20 when she started， not a teenager。 Granted， there were plenty of other teenagers she could have been talking about。 Amazing that there are primary sources on this with all the secrecy。 。。。more
Kelly
，
This book was a nice companion to the Bletchley Park TV series， is a quick read， and is told through the lives of young women who worked there。 Fascinating。
Miriam
，
If you love mystery， codes， and secrets…“The Enigma Girls” by Candace Fleming is the latest in Scholastic’s True Stories in Focus series of non-fiction for tweens and teens。“The Enigma Girls” tells “How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers， Kept Secrets， and Helped Win World War II。” Yep， they were part of the British group who worked on cracking codes and unspooling cyphers， especially the Enigma Code。 They were ten girls （aged 17-20） among many who were good at math， at puzzles， and solving mysteries。 If you love mystery， codes， and secrets…“The Enigma Girls” by Candace Fleming is the latest in Scholastic’s True Stories in Focus series of non-fiction for tweens and teens。“The Enigma Girls” tells “How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers， Kept Secrets， and Helped Win World War II。” Yep， they were part of the British group who worked on cracking codes and unspooling cyphers， especially the Enigma Code。 They were ten girls （aged 17-20） among many who were good at math， at puzzles， and solving mysteries。 They signed the Official Secrets Act and kept their secrets until their 80s when the British government let them speak （sort of）。 These girls， along with many men， were stationed at Bletchley Park。 They coded and cracked codes， they typed， indexed， filed， examined maps， worked with the earliest computers and so much more。 They helped win the war against the Nazis， the Italians， and the Japanese。“The Enigma Girls” by Candace Fleming also has clues and exercises to learn how codes and ciphers work。 You’ll have to try your hand at them。Thanks to the BookLoft of German Village （Columbus， OH） http://www。bookloft。com for an ARC to read and review。 。。。more
Kate
，
Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the E book。 This book takes place in 1941 during WWII， Hundreds of women had the opportunity to work at Station X， out in the middle of no where and was a well-kept secret during the war。 The book focuses ten women who had various jobs within the organization and describes what type of work they did， the secrecy （People didn't know what other departments did）， and insight about each girl。 It was refreshing to have a book during this time period about you Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the E book。 This book takes place in 1941 during WWII， Hundreds of women had the opportunity to work at Station X， out in the middle of no where and was a well-kept secret during the war。 The book focuses ten women who had various jobs within the organization and describes what type of work they did， the secrecy （People didn't know what other departments did）， and insight about each girl。 It was refreshing to have a book during this time period about young women， and the book will keep readers' interest with the photographs， captions， and code ciphering examples。 。。。more
Chrissy
，
I found this book very interesting， a slightly different perspective on the amazing work done at Bletchley Park。 There has been a variety of media on individual geniuses and amazing machines who solved such pivotal puzzles during WWII。 But this book makes clear the monumental volume of information that needed to be decoded， processed and analyzed， and the many young people， mostly women who did that work。 I liked the use of different women's stories to make clear the different steps used to deco I found this book very interesting， a slightly different perspective on the amazing work done at Bletchley Park。 There has been a variety of media on individual geniuses and amazing machines who solved such pivotal puzzles during WWII。 But this book makes clear the monumental volume of information that needed to be decoded， processed and analyzed， and the many young people， mostly women who did that work。 I liked the use of different women's stories to make clear the different steps used to decode each bit of information。 The sections giving practical information of how to solve codes and encryptions were less clear to me。 This is likely my own failing at understanding such puzzles， but they were very confusing to me。 The remainder of the book however， is well worth a read。 。。。more
Kimberly
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I very much enjoyed reading this book and learning about these unsung heroes。 I never knew the existence of the military program these young women worked for so it was fascinating to learn this new information。 Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this book！
Kate Waggoner
，
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Scholastic for allowing me the chance to read a digital ARC of The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers， Kept Secrets， and Helped Win WWII by Candace Fleming。 This middle grade nonfiction book will be published March 5， 2024。 All opinions are my own。I love a true story and WWII is the one of my favorite historical topics。 I really enjoyed that this brook shines the light on unsung heroes。 The work these teenage girls， and hundreds more like them， did for was Thank you to #NetGalley and #Scholastic for allowing me the chance to read a digital ARC of The Enigma Girls: How Ten Teenagers Broke Ciphers， Kept Secrets， and Helped Win WWII by Candace Fleming。 This middle grade nonfiction book will be published March 5， 2024。 All opinions are my own。I love a true story and WWII is the one of my favorite historical topics。 I really enjoyed that this brook shines the light on unsung heroes。 The work these teenage girls， and hundreds more like them， did for was incredibly vital to the war effort yet it’s something most people don’t know about。 I enjoyed learning about the work at Bletchley Park and what role each girl played。 I also liked how Fleming built in lessons on ciphers and encrypting messages which makes the book more interactive。 I think that middle school readers will really enjoy this book。 In fact， I’d love to get a class set to use with my 7th graders。#2024Reads #2024ReadingGoal #TheEnigmaGirls #CipherBreaking #CodeBreakers #CandaceFleming #StoriesInFocus #TrueStory #ScholasticPress #TeacherReader #ReadingInTheMiddleGrades #TeachingInTheMiddleGrades #MiddleGradeLit 。。。more
Natalie
，
“The Enigma Girls” tells the story of several British young women who served during World War II helping to break codes。 Some were recruited， others seemed to end up at Station X by accident。 All were made to sign the Official Secrets Act in which they promised to never talk about their wartime jobs。 These young women were gifted mathematicians or linguists。 They largely came from middle and upper class families。 They were dedicated to doing their part to beat the Nazis。Candace Fleming does a fa “The Enigma Girls” tells the story of several British young women who served during World War II helping to break codes。 Some were recruited， others seemed to end up at Station X by accident。 All were made to sign the Official Secrets Act in which they promised to never talk about their wartime jobs。 These young women were gifted mathematicians or linguists。 They largely came from middle and upper class families。 They were dedicated to doing their part to beat the Nazis。Candace Fleming does a fantastic job describing the dedication of these women and the conditions under which they worked （often horrible）。 I particularly appreciated that she included the women’s concerns about the ethical considerations of their jobs。 There are introductory code-breaking activities and a thorough author’s note that describes why these women started sharing their experiences after decades of silence。Classroom Considerations: “The Enigma Girls” is written at roughly a 5th/6th grade level。 Because of the complexity of the story， it would be great for middle school students。 The language is not overly simplistic so high school students would enjoy this book as well。This book is great for kids who are interested in World War II or stories of strong women who have ignored society’s expectations。I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Scholastic Focus， and I am leaving this review voluntarily。 。。。more
Jessica
，
The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming， covers WWII from the perspective of 10 girls/teens who were enlisted into the British Navy to crack war time encrypted messages of the Nazis and Japanese。 The author does a wonderful job using journals and documents that survived to paint of picture of the characters。 I also liked that the how’s of decrypting messages was described。 A great historical STEM book。 Perfect for YA and older who want to learn about WWII from a specific perspective or are intereste The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming， covers WWII from the perspective of 10 girls/teens who were enlisted into the British Navy to crack war time encrypted messages of the Nazis and Japanese。 The author does a wonderful job using journals and documents that survived to paint of picture of the characters。 I also liked that the how’s of decrypting messages was described。 A great historical STEM book。 Perfect for YA and older who want to learn about WWII from a specific perspective or are interested in cryptography。 Thank you to the publisher， author， and NetGalley for the ARC of this book。 I can’t wait to get the hardcover I preordered！ 。。。more
Jessica
，
The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming， covers WWII from the perspective of 10 girls/teens who were enlisted into the British Navy to crack war time encrypted messages of the Nazis and Japanese。 The author does a wonderful job using journals and documents that survived to paint of picture of the characters。 I also liked that the how’s of decrypting messages was described。 A great historical STEM book。 Perfect for YA and older who want to learn about WWII from a specific perspective or are intereste The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming， covers WWII from the perspective of 10 girls/teens who were enlisted into the British Navy to crack war time encrypted messages of the Nazis and Japanese。 The author does a wonderful job using journals and documents that survived to paint of picture of the characters。 I also liked that the how’s of decrypting messages was described。 A great historical STEM book。 Perfect for YA and older who want to learn about WWII from a specific perspective or are interested in cryptography。 Thank you to the publisher， author， and NetGalley for the ARC of this book。 I can’t wait to get the hardcover I preordered！ 。。。more
MrsK Books
，
During wartime， many young women and teens walked away from their hopes and dreams and entered into the unknown service known as Bletchley Park。 A service that would be cloaked in secrecy。 Work that would be difficult mentally， emotionally， and physically。 Sheltered away from everyday life。On September 3， 1939， Britain and France signed an agreement to support Poland。 Hitler refused the Prime Minister's letter。 War began。 In a red brick manor， Station X was established to decipher and break Hitl During wartime， many young women and teens walked away from their hopes and dreams and entered into the unknown service known as Bletchley Park。 A service that would be cloaked in secrecy。 Work that would be difficult mentally， emotionally， and physically。 Sheltered away from everyday life。On September 3， 1939， Britain and France signed an agreement to support Poland。 Hitler refused the Prime Minister's letter。 War began。 In a red brick manor， Station X was established to decipher and break Hitler's codes and save the lives of their people。Patricia was eighteen， and she worked as a listener on her wireless radio。 The dial would be turned back and forth for any Morse codes coming across the "hissing" airways。 She was trained to listen for all Nazi weather reports， battle strategies， orders to attack， and more。 Most often she listened to naval codes that would endanger the British ships。 Before the war， she had hopes of finishing secondary school and getting married。 Her life in Lancashire never included joining the Women's Royal Naval Service （WRENS）。 Yet， at seventeen that is where she entered the war。Jane longed to join the war effort， even though her parents felt she was destined to be a debutante。 Once her friend Elizabeth sends her a request to come and join her at Bletchley Park， there would be no stopping her decision to take a train to the fifty-three-acre estate。 Even though she understood that she would never be able to tell anyone， including her parents， where she was or what she would be doing。。。 she signed the British Official Secrets Act。 Jane had just joined the cryptographers in Hut 6 as a decoder。Mavis had hoped to join the war efforts as a nurse， yet once she was interviewed and they learned that she knew the German language she became destined to do "more important duties。" Deciphering word patterns and syllables would benefit the war efforts at the Enigma machines。Sarah received a summons to report to Station X。 There were so many questions， she had no clue why this unknown Commander Travis would send her to Station X。 She lived a royal life of boarding schools and country manors。 Her grandmother was Queen Elizabeth's best friend。 She knew German and had spent six months in Munich。 At Station X， she would be in Hut 8 where she would be working in the Index room gathering intelligence from the deciphered cards: naval coordinates; code names; weapons; units; places; and scientific names。Along with the ladies above， you will meet Diana who would work in Hut11A with the machines that would break the secrets of the enemies。 Gwen joined the WAAF， and her ability to speak some German landed her in Hut 10/Block A where she would cipher communications。 In 1943， Ann would convert the crib and cipher texts into diagrams。 Joanna would program the "Beast。"This is one of the best war novels。 It is filled with historical photographs; factual captions; code-ciphering examples; as well as a glimpse into the lives of four hundred men and one thousand women who helped the world defeat the Hitler horror-filled takeover。 This novel is one of the best resources for all learners 5th-HS+。 If you are a homeschooling parent， an educator， or a librarian。。。 get this book！MrsK https://mrskbookstogo。blogspot。com/ 。。。more
Lynn
，
Decades after the secret work at Bletchley Park， the stories finally started to be revealed。 I've read several accounts of pivot people involved in the cryptography but here， wonderfully， Fleming focuses on the ordinary young women who made it all happen。Stressing the extreme youth of the girls， most of whom were still teenagers， Fleming weaves together the stories of 10 young women in particular。 They were listeners， translators， Colossus operators， crytographers and more。 They did the every da Decades after the secret work at Bletchley Park， the stories finally started to be revealed。 I've read several accounts of pivot people involved in the cryptography but here， wonderfully， Fleming focuses on the ordinary young women who made it all happen。Stressing the extreme youth of the girls， most of whom were still teenagers， Fleming weaves together the stories of 10 young women in particular。 They were listeners， translators， Colossus operators， crytographers and more。 They did the every day grinding work in terrible conditions with long hours and enormous stress。 Sworn to secrecy， they shared the story of their work with no one - not even each other。Going into fascinating detail， Fleming describes the many small parts of the work that required many steps， many people and meticulous attention to detail。 A mistake could kill and they all knew how crucial， if often mind-numbing - their work was。 Interspersed with the girls' stories are the steps to codes， ciphers and the art and science of breaking them。 Using short chapters and and clear straight-forward text， Fleming creates an accessible and vivid portrait of an amazing effort by so many。Careful research and documentation are provided along with archival photographs。 Read in galley， so some of the back matter was not finished。 This is a must purchase for middle school collections。 Also recommended for high school collections to offer an excellent WWII nonfiction for readers needing simpler text。 。。。more
Kyla
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Enigma Girls tells the individual stories of ten teenage girls living during World War II。 Though they never meet each other， the girls work in the same place for the same general reasons。 Their job is to intercept and decipher messages sent between German military officers。 Each girl is assigned a different job in the long process。 They can tell no one what they are doing， not even their families。 It is said later that without their work， the war could have lasted at least two years longer with Enigma Girls tells the individual stories of ten teenage girls living during World War II。 Though they never meet each other， the girls work in the same place for the same general reasons。 Their job is to intercept and decipher messages sent between German military officers。 Each girl is assigned a different job in the long process。 They can tell no one what they are doing， not even their families。 It is said later that without their work， the war could have lasted at least two years longer with a much larger casualty rate。 Well researched and well written。 Photographs throughout。Fast paced and engaging。 Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book before the release date。 。。。more
Mary
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World War II was a time filled with uncertainty and danger， and everyone was called upon to do their part for the war effort。 In England， many young women and some young men were called to a place called Bletchley Park， where important work was being done to decipher intercepted messages to save British—and later Allied—lives。 All of this work was top secret， and everyone only had a small piece of the puzzle to work with。 But together， brainpower and collaboration led to some of the most importa World War II was a time filled with uncertainty and danger， and everyone was called upon to do their part for the war effort。 In England， many young women and some young men were called to a place called Bletchley Park， where important work was being done to decipher intercepted messages to save British—and later Allied—lives。 All of this work was top secret， and everyone only had a small piece of the puzzle to work with。 But together， brainpower and collaboration led to some of the most important breakthroughs in the struggle and helped to turn the tide of the war。This gripping narrative nonfiction story is well-suited to its target audience of young adult readers。 Mature middle grade readers will also find the material accessible， especially as a plethora of photographs are incorporated within the book。 The narrative covers the length of World War II from the perspective of Great Britain， introducing readers to a handful of real people whose work was pivotal in those dangerous times。 By incorporating true stories， the book connects with readers on a human level and helps them to imagine how their lives might be if they were to find themselves in similar situations upon the conclusion of high school。The book is designed to be accessible， and it accomplishes this through familiar language， short segments of text， and ample photographic inclusions。 Periodically， readers are taught a new element of the process of deciphering， much like the routine those at Bletchley Park followed themselves。 This interactive component allows readers to immerse themselves even more deeply in the work of the Enigma Girls while teaching them an interesting skill to use in their lives。 Well-researched and clearly presented， this is a book that will particularly appeal to young adult readers with an interest in the more secret work taking place during World War II。 This is an excellent addition to nonfiction library collections for young readers。 。。。more
Tracy
，
Enigma Girls offers a unique perspective on WWII and the often-overlooked contributions of women during wartime。 My recent fascination with Bletchley Park and the Enigma machine was further fueled by the true stories within these pages。 The women recruited to Bletchley Park were young， most between ages 17-20， and from many different backgrounds。 These young women worked long， hard hours and contributed significantly to the war effort。 In fact， many historians have said their heroic efforts may Enigma Girls offers a unique perspective on WWII and the often-overlooked contributions of women during wartime。 My recent fascination with Bletchley Park and the Enigma machine was further fueled by the true stories within these pages。 The women recruited to Bletchley Park were young， most between ages 17-20， and from many different backgrounds。 These young women worked long， hard hours and contributed significantly to the war effort。 In fact， many historians have said their heroic efforts may have shortened the war by two to four years。 But for years， the work at Bletchley Park was classified and the girls were never allowed to talk about the work that they did。 It wasn’t until the 1970’s that the British Government declassified documents pertaining to Bletchley Park。 Many of the girls wrote about their work after it was declassified and the author does a good job of giving us insights into their day to day lives and work。 For those of you who enjoyed this book， I wholeheartedly recommend the adult Historical Fiction "The Rose Code" by Kate Quinn， particularly the audio version。 Additionally， the movies "The Imitation Game" and "Operation Mincemeat" are very entertaining with different perspectives from your typical war movie。 In the 1990’s， a small group of independent history lovers saved Bletchley Park from ruin and restored it as a museum。 After reading my third book about Bletchley Park and enigma machines， I might be a little obsessed and hope to add this to my bucket list of places to visit！ Happy reading and watching！ 。。。more
Richie Partington
，
Richie’s Picks: THE ENIGMA GIRLS: HOW TEN TEENAGERS BROKE CIPHERS， KEPT SECRETS， AND HELPED WIN WORLD WAR II by Candace Fleming， Scholastic Focus， March 2024， 384p。， ISBN: 978-1-338-74957-1“ListenDo you want to know a secret？Do you promise not to tell？”– Lennon/McCartney （1962）“A MYSTERIOUS SUMMONSThe letter arrived in an ordinary brown envelope。 It did not have a return address。 And inside there was just a single piece of paper that read:You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park， Bucking Richie’s Picks: THE ENIGMA GIRLS: HOW TEN TEENAGERS BROKE CIPHERS， KEPT SECRETS， AND HELPED WIN WORLD WAR II by Candace Fleming， Scholastic Focus， March 2024， 384p。， ISBN: 978-1-338-74957-1“ListenDo you want to know a secret？Do you promise not to tell？”– Lennon/McCartney （1962）“A MYSTERIOUS SUMMONSThe letter arrived in an ordinary brown envelope。 It did not have a return address。 And inside there was just a single piece of paper that read:You are to report to Station X at Bletchley Park， Buckinghamshire in four days time…That is all you need to know。SignedCommander Travis”This morning I shared an enciphered message with author Candace Fleming::AHERL FHDXL VTGWR MAXXG BZFTZ BKELB LYKBZ ZBGTF TSBGZAnd I’m not kidding！THE ENIGMA GIRLS is a jaw-dropping true story detailing how British girls with smarts and trustworthiness secretly worked for the government， as part of a vital war operation–intercepting and deciphering enemy messages during WWII。 By the end of the book’s first section （1940）， you should have a good shot at deciphering my message to the author in a reasonable amount of time。 By that point in the book， you may well be glued to your seat the way I was。 “Let’s start with the basics。 There are two kinds of secret writing: codes and ciphers。 A code is a form of writing in which each individual word is written as a secret code word， code number， or code symbol…A cipher is a system of secret writing in which every letter， instead of every word， has its own secret symbol。”In order to decipher an enciphered message， one needs to first have or determine the key to the cipher。 What is the relationship between the letters in an enciphered message being transmitted， and the letters making up the real message。 In order to prevent the enemy from understanding any of the stream of Morse code messages being sent out， Hitler’s military people were creating new keys for enciphering messages on a daily basis。 This led to England enlisting a group of British brainiacs， including Alan Turing， the father of modern computer science。 They were ensconced at Bletchley Park， an estate in Buckinghamshire near the east coast of Britain。 Radio operators at Britain’s various secret listening bases （Y stations） would scan the radio frequencies around the clock in order to intercept messages being sent by the Germans and their allies。 They would forward these intercepted， enciphered messages to Bletchley Park。 There， the brainiacs feverishly worked to determine the key to that day’s enciphered Morse code messages。 Then， “Enigma girls” took over， utilizing that day’s cracked cipher key to decipher all incoming messages as quickly as humanly possible。 The tasks those young women worked so hard to complete could and did save countless lives。 Arguably， they were key to the war being won。The next day， the Germans would begin using a new key for enciphering messages， and the work at Bletchley Park would start all over again。We learn about a number of mechanical proto-computing machines being employed at Bletchley Park that radically sped up the processes。 Thus， the title of the book。A wonderfully useful chapter in the middle of the book summarizes the steps involved in the process as German messages are transmitted， intercepted， deciphered， translated into English， and sent forward to the military brass and government leaders。As we learn， many of the young women engaged in this work were daughters of the crème de la crème of British society。 It makes sense， since these were young women who were often well educated， frequently spoke multiple languages， and who thoroughly understood the need for secrecy。 They were also the sort of women who–once word got out about Bletchley Park， many decades later–would write memoirs that would provide rich primary source material for this book。 It’s amusing to read about their receiving notes to report to Station X， not having the faintest idea what they were actually going， or what they would actually be doing to help the war effort。 We see them struggling， in the little time they had， to somehow choose what to pack themselves for an extended period of time。。somewhere。Above all， this is a female empowerment tale of the first order。 Despite the fact that the soldiers with guns and grenades and fighter planes were all men， and despite the limitations otherwise put on British women， who’d only gotten the right to vote a decade earlier， THE ENIGMA GIRLS vividly depicts how intelligent， patriotic， young British women worked right alongside the men， playing essential roles in winning WWII。 They were not sitting around eating bonbons， keeping the home fires burning， and nursing babies。 The part of the book that choked me up the most was near the end where the jubilation I felt as a reader， resulting from the successes of D-Day， was severely tempered by the author’s recounting the unimaginable statistics of American and Allied lives lost and shattered in the process。 It’s for that reason that I most strongly recommend that this book be paired with the author’s THE RISE AND FALL OF CHARLES LINDBERGH。 Winner of the 2021 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction award。 Ms。 Fleming’s bio of Lindbergh details how Lucky Lindy sucked up to Hitler and preached American isolationism。 There is no doubt that Lindberg’s advocacy emboldened Hitler and contributed to millions of lives lost when， instead， the civilized world should have shut down Hitler before he got going。 Never again。Richie Partington， MLISRichie's Picks http://richiespicks。pbworks。comhttps://www。facebook。com/richiespicks/ richiepartington@gmail。com 。。。more
Bethany Swafford
，
In the spring of 1941， hundreds of young women from across the British Isles were instructed to report to Bletchley Park。 Amidst brilliant cryptographers and absent-minded professors， it was the teenaged girls who ran the unwieldy bombe machines， made sense of wireless sound waves， and sorted the decoded messages， playing a crucial role in the wartime effort。 Courageous young women played a vital role in turning the tides of World War II for the Allies at Bletchley Park and these are their stori In the spring of 1941， hundreds of young women from across the British Isles were instructed to report to Bletchley Park。 Amidst brilliant cryptographers and absent-minded professors， it was the teenaged girls who ran the unwieldy bombe machines， made sense of wireless sound waves， and sorted the decoded messages， playing a crucial role in the wartime effort。 Courageous young women played a vital role in turning the tides of World War II for the Allies at Bletchley Park and these are their stories。Ciphers and codes have always been fascinating to me， mostly because even when the solution is spelled out I find it difficult to read！ The fact that young women were thrown into the task of solving ciphers and codes caught my attention。 Given the description of the conditions they worked in and the grueling task in front of them， I was astonished that more of them didn’t have a mental breakdown from the stress！The author details different young women who performed different tasks at Bletchley Park and what it took to accomplish the task。 Interspersed throughout are examples of the kinds of ciphers and codes and some of the methods used to solve them。 Also included are a few of the pictures that survived the record purging that happened after the war。I would recommend this to readers interested in ciphers and the work that went on in Bletchley Park。 I received an advance copy through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own。 。。。more
Dylan Teut
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I love that Fleming takes advantage of a few moments to draw us in and give us the opportunity to look at a coded message and consider and then re-consider how hard it was， and how much pressure was on those who were breaking the codes。 I have admiration for a group I never knew much about until Fleming put the spotlight on them。 It was a thrilling read。
Erin
，
Candace Fleming writes the most interesting narrative nonfiction for middle schoolers。 I can't wait to share these remarkable stories with the kids。 Candace Fleming writes the most interesting narrative nonfiction for middle schoolers。 I can't wait to share these remarkable stories with the kids。 。。。more
Caitrin
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This middle-grade book tells the story of ten young women that worked at Bletchley Park intercepting messages from Nazi Germany。 These messages， once received， needed to be sorted and even decoded by the women。 The young women worked there in secret and were not allowed to talk to anyone—even each other at the dinner table—about what they were doing。I really enjoyed reading about these young women and what they did。 I also enjoyed the detailed sections on how to both create and break codes。 I hi This middle-grade book tells the story of ten young women that worked at Bletchley Park intercepting messages from Nazi Germany。 These messages， once received， needed to be sorted and even decoded by the women。 The young women worked there in secret and were not allowed to talk to anyone—even each other at the dinner table—about what they were doing。I really enjoyed reading about these young women and what they did。 I also enjoyed the detailed sections on how to both create and break codes。 I highly recommend this book to middle school aged readers！ I give it 4/5 stars。 Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic Focus for this ARC in exchange for an honest review！ 。。。more
Monica Edinger
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engrossing
Ms。 Yingling
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E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusFleming's Scholastic Focus titles like The Curse of the Mummy （2021） and Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers， Alien Beings， and Roswell （2022） are popular in my library， but since this involved World War II， it will be even MORE popular！ Focusing on just ten of the young women who worked at Bletchley Park in a variety of roles， this book gives a great overview of the different types of jobs held by women from different social classes w E ARC provided by Edelweiss PlusFleming's Scholastic Focus titles like The Curse of the Mummy （2021） and Crash From Outer Space: Unraveling the Mystery of Flying Saucers， Alien Beings， and Roswell （2022） are popular in my library， but since this involved World War II， it will be even MORE popular！ Focusing on just ten of the young women who worked at Bletchley Park in a variety of roles， this book gives a great overview of the different types of jobs held by women from different social classes who had a range of abilities。 There were debutantes who had been to school abroad， and so spoke language， girls who signed up for the WRENs， and even tall girls who were assigned to the bombe machines because of their height！ Given that， according to the book， there were four hundred men and a thousand women working at the facility， this is just a fraction of the stories that could be told。 While all of the women signed the official secrets act， and in general， held their tongue and work their work was （two women who got in a fight in the canteen and mentioned some of the secrets out loud were summariliy dismissed！）， there is a lot of information about the types of work they did， and even pictures of some of the Enigman machines， German cipher books， and notecards。 While there were a number of steps that the higher ups knew in their entirety， the workers at each step were unaware of what the other divisions were doing， to the point where messages were pushed through openings so that the workers couldn't communicate with each other。 Some of the more significant accomplishments of the code breaking at Bletchley included taking down the Italian navy and sinking the German Bismarck。 The depiction of how the women would feel when codes didn't get broken， knowing that it meant that the British army didn't have information about what attacks might happen， was heartbreaking。 There was a good mix of information about the code breaking that went on and how daily life unfolded。 I loved that one of the more well-to-do women found a family friend with an estate eight miles away who was able to billet a number of the women。 The feeling that everyone had to do their part makes the story intriguing， and there is even some romance。 It is amazing how young some of the women were。 The research to uncover information about them had to have been daunting， but Fleming is a master at this。 It's hard to even get my mind around all of the information in the book， but it is presented in a very engaging way。 Young readers won't have seen the television program， The Bletchley Circle， about women who had been working in decoding and didn't tell anyone about their wartime activities even when they came back to haunt them in various ways in the 1950s， but will still be interested in the sort of work that was done。 Not as many of my female readers are interested in WWII， but that makes this book even more valuable。 Keep this one available for readers who enjoyed Farrell's Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII （2019）， Wein's A Thousand Sisters:The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II （2019）， and Pearson's Fly Girls: The Daring American Women Pilots Who Helped Win WWII （2018）。 。。。more
Laura Stahly Dronkowski
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Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC for this book。 The author shares interesting information about a the important role that young women played in the role of the war。 The text with the accompanying photos helped me to better understand what happened at Bletchley。
Caroline Palmer
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This is a lot like the similarly titled Enigma Girls by Tessa Dunlop， only with more pictures and an emphasis on the younger women working at the Park。 Though this book advertises it is about ten teens that broke the code， I would argue that eighteen is more young adulthood than teens。 But younger readers just learning about this era will enjoy this introduction to Most Secret Sources。
H。 Woodward
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A solid 4。 I loved Fleming's book on Leopold and Loeb。 This is an entirely different kind of book。 First of all， it includes excellently place historical photos that students will enjoy looking at。 Also， if you are a teacher with students interested in how math works in the world-they will be thrilled with this。 Finally， a relatively easy read （7th-10th gr？） about complex math and logic puzzles。 I know some students who will be obsessed with all the intermission sections on ciphers and codebreak A solid 4。 I loved Fleming's book on Leopold and Loeb。 This is an entirely different kind of book。 First of all， it includes excellently place historical photos that students will enjoy looking at。 Also， if you are a teacher with students interested in how math works in the world-they will be thrilled with this。 Finally， a relatively easy read （7th-10th gr？） about complex math and logic puzzles。 I know some students who will be obsessed with all the intermission sections on ciphers and codebreaking。 I learned things I didn't know about the teenagers who were working away throughout the War to intercept messages。 Also， I think the tech geeks will really enjoy the appearance of early computers。 As a people person， I cannot imagine the complexity of an operation like this， and the weight of the secrets pressing down on teen girls in their daily work。 Wow！ Fleming is an exceptional writer and this is a great nonfiction contribution。 。。。more
Katherine McGrail
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This intriguing story has its moments of engrossing prose， but several snippets feel disjointed and unnecessary （hello random two pages noting that one worker married a man she didn't love who was 15 years older than her） and would have benefitted from lengthier explanation and cobtextualixation。 This intriguing story has its moments of engrossing prose， but several snippets feel disjointed and unnecessary （hello random two pages noting that one worker married a man she didn't love who was 15 years older than her） and would have benefitted from lengthier explanation and cobtextualixation。 。。。more
Alicia
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Women were integral in the fight during World War II， specifically in helping intercept and crack codes to help with the strategy for the military。 But they couldn't talk about it in part because their work was secret but also because they were women at a remote location， Bletchley Park。 Fleming researches the work they did， the difficulty and stressful situation they encountered daily （I don't think I would be helpful AT ALL in cracking codes）， but they were whipsmart and willing to put in the Women were integral in the fight during World War II， specifically in helping intercept and crack codes to help with the strategy for the military。 But they couldn't talk about it in part because their work was secret but also because they were women at a remote location， Bletchley Park。 Fleming researches the work they did， the difficulty and stressful situation they encountered daily （I don't think I would be helpful AT ALL in cracking codes）， but they were whipsmart and willing to put in the work for their country。 There were plenty of opportunities for women to give back and this is how several women profiled contributed。 Covering facts like actual codebreaking to the machines that were built to both create code and help break it to how much Winston Churchill knew。 Fleming also includes pieces about the war， strategy， and the daily life of women in the "huts"。 A compliment to other books in the category of women spies， women in war， and ingenious women whose work went unreported for decades。 。。。more
Adelle
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This was super interesting to learn about， and it was crazy that it's a true story！ I had never hear for this before， but it was super interesting to hear the stories of all this different girls。working during the war！ This was super interesting to learn about， and it was crazy that it's a true story！ I had never hear for this before， but it was super interesting to hear the stories of all this different girls。working during the war！ 。。。more
Librariann
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