If you like YA books set in World War II and haven’t read the award winning author Elizabeth Wein, you’re missing out. I just finished the wonderful The Enigma Game (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2020). It was fascinating and I learned some new facts too.
Fifteen-year-old British Jamaican Louisa Adair wants to do something to fight the Nazis. Both her parents were killed in the War. But it’s hard simply finding a job. She finally gets one in Scotland, but how can taking care of an elderly German woman accomplish anything for the war efforts?
We also meet Ellen McEwen, a volunteer driver with the Royal Air Force, and Jamie Beaufort-Stuart, a flight leader for the 648 Squadron, and read about their struggles. The three get involved together because of an Enigma machine.
I love the elements of music in this book. And the fact that we meet some characters who often aren’t mentioned positively in books from the time period.
If you’ve read Code Name Verity, you’ve met Jamie before.
Read about the author here and check out her other books here.
A Death-Struck Year (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014) by Makiia Lucier is a wonderful historical set 100 years ago.
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? (Candlewick Press, 2017) by Allan Wolf is a story based on a true crime. This YA historical novel, set in 1979, is inspired by the an event in the author’s past. The story is told in multiple viewpoints, including the killer’s.