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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I finished The Enigma Game by #elizabethwein in the wee hours this morning, in tears. I read #CodeNameVerity when it was released ten years ago and I have carried it somewhere deep behind my ribcage ever since. Getting to see Julie Beaufort-Stuart and her companions again through first The Pearl Thief and now The Enigma Game is joyfully bittersweet. Elizabeth Wein doesn't pull her pinches: her historical fiction is meant to be as real, true, gruesome, and heroic as it was in life. It gives you chills and makes you ill, even knowing that the Nazis lost. And yet, even for seeing these characters again, I was left in tears to say goodbye, knowing what was to come. Here's to all who served in any capacity in #WWII - may they rest easy and may their memories be a blessing. And may these books be a reminder, lest we forget.
Incredible. Elizabeth Wein again wrote a book which does not shy away from the harsh reality of WWII, but still has light moments. She depicts some beautiful friendships in this one, which I loved. It was great.
*I got this book for the publisher for my honest thoughts*
I found this book to be such a refreshing WW2 read. I really was so invested in all the POV. This book is largely connected to other books and I would highly rec. you read these books in publication order for all the characters to make a even deeper impact. This book was a nice mix action and battles and war and also spycraft and missions. I thought the three POV were able to flesh out this world. I really enjoyed how this book tackled so many issues including sexism and prejudices. I also loved how this book focused on relationship between the young and old. I really am dying to tackle more reads by this author in the future.
I found this book to be such a refreshing WW2 read. I really was so invested in all the POV. This book is largely connected to other books and I would highly rec. you read these books in publication order for all the characters to make a even deeper impact. This book was a nice mix action and battles and war and also spycraft and missions. I thought the three POV were able to flesh out this world. I really enjoyed how this book tackled so many issues including sexism and prejudices. I also loved how this book focused on relationship between the young and old. I really am dying to tackle more reads by this author in the future.
Elizabeth Wein is a historical fiction genius. I couldn’t put this book down, but I also wanted it to last forever. Now I need to go back and reread Code Name Verity. I love these books so much!
Code Name Verity is still one of the best books I've read in the last decade. I was thrilled for another installment that continued to flush out backstories for a number of characters I've grown to love. The audiobook I listened to though had errors. The tracks were in the wrong order on multiple discs so it left what was probably another great book by Wein with a lackluster feeling on my end. What I did love though was it was another female-centered, well-researched female drive WWII book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Part of my review might be connected to my expectations...I have loved Elizabeth Wein books whole-heartedly for a long time now, but this one disappointed me. I felt like the first half of the book moved excessively slowly, with no major conflict or character development to pull the story forward. I did like the cameos by various characters from her other stories. The second half of the story definitely gripped me much more and elicited an emotional response--especially how Jamie's story resolved. This book had much less character development in my mind and a lot more technical details, which really slowed down my reading--plus all of the side airmen characters were a little hard to follow or connect with. I wonder if some of the problem is that she had to write around details that had happened in other books, which was more constricting for the story. It was an ok book, but definitely doesn't live up to the other Elizabeth Wein books which I think are much better crafted.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an easy read, one that sucks you into World War II by way of a 15-year-old Jamaican girl, a WAAF member, and a RAF pilot all wrapped into a spy mission in Scotland. I’m looking forward to reading the other books in the series.
5/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: action, WWII, historical fiction, multiple POVs, Code Name Verity
TW: period-typical racism, hinted homophobia
I contacted Wein about a year or two ago asking if she'd ever write something about Jamie before he begins his Moon Squadron work, so I was delighted when this book hit Goodreads and itching to figure out what mischief Jamie had been up to. Ellen was another welcome face, as I had wondered what War Work she might do after I read Pearl Thief. Louisa was more of a wildcard and I was curious how she'd fit into things being only 15 and too young to enlist, but her work as a caretaker for Jane fit perfectly with the events of the book that her involvement made sense.
When the book opens Louisa is newly orphaned and desperate to help the War Effort. Coming from a somewhat musical family myself, I can appreciate how attuned she is to it and the connections it helps her make throughout the book. And I love the detail that music helps calm her, it's one of those little things that makes characters more real. Though her actual job is a caretaker to Jane, Louisa has a brave streak a mile wide and gets involved in Ellen's hostage situation, not only keeping Ellen calm, but also calming the German pilot by showing a similar taste in music, eventually leading to the pilot informing her of the location of his Enigma machine. There are times in the book where she gets scared, mostly when there are nearby bombings or the time she's flying with Jamie's crew and a Messerschmidt pounces on them, but the notable thing about her fear is that she's able to work through it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be historically accurate without period-typical racism, and so we do see Louisa facing some of that, sometimes more subtle than others, but it does occur multiple times throughout the book.
Ellen is another narrating character in this book and it's jolly good to see her opinions about things, both about the war, the other characters, and the life of a Traveller in Britain. Ellen is a rather fierce character and is eager to get going with the Enigma once it's found out. She's working in Auxiliary Transport Services (ATS), meaning she gets to shuttle people from the aerodrome to wherever they need to go, and occasionally picks up stray passengers, like Jane and Louisa, if they're on her way. She's also big heart and is free with showing it, worrying over Jamie and some of the other pilots, enjoying time with Jane, and making fast friends with Louisa. Like with Louisa, Ellen also faces some prejudice, though hers is due to being a Traveller, which she takes great pains to hide in order to start fresh.
Jane I suppose is technically a side-character, but she plays such an important role that I decided to include here here with the main characters, though she never does get a POV. Despite having a poorly-healed broken hip and needing canes to get around, Jane is an extremely spirited elderly woman who is more than happy to get involved translating German for POWs and the Enigma machine. She's also a huge troublemaker and willing to talk back and sass and get in on the action, even when it involves fires, guns, or exploding bombs (she's actually a bit what I imagine an old!Julie would be like). Jane bonds rather instantly with Louisa over their shared love of music and the two of them come into the habit of performing duets on the piano. Being German, Jane also shares some of Ellen's fear of being discovered, though it hardly comes up in the book. Poor Jane exhibits early signs of Alzheimer's, though they either don't have a word for it or don't recognize the symptoms, because it's largely written off as Jane being a bit of an escape artist or the assumption that she's trying to commit suicide (the people at That Place are the ones to suggest that, and there are times when it seems true, but other times where her actions do come across as just early dementia).
And finally Jamie, whose full name we finally discover. He lives up to his characterization in the other three books, encouraging those around him, willing to square up to bullies, and mostly being a rather relaxed person. He's also a complete and utter rule breaker and it's a blooming miracle he didn't end up court-martialed before the events of CNV or Rose Under Fire. While Louisa knows she needs to turn the Enigma in to someone, and Ellen knows that Jamie can handle things w/ the Enigma, and though both of them want to keep a hold on it, it's really Jamie who suggests they keep it as their own private decoding device, using it to tally up wins for Squadron 648, his crew of Bristol Blenheims that's been seeing a bad streak and is rapidly losing pilots. He's still a bit of a loon, and we see that tendency of his to let civilians into operational missions, but we also get to see more of his older brother tendencies, wanting to protect Julie and Louisa even knowing it could blow back on him.
Nancy Campbell, Jane's niece and the woman who hired Louisa, is one of the main side-characters and is actually rather rude to Louisa and Jane, but has a soft-sport for the pilots. Despite her tough outer layer, Nan really does have a big heart and is devastated whenever one or more of the pilots don't make it safely back. Phyllis is another side-character, though she works in WAAF like Ellen, only in debriefing. She's a steadying influence and seems to move with Squadron 648, growing as close to them as Nan, though with a far nicer exterior and a rather prim demeanor. And, of course, lovely Julie shows up about two-thirds into the book and my god it's wonderful to see her again. There are a few bits where she seemed unsure of her Intelligence role, which we don't really get to see in CNV, but I thought it was a nice touch for Wein to show us Julie isn't 100% confident all the time, and in a different way than that was showed in Pearl Thief.
I really enjoyed the plot of the book, with the balance of keeping the Enigma machine hidden and still using the data received from it. There's a good bit of flying in this one, which is one of my favorite parts of CNV and Rose Under Fire and was unfortunately missing from Pearl Thief, though I suppose it wouldn't've made sense there. After reading this I'm desperate to know what Ellen and Louisa do for the rest of the war. Jamie, we know, goes onto the Moon Squadron per Maddi's recommendation, but since CNV tells a rather limited version of events from 1940-43, and Rose doesn't know Julie, or Jamie really, we don't get a ton of breadcrumbs about the girls. With any luck, Wein's next book will have something to do with one or both of them...or maybe we'll get an eventual reunion after the war.
And not anything about the book itself, but buckets of blood it took me forever to get my hands on this. It was published in the UK mid-May but doesn't get published in the US till November, and despite the USPS claiming international mail isn't being put through quarantine, it definitely is.
Recommended for people who like: action, WWII, historical fiction, multiple POVs, Code Name Verity
TW: period-typical racism, hinted homophobia
I contacted Wein about a year or two ago asking if she'd ever write something about Jamie before he begins his Moon Squadron work, so I was delighted when this book hit Goodreads and itching to figure out what mischief Jamie had been up to. Ellen was another welcome face, as I had wondered what War Work she might do after I read Pearl Thief. Louisa was more of a wildcard and I was curious how she'd fit into things being only 15 and too young to enlist, but her work as a caretaker for Jane fit perfectly with the events of the book that her involvement made sense.
When the book opens Louisa is newly orphaned and desperate to help the War Effort. Coming from a somewhat musical family myself, I can appreciate how attuned she is to it and the connections it helps her make throughout the book. And I love the detail that music helps calm her, it's one of those little things that makes characters more real. Though her actual job is a caretaker to Jane, Louisa has a brave streak a mile wide and gets involved in Ellen's hostage situation, not only keeping Ellen calm, but also calming the German pilot by showing a similar taste in music, eventually leading to the pilot informing her of the location of his Enigma machine. There are times in the book where she gets scared, mostly when there are nearby bombings or the time she's flying with Jamie's crew and a Messerschmidt pounces on them, but the notable thing about her fear is that she's able to work through it. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be historically accurate without period-typical racism, and so we do see Louisa facing some of that, sometimes more subtle than others, but it does occur multiple times throughout the book.
Ellen is another narrating character in this book and it's jolly good to see her opinions about things, both about the war, the other characters, and the life of a Traveller in Britain. Ellen is a rather fierce character and is eager to get going with the Enigma once it's found out. She's working in Auxiliary Transport Services (ATS), meaning she gets to shuttle people from the aerodrome to wherever they need to go, and occasionally picks up stray passengers, like Jane and Louisa, if they're on her way. She's also big heart and is free with showing it, worrying over Jamie and some of the other pilots, enjoying time with Jane, and making fast friends with Louisa. Like with Louisa, Ellen also faces some prejudice, though hers is due to being a Traveller, which she takes great pains to hide in order to start fresh.
Jane I suppose is technically a side-character, but she plays such an important role that I decided to include here here with the main characters, though she never does get a POV. Despite having a poorly-healed broken hip and needing canes to get around, Jane is an extremely spirited elderly woman who is more than happy to get involved translating German for POWs and the Enigma machine. She's also a huge troublemaker and willing to talk back and sass and get in on the action, even when it involves fires, guns, or exploding bombs (she's actually a bit what I imagine an old!Julie would be like). Jane bonds rather instantly with Louisa over their shared love of music and the two of them come into the habit of performing duets on the piano. Being German, Jane also shares some of Ellen's fear of being discovered, though it hardly comes up in the book. Poor Jane exhibits early signs of Alzheimer's, though they either don't have a word for it or don't recognize the symptoms, because it's largely written off as Jane being a bit of an escape artist or the assumption that she's trying to commit suicide (the people at That Place are the ones to suggest that, and there are times when it seems true, but other times where her actions do come across as just early dementia).
And finally Jamie, whose full name we finally discover. He lives up to his characterization in the other three books, encouraging those around him, willing to square up to bullies, and mostly being a rather relaxed person. He's also a complete and utter rule breaker and it's a blooming miracle he didn't end up court-martialed before the events of CNV or Rose Under Fire. While Louisa knows she needs to turn the Enigma in to someone, and Ellen knows that Jamie can handle things w/ the Enigma, and though both of them want to keep a hold on it, it's really Jamie who suggests they keep it as their own private decoding device, using it to tally up wins for Squadron 648, his crew of Bristol Blenheims that's been seeing a bad streak and is rapidly losing pilots. He's still a bit of a loon, and we see that tendency of his to let civilians into operational missions, but we also get to see more of his older brother tendencies, wanting to protect Julie and Louisa even knowing it could blow back on him.
Nancy Campbell, Jane's niece and the woman who hired Louisa, is one of the main side-characters and is actually rather rude to Louisa and Jane, but has a soft-sport for the pilots. Despite her tough outer layer, Nan really does have a big heart and is devastated whenever one or more of the pilots don't make it safely back. Phyllis is another side-character, though she works in WAAF like Ellen, only in debriefing. She's a steadying influence and seems to move with Squadron 648, growing as close to them as Nan, though with a far nicer exterior and a rather prim demeanor. And, of course, lovely Julie shows up about two-thirds into the book and my god it's wonderful to see her again. There are a few bits where she seemed unsure of her Intelligence role, which we don't really get to see in CNV, but I thought it was a nice touch for Wein to show us Julie isn't 100% confident all the time, and in a different way than that was showed in Pearl Thief.
I really enjoyed the plot of the book, with the balance of keeping the Enigma machine hidden and still using the data received from it. There's a good bit of flying in this one, which is one of my favorite parts of CNV and Rose Under Fire and was unfortunately missing from Pearl Thief, though I suppose it wouldn't've made sense there. After reading this I'm desperate to know what Ellen and Louisa do for the rest of the war. Jamie, we know, goes onto the Moon Squadron per Maddi's recommendation, but since CNV tells a rather limited version of events from 1940-43, and Rose doesn't know Julie, or Jamie really, we don't get a ton of breadcrumbs about the girls. With any luck, Wein's next book will have something to do with one or both of them...or maybe we'll get an eventual reunion after the war.
And not anything about the book itself, but buckets of blood it took me forever to get my hands on this. It was published in the UK mid-May but doesn't get published in the US till November, and despite the USPS claiming international mail isn't being put through quarantine, it definitely is.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No