A review by annakim
The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein

4.0

Code Name Verityabsolutely devastated me when I first read it and since then, I've been a great fan of Elizabeth Wein's books. I'm happy to say that The Enigma Game did not destroy me and ended on a much more positive note. Because it had been awhile since I read Verity, I didn't recognize Jamie or, for that matter, his sister until much, much later in the book. And even then, I didn't recognize Julie until she literally said her nickname and that was literally at the end of the story.
I really liked all of the characters. One of Wein's strengths is her ability to imbue each of her characters with so much personality. This makes it easy to really feel connected to each one and empathize with their situations.
I also appreciate Wein's handling of the racism and the supreme irony of these Western countries allying to fight against Nazi Germany while they overlooked their own racist policies at home. This also extended to Ellen's treatment as a Traveler in the UK.

Spoiler

Another reviewer mentioned it, but the one part that really did not ring true and threw me off was the death of David near the end. There was no indication that he was Depressed anywhere in the story or suffering from other trauma so for him to just....give up like that was incredibly unexpected.