The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming - ADVISABLE

The Enigma Girls by Candace Fleming, 325 pages. NON-FICTION. Scholastic, MARCH 2024. $20

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS, ADULTS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

From the very beginnings of WWII. England had to find a way to crack the codes created by the German Enigma machines if they wanted any chance of surviving, if not winning, the war. Hundreds of young women from all over the country were called up and hired as computers, cipher crackers, and radio operators. Not only during the war, but after also, they weren’t allowed to breathe a word about their essential jobs. 

Fleming has created a beautiful, highly readable book about these mostly teenage women. I often forgot that I was reading a non-fiction book, as the words and action flowed along. While it is chunky at 300+ pages, it is a book you could hand sell in a school that covers the topic. Or send this out to your history teachers to help them build their personal background knowledge.

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS