Events are brought to dramatic life through a treasure trove of photographs—which show the goings-on at Bletchley and the sobering progress of the war—and through the author's meticulous research. -The New York Times Book Review. 

'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, where teenage girls 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 importantly: 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. The recipient of five-star reviews and thick with tension and suspense, The Enigma Girls 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.

Inspired by the true story of his father's cousin, Michael Rosen presents an astonishing wartime story of perseverance and hope in the face of horrors and hardship.

Beginning in 1939, young Solly in London exchanges letters with his teenaged cousin, Bernie, in Poland. While Solly is evacuated and tries his best to adjust to life in the English countryside, Bernie's parents know that as Jews they're not safe staying in Warsaw, so they send Bernie to the Russian-occupied side of the country in the hope that he'll be safer there. Soon, though, he is arrested and sent off to a forced labour camp in Russia.

As the cousins exchange sporadic letters, they try to keep their spirits up, trading jokes and observations about the world changing all around them. Then Bernie seizes the opportunity to join the "Anders Army" and fight the Axis powers, and tells Solly all about his experiences in Iran and eventually Italy, where he fights alongside the British at the famous Battle of Monte Cassino. Will Bernie survive this war and find a safe place to call home?