The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

As this story opens Lizzie boarding a ship bound for the USA - she is being sent to stay with her wealthy grandmother. Trouble is Lizzie has NO intention of taking this trip. Her mother is missing and Lizzie needs to stay in England and find her. Yes there is a war unfolding and yes it might be dangerous but Lizzie knows her mother is not dead, as she has been told, and that she needs to find her brother and then solve the mystery of her mothers disappearance. The opening scene where she tricks her chaperone and gets off the boat would be a fabulous way to introduce this book to your library group. 

Lizzie has such a cheeky and distinctive voice in this story which is told with alternating voices. I Ioved the scene where Lizzie 'tricks' the chaperone for the second time and also her unfolding relationship with Colin - son of the innkeeper. 

You can 'hear' Lizzie in these three quotes:

I prefer being straightforward. My older brother, Jakob, used to be straightforward. Before Willa disappeared, that is. Willa is our mother. Killed in a bomb blast, they told us. A falsity I refuse to accept. I no longer refer to her as Mother because she’s not currently here to “mother” me. So it’s easier, and hurts less, to call her by her first name. Precocious? Probably. Willa is American. From a posh place called Cleveland. Some say that explains why I’m so straightforward, because I’m half American. They say the word “American” as if it’s scandalous. I love that. Willa loved it too.

“I don’t know what’s being done here, sir. But from the look of the wallpaper, this room has not long been a war office. From the annoyance in your tone, you are not welcoming visitors this evening. My apologies for that. I’d be grateful if you could provide a bit more information or clues to solve the puzzle,” I reply.

“Perfection? But perfection is boring and forgettable. It’s the imperfections that I find interesting.” “Goodness, you sound so adult. Are you a philosopher, Elizabeth?” “I prefer Lizzie, if that’s all right with you. And heavens no, I’m not a philosopher. I just have the awful habit of speaking whatever pops into my head. I think it’s because I’m half American.”

And here is the voice of Jakob:

Am I in charge of her now? No, I can’t be. I’ve got work to do. More important work than I ever imagined doing. There’s no way I can look after Lizzie at the same time. I can’t even talk to her. Can’t answer the storm of questions I know is coming. I wish I could just turn to her and say, “Look, Lizzie, I’m a cryptanalyst. A code breaker. It’s all very hush-hush.” Sounds ridiculous, I know. A line from a bad play. But the thing is, if I told her the truth, how I got into all of this, she’d accuse me of exactly that—imagining myself in some far-fetched spy drama.

The Bletchley Riddle has almost 400 pages and 94 chapters - but the action just races along. I found myself reading this book deep into the night and again early the next morning. I highly recommend this one for readers aged 10+.

Publisher blurb: It is the summer of 1940. The world is at war. These days, you don’t know who you can trust or who might be a secret spy… Maths whizz Jakob Novis has been recruited to the secret codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park. As Jakob works to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, his younger sister Lizzie is busy on an undercover mission of her own: to find their mother. Filled with codes to decipher and mysteries to unravel, this is the unputdownable historical adventure that will have you on the edge of your seats.

Take a look at the official trailer. 

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. Kirkus

In a compelling mystery, written by two award-winning authors, and told in two voices, the dark cloud of their mom’s disappearance hangs over vivid, well-researched depictions of the Bletchley Park code-breaking operation. The story incorporates many of the significant, real-life, historic heroes who, together, arguably shortened WWII by years. It also depicts life in London at the onset of the war. It’s topped off perfectly with a sweet dash of adolescent crushing. A book and a hug

It was good to know a little about the circumstances of this story prior to reading The Bletchley Riddle. I had already read I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey and seen the movie The Imitation Game an Oscar-nominated movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley from 2015 and also the television series The Bletchley Circle. I have now discovered the I Spy is the first book in a trilogy - Book 1: I, Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2023) Book 2: Hide and Seek: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2024) Book 3: Wink, Murder: a Bletchley Park Mystery (2025). I am not sure if I have seen the other movie Enigma staring Kate Winslet from 2001. 

It is amazing and somewhat exciting to think about the work of code breakers - even though the circumstances in this story are based on real life and of course this is about life and death for thousands of innocent citizens during World War II. The codes themselves were so complex it seems amazing that they were ever cracked. Those men and women who worked at Bletchley had such brilliant minds and amazing perseverance. 

Image source: Bletchley Park

This book is a perfect blend of adventure, characters you come to care deeply about and real events. Here are two quotes about the work at Bletchley: 

The work undertaken at Bletchley was extremely secret, with staff forbidden from discussing their roles with anyone outside the park – even their own families. The need for secrecy was so great that some Bletchley veterans never revealed the true nature of their wartime service, even decades later.

Work at Bletchley Park began in the Mansion and its outbuildings, with a staff of around 150 people. As more and more people arrived to join the codebreaking operations, the various sections began to move into large pre-fabricated wooden huts set up on the lawns of the Park. For security reasons, the various sections were known only by their hut numbers. The first operational break into Enigma came around the 23 January 1940, when the team working under Dilly Knox, with the mathematicians John Jeffreys, Peter Twinn and Alan Turing, unravelled the German Army administrative key that became known at Bletchley Park as ‘The Green’. Encouraged by this success, the Codebreakers managed to crack the ‘Red’ key used by the Luftwaffe (German air force). In addition to German codes, Italian and later Japanese systems were also broken. Source Bletchley Park

Further Reading

History Tools: Uncovering the Enigma: The Untold Story of Bletchley Park‘s Codebreaking Triumphs

Visiting Bletchley Park - this site contains a wealth of information - well worth a deep dive

History Learning

Warfare History Network

Companion book:

Max in the House of Spies

The voice of Lizzie also reminded me of this book:

Faceles

In her review Ms Yingling mentions this book as another title to explore about the code breakers of WWII.

Read more on the author web page

You could use The Bletchley Riddle as a way to talk with your students about writing effective descriptions - here are a couple of terrific examples:

The man looks Jakob up and down and so do I. He’s taller than I remember but still has a boyish face. His trousers and jacket are wrinkled. Tie poorly knotted. Faint gray crescents ring his tired brown eyes, and his bedraggled curls are longer than usual. Has he been sleeping on the street?

A tall, narrow figure in a trench coat and hat stands alone on the moonlit platform. He starts toward us with the awkward gait of a marionette. He inhales on his cigarette, and the glowing tip illuminates his face. Something about him resembles my old doll with the smashed glass eye, or a curious illustration from a medical encyclopedia. I like him instantly.

A man in a tweed suit stands alone and sock-footed in the grass. His eyes are closed and his face lifts toward the sun. He wears an apricot bow tie which, by my estimation, makes him very approachable.

Birdy by Sharon Kernot

Maddy along with her mum and brother Charlie (the Professor) have moved to a remote country town in South Australia. An utterly dreadful thing has happened to Maddy and her anxiety is so overwhelming she can no longer speak. Mum does not pressure Maddy and she has agreed to do regular counselling. Her brother, who is ten, is also supportive. He loves to collect things and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the world. One day he finds a couple of curious things, but he tells Maddy they are of no value - a small bluebird necklace, some bottle tops and the button from a pair of Levi jeans. 

Maddy needs to challenge herself and so she goes to the local general store to gather the family shopping. She is not able to speak to the shop keeper and experiences panic attacks every time she goes there but she persists. One day a young girl is behind the counter. Her name is Levi. Levi is friendly and she does not pressure Maddy once her brother explains Maddy cannot talk. It takes a lot of courage and time but eventually they become friends and Maddy begins to trust Levi - maybe she can tell Levi what has happened.

Meanwhile there is an elderly reclusive lady in the town who has suffered great losses in her life. Her husband worked at Maralinga where they did nuclear bomb testing and he died from radiation sickness many years ago. Alice has also lost her precious daughter Birdie. Birdie disappeared forty-five years ago but Alice clings to the hope that one day she will come home. Alice hurts her foot and so Maddy is asked to deliver her groceries and gradually we watch as this unlikely pair form a friendship.

Birdy is a verse novel. It is a very engrossing story which will greatly appeal to readers aged 14+. This book deals with some big themes such as sexual assault; issues of consent; anxiety leading to selective mutism; and profound grief.

I did appreciate the Australian and literary references in this book. Charlie is described as a mini-Harry Butler (I'm sure only readers of a certain age will recognise this reference); when they go for a drive one day she reads about the story of Bob the Railway Dog (see image of the picture book at the end of this post); also Maddy loves the poetry of Emily Dickinson. There are also 1970s music references such as Carole King You've got a Friend. And there are very important references in this book to the historic events at Maralinga.

Birdy is highly recommended for teens, for both its honest, heart-wrenching content and lyrical free-verse style. Read Plus

Birdy is filled with positive examples of people supporting each other through their words and kind deeds, and touches on some of the different ways of dealing with anxiety. It also addresses the harm that social media can do, and the strength of character required to counter this. The serious issues that shape Maddy and Alice’s lives (implied sexual assault and anxiety, hoarding and depression) are dealt with sensitively and eventually resolved. Read Plus

Birdy is a title on our 2025 CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) short list for Older Readers. I don't usually read the books on this list because they are beyond the scope of this blog which is aimed at readers (and teachers and Teacher-Librarians) with books for ages 4-12. I picked up Birdy from the hospital library where I work as a volunteer partly because the cover is so arresting and partly because I was fairly certain the staff who catalogued this title had put in in the wrong part of our collection. They had added it to our middle grade chapter books but now that I have read Birdy I can say it is most definitely a Young Adult title. 

Read more about Sharon Kernot here. I am not sure I would use this book with a class - it feels too much like a personal journey that should be experienced by a solitary reader walking alongside Maddy and her journey to understanding and recovery, but the publisher has prepared some teaching notes if these interest you. Joy Lawn interviewed Sharon Kernot on her blog Paperbark Words. 

Awards for Birdy:

• Shortlisted, CBCA Book of the Year, Older Readers, 2025
• Shortlisted, NSW Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize for Young People’s Literature, 2025
• Shortlisted, Readings Young Adult Prize, 2024

Here are the CBCA judges comments:

In Birdy, a compelling verse novel, two heartfelt and heartbreaking mysteries slowly unfold and overlap – a powerful contemporary drama intersecting with a historical crime. The main character Maddy is a teenage girl who is experiencing selective mutism and anxiety after what she will only refer to as The Incident. Her family relocates to the country to help her recover and there she makes a surprising connection with the reclusive older woman Alice, whose daughter Birdy disappeared 45 years ago. The novel explores ideas about shame, loss and trauma, the healing power of friendship and kindness, and celebrates the ability of poetry to generate deep feelings in both the writer and reader. We witness the skillful execution of the expressive and poetic language of a verse novel, to create rhythm, pause and silence to reflect the interior mood of the character of Maddy. The language is rich, descriptive and evocative, while still being accessible for the teen audience. This book would appeal to readers who love reading realistic, contemporary, heartfelt stories, and who enjoy crime and mystery. The descriptive, evocative language and complex themes provide much scope for detailed study in a classroom environment.

Companion books:

When Maddy intrudes on Birdy's room which has been carefully preserved by her mother and left just as it was 45 years ago I thought of this older Australian book from 1991:

Just under the clouds by Melissa Sarno

"Then I brush my notebook off and stuff everything in, fishing around for my Tree Book. But it's not there. The worn leather, with its little ribbon tail is missing. I check the front pocket. I check the sleeve inside. I sit down on the wet ground and throw my backpack to it, opening it wide. I take all the withered papers out and stack them. I take each covered textbook and each notebook out. Purple, red, green, blue. I check the front pocket - a jumble of pens and pencils and paperclips, an eraser that feels like it's coated in sand and crumbs. I check the empty sleeve, I fan the colours, in a pinwheel, looking for the soft brown leather. Its gone."

This notebook is everything to Cora. It is her link to her father who died several years ago. Her father was Irish and mum has Mexican heritage. Cora's little sister lost oxygen to her brain during birth and so she has a fairly profound disability. Money is very tight and so the family of three keep having to move. As the story opens, they are living in a homeless shelter, but it is a very dangerous environment. After they are robbed, they move in with mum's friend. Willa seems to have a perfect life and a perfect home and so mum just needs to move again. Cora would love to stay because it is the first place in a long time that she feels safe, but they do move this time into assisted housing. Now school is even further away. 

One thing that connect Cora to her father is the drawing in his notebook of a tree he called The Heaven Tree. Cora finds the tree down by the canal. She is determined to climb it but there are no low branches. The only way seems to be through the window of a disused factory. This will be very dangerous. 

Little Adare loves cats. There is a stray cat that hangs around near the tree and near the canal. On the day Cora loses her dad's tree notebook, little Adare goes missing. Can Cora put all these puzzle pieces back together and find her little sister in time?

This is a debut novel for Melissa Sarno. Kirkus say ages 10-14 so I have listed this as a senior primary novel. Just Under the Clouds was published in 2019 but it is still available. This book will appeal to thoughtful readers who have good reading stamina and who enjoy quiet books about family relationships and children living in complex situations. 

Troubling, affecting, and ultimately uplifting, from a promising debut novelist. Kirkus

There is a delicate balance of things my readers like in a sad book. They like lots of descriptions of what life is like, but they are not as fond of the character's introspection about their situation, if that makes sense. (I spend a large part of my day involved in the nuances of what students want in a book!) This is a little slower than my students usually want, but I will probably purchase it, and this is certainly a great book to look at for most collections. Ms Yingling

Companion books - pop these titles into my sidebar:

And here are some picture books on the topic of homelessness.

This book might be in a library or available as an ebook - it also deals with the heartbreak of a disabled sister.

And this new Australian book has a World War II setting and the story centers on saving the disabled sister from capture.

The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Kira has been a lost child. She has been rescued by Cady and her son Jude but she still has scars - visible and invisible that have damaged her from her time 'alone' in the wilderness. 

Cady is an expert with training and using tracking dogs. Kira, perhaps because of that time spent alone surviving in the wild, has a special bond with the dogs especially a rescue dog named Saskia. Cady has been called to the small town where she grew up because a very young girl named Bella is missing. But as the story unfolds finding this missing girl is not the only reason Cady needed to come home.

This is one of those stories where reading feels like viewing a television show. Nearly every character has a back story and as a reader you will want to know more about each key person and discover how they are interconnected. Of course, the plot is also driven by the desperate need to find young Bella. 

Readers who enjoy survival stories and who have a special affinity with dogs are sure to love this book. The ending will be a surprise and as with all good Young Adult titles there are still a few loose ends. 

I recommend this book for readers aged 13+ mainly because there is a very violent scene towards the end when Kira is taken for interrogation by the local sherif. He is a vicious and nasty man who exposes parts of Kira's story that are utterly dreadful and harrowing. If you look at my labels for this post you will have a better idea of some of the issues raised in this story.

I bought this book by accident but I am glad I found and read it. I was browsing one of our city bookstores (Abbey's York Street). As usual I had found one book to buy but I decided I needed two! Abbey's have a good shelf of front facing newer titles and this one caught my eye. I thought I had heard of the author Jennifer Lynn Barnes but in fact she is new to me. High School readers, this is a Young Adult book, are sure to have heard of her book series The Inheritance Games. The Lovely and the Lost was published in 2020 but my copy is the UK 2025 edition. 

You can read a long description of the plot on the US publisher page. 

Blurb from the author page: Kira Bennett's earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady's son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world's most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home. But when Cady's estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child, Kira's memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.

How did I decide this was a Young Adult title? What are some things I should have noticed?

• The print size is very small
• The bookshop price sticker (these are always worth exploring) says "Young Adult Fiction"
• The cover endorsement - 'A propulsive mystery-thriller ... You will cling to this book until you reach the end' Maureen Johnson - not a name I know - this should have been a strong hint

The hardcover edition of this book certainly has a Young Adult image:

The House Trap by Emma Read

Claude and his sister Amity are moving to a new part of the country. Claude was Deliah's best friend but over the last year while they were both in Grade seven things have changed. This is so confusing for Deliah. Now Claude seems to be friends with an awful bratty boy named Sam. 

On the day the story begins the four kids are sent out of the house to 'play' but with the added warning not to go into Badwell Woods. Of course anyone who has read a book with a premise like this will expect the kids will ignore this warning and go into the woods. Somewhere deep in the forest they find an old mansion. It looks neglected on the outside but the inside is very strange. There is even a container of ice which holds drinks but clearly no one is home. Then the door slams shut and the four of them are trapped. This house is full of tricks, puzzles and danger. These four children have to find a way to mend their relationships and solve a series of puzzles and yes, at times, it feels like their lives are really in danger. Along the way they meet a young ghost named Hypatia. It was her father who made all the traps and puzzles back in 1930. In subsequent years other kids have also been trapped in this house. Claude, Deliah, Amity and Sam meet two of them who have been stuck in the house for twenty years. The other kids have all disappeared.

Read an extract on the Chicken House webpage. Here is the very brief blurb: Deliah, Sam and Claude follow little sister Amity inside a mysterious mansion. But no sooner have they found her than the floor beneath their feet starts to twist and turn: the house rearranges itself like a giant Rubik's cube. To escape, they must solve the puzzle and the century-old mystery of a girl who disappeared ...

Reviewers liken this book to Jumanji and in fact that famous book is mentioned at one point. I did know all the kids would be safe but there are moments in this story where the dangers they encounter are truly terrifying. I suggest this book for readers aged 10+. Oh and these are modern kids from 2020 but conveniently they all have to leave their mobile phones at home. Sam smuggles his in his pocket but mysteriously it does not work in this strange house. 

A fabulous twist on a timeless haunted house adventure ... (It's) Scooby-Doo meets The Mysterious Benedict Society via Escape Room. Full of friendship, teamwork and logic versus instinct - all wrapped up in a book with thrills, heart and bags of atmosphere. Perfect for readers aged 9 and up. GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY AND UTTERLY SPLENDID.' Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables. Reading Zone

Emma Read's no holds barred use of descriptive language allows the reader to see, hear and even smell the malevolence of Manvers Hall. Many female readers will relate to the main character, Deliah; she loves maths and riddles but is often mocked and considered 'nerdy'. It's wonderful, therefore, that Deliah's penchant for puzzles is the group's salvation; a powerful embodiment of feminism and a strong reminder to be happy in the skin that you are in. Reading Zone

Here is the website for Emma Read.

Companion books:

Floors

Her Perilous Mansion

Small Change for Stuart

Out of the Wild Night

The Parker Inheritance

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Great Fox Illusion

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Sisters of the Lost Marsh by Lucy Strange

When you begin this book you need to carefully read the Curse:

Be sure the first girl marries well,

The second in the home to dwell.

A third maid can do little harm

If set to work upon the farm.

Four and five must both be wed

Or six will bury you stone dead.

There are six girls in this family. Their mother has died after giving birth to the last three girls - triplets. Father or Dadder is very superstitious. The family live with their beautiful wise grandmother in her home and they work hard to maintain her farm. Their father is more interested in appearances and expects all the girls to obey him and do their chores without question.

Looking at the first line of the curse, Dadda has betrothed Grace to a local much older landowner - Silas Kirby. Just as an aside I seem to have read other books where the bad or evil man was named Silas. Grace has no interest in marrying this man but her father has already taken delivery of a handsome horse and so the deal is now unbreakable.

Then the fayre arrives:

"No one knows when the Full Moon Fayre will come. It might as well be called the Blue Moon Fayre, Grammy says. Sometimes it comes twice a season, and then not for years and years."

I imagine you are beginning to put his puzzle together. And now I can add books are forbidden in this community but Grammy has some and the girls can read and they have listed to all manner of folk and fairy tales including the story of the Marsh King. Maps are also banned.

Back to the curse. The second sister is Freya. She is destined to stay home and look after Dadda but she is secretly in love with the boy who will be her partner at the Springtide Fires. But it is the third sister who drives this story. Willa is the wild child. She is sure her Dadda hates her but she has no idea why. Then Grace disappears after going to the Full Moon Fayre and Willa decides it is up to her to follow the route taken by the fayre so she can find and save her sister. Willa has a map, a compass, the horse that Silas gifted named Flint and her head is full of stories and warnings about the possible dangers of this journey.

The writing is impressively beautiful and sophisticated without sacrificing the reader-friendly clarity of the straightforward narrator. Willa’s innate goodness and iron will carry her through adventures and physical trials, pitting her against superstitions and fairy tales alike. ... So engrossing a tale and world that readers won’t want to come up for air. Kirkus Star review

Strange is a gifted storyteller who masterfully balances good and evil, dreariness and hope. She incorporates a few perfectly timed doses of horror that will entertain middle grade readers without overwhelming them. Book Page

It’s a rare thing, when a book hooks your interest wholly and completely from the very first page, but Sisters of the Lost Marsh really achieved that. I absolutely didn’t want to put it down until I’d devoured every last word. It was atmospheric, slightly spooky at times, with a gentle hint of magic running throughout every page. I adored it with every fibre of my being and didn’t want it to end. That Book Girl

I read Sisters of the Lost Marsh in one sitting. The story just races along and the marsh and the dangerous mire feel so real - the setting of this book feels like another character. 

Lucy Strange has written a beautiful, haunting novel, an eerie and luminous mix of gothic mystery, folklore and fairy tale inspired by the landscape of Romney Marsh. This isolated setting of mist, salt marsh, ditches and lost villages is brilliantly and atmospherically evoked. Books for Keeps

I think this book will greatly appeal to keen readers aged 10+. It might also lead to an interest in finding other books about witch trials and curses such as these:

The 13th Floor

The Beatryce Prophecy

Wilder

The Witch's Boy

Fire Girl

What drew me to this book? I knew the author's name - I have read a few of her previous books (see below) but more importantly I really like the cover. Oh, and Sisters of the Lost Marsh is published by Chicken House and they consistently produce fantastic books. Read an extract of Sisters of the Lost Marsh. 

Once you have read one book by UK author Lucy Strange you are sure to want to find more. 

Our Castle by the Sea

The Secret of Nightingale Wood

The Ghost of Gosswater

My Brother Finch by Kate Gordon

"Tomorrow is going to be amazing. Tomorrow is going to change my life.' If I'd known then - if I'd have even had an inkling of how - I'd have torn my soul apart to protect him, to change the future, to make sure tomorrow never happened. But I had no idea. 

No control. No power. Tomorrow came. And my brother disappeared."

Born just eleven months apart in some ways Wren feels as though Finch is her twin sibling. But in other ways she has always felt displaced. Wren is a quiet girl who does not stand out whereas Finch is a loud boy who everyone immediately warms to. Even their parents seem, to Wren, to treat Finch with more love and attention. 

"We were connected, tied together, linked in a way closer than any of those kids whose siblings are their best friend. We were like twins. Like two halves. But when Finch wanted me to be his friend, I just wanted ... To be seen, by anyone else but him. To be important. To be number one."

"You are normal Wrennie. You're what you're meant to be.' I knew he meant it kindly - as a compliment in fact. But it felt like a slap. Being normal meant I wasn't like him. And everybody loved Finch. Mostly they just ignored me."

The family go on an outing to a disused coal mine. Finch is so excited to explore the ruins. Their mother is slightly overprotective but on this day their father says it is all okay and Finch should be allowed to explore a little further on his own. Within minutes, Wren who has been taking photos of the clouds with her camera, realised something feels wrong. 

These are all events from three years ago. Finch has never been found. The family members, each in their own way, are deeply grieving. There are of course several possibilities - kidnapping, misadventure or that he just wandered away. Knowing this does not help. And Wren is certain all of this is her fault. Nor does the fact that two young children disappeared that day - Finch and another younger child named Ava. 

"Dad cries all the time. He cries loudly and painfully and - I suppose he thinks - in secret behind the bathroom door."

Finch was just nine when he disappeared. Wren is now moving onto Year Seven at a different school. Her old friends, friends from Kindergarten, have drifted way. Wren's grief has also been too much for them to stay connected. On the first day of High School, though, Wren makes a new friend. Freddie is also an outsider but she is not shy or insecure like Wren. She is bold and seemingly fearless. The two girls team up for a school art project and Wren, who constantly hears the voice of Finch, somehow suggests their topic could, in part, be about missing children. Added to this the girls see another new student in the playground. A girl, maybe a year or two older, who also looks lost and alone. 

Publisher blurb: Finch and Wren were as close as a brother and sister can be. When he vanished, when they were nine years old, her world cracked in two. Finch was never found. On the same day that Finch disappeared, another girl was lost, too. Her name was Ava. Her parents were rich tourists, from Sydney. Ava’s story got all the media attention. And Finch was forgotten. But not by Wren. Never by Wren. Three years on, Finch is still with her, whispering in her ear, guiding her through life. As Wren begins high school and forms a new, bewildering friendship with a mysterious girl called Freddie, Finch is there, urging her on. To go bolder. To go braver. To grab life with two hands. When another girl goes missing – a strange girl called Johanna – Wren feels compelled to search for her. To her surprise, Freddie does, too. The two of them try and piece together who Johanna is and why she ran away. Or did she run away? Was the truth more awful? And was it all tied together with what happened to Finch and Ava?

Here are some teaching notes from the publisher. 

I just want to mention one sentence in this book - just to show the power of Kate Gordon and her writing. This description is something all Australian kids and adults will relate to:

"I look up, Ms Jermy is standing over us. ... She has bells on her sleeves, and they play music that reminds me of ice cream trucks. Of how - when we were little - Finch would always scream when he heard one, leap to his feet and run to Mum yelling 'Please! Please!' as if the ice cream from the truck was any better than the ice cream in our freezer. I guess it was. It was a bit more magical. But maybe it was only Finch who made it that way."

This book is for mature readers aged 11+. It does contain difficult themes of grief but it also has a very open ending. Less mature readers may have difficulty with the seemingly unresolved conclusion - this could be their first encounter with a book that does not neatly end with "and they all lived happily ever after." The story is told by Wren but it is interspersed with the voice of Finch presented in free verse. 

I am certain My Brother Finch will be a CBCA (Children's Book Council of Australia) Younger Readers Notable title. Kate Gordon's writing just goes from strength to strength. I think this is her best book (of the ones I have read) so far. 

My Brother, Finch brings in themes around sibling relationships and the way we see ourselves in our families, which will be relevant to young people at a time in their lives when they are forming and changing their view of themselves and the world around them. It is a special book with powerful messages and stunning use of language that will stay with you as you get on with your life. Helen Ward Writes

My Brother, Finch is an allegory to grief and loss and the oscillation between hope and hopelessness that people must feel when a loved one goes missing. How can you grieve when you never really know what happened? And how can you move on with your life, how can you let them go, when there’s a chance, however small, that they are still out there somewhere? Helen Ward Writes

This story will keep you curious until the very end. It will also pull on your heart strings. Keep some tissues handy! Buzz Words

It sensitively explores the difficulties in moving on after tragedy and is ultimately a message of hope. The reader is left with the sense that this grief never ends, but it doesn’t preclude experiencing lives of friendship and love. This exquisite, heart-warming story seems destined to win awards and will be enjoyed by readers aged 11 and older. Storylinks

My brother Finch had a big impact on me and my thoughts turned back to it for days after finishing. While reading it, I kept thinking how brilliantly Gordon has created an authentic 12-year-old character and realistic descriptions of her strong emotions, as well as believable family and friend relationships. And cleverly, too, Finch is very much a central character in the story, as part Wren’s imagination and memories. Reading Time

Award-winning author Kate Gordon tells an incredible story through both prose in the form of short sentences and clever verse. This novel will tug at your heart strings and leave you longing for closure. The ending may not be what you are expecting but the incredible use of language to explore the characters, their emotions and their struggles make this story a compelling read.  ReadPlus

Companion books:

Bird

Right as Rain

Telephone of the tree

The Probability of Everything

Picasso and the greatest show on earth

Read my blog posts about these other books by Kate Gordon:

Xavier in the Meantime

Aster's good, right things

The Calling of Jackdaw hollow

The Heartsong of Wonder Quinn