Book birthdays are as special as human birthdays, especially for book lovers who adore the authors that have put the book out into the world. Therefore, happy book birthday to The Bletchley Riddle, coauthored by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin whose individual works are as impactful as their first collaboration and must be celebrated.

The Bletchley Riddle is a middle grade historical fiction set in 1940 at Bletchley Park, home to the infamous codebreakers during World War II. In addition to incorporating ciphers into the text and providing an entrancing overall mystery amidst war, the book’s best feature are the vivid brother and sister duo. Who doesn’t love an alternating point of view? Intricately layered with historical facts because both are powerhouse researchers, Sheinkin wrote Jakob’s character and Sepetys wrote Lizzie’s character. How did it all blend together? Some of their secrets were revealed at an event at Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, NY last night as the last event for the Saratoga Book Festival; plus the hometown indie bookstore for Sheinkin. To have both authors, since Sepetys lives in Tennessee, was a real treat. Then to have the book in hand (if it was preordered, a spy pen was a bonus gift) and signed after an enchanting evening of their conversation and answering audience questions, made for a memorable book launch.

I’ve only teased a few elements of the book because it’s better to clear your calendar and spend a weekend with a cup of tea and Jakob and Lizzie. And if you want to put a goulash casserole in the oven for later, even better. I did this a few days after I read the advanced reader copy.

Collaborations are hard work, as they attest to, but readers will read the book and find it an effortless meshing of two talented authors who find history that we all need to remember more than we do; finding palatable ways to learn, question, and feel. I wonder… is another collaboration on the horizon?