Sunday Books and Culture
This week’s favorites include Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinken’s young adult WWII tale “The Bletchley Riddle” and Keith O Brien’s Pete Rose biography “Charlie Hustle.”
THE BLETCHLEY RIDDLE
by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinken
Published by Viking Books for Young Readers (October 8, 2024)
Paperback $15.44
Audiobook $14.99
Reviewed by Nathan Sekinger
This WWII historical fiction collaboration between two current, well-known young adult writers has been highly anticipated all year and does not disappoint. It is a reader’s highlight of 2024. Ruta Sepetys’s novels bring authentic young voices into immersive experiences, like the whispered secrets of the Ceausescu regime in Romania through I Must Betray You. Steve Sheinkin excels at detailed deep dives of topics like the building of the first atomic weapon in Bomb: The Race to Build and Steal the World’s First Atomic Weapon. Each of these authors brilliantly shows, for readers from teen to adult, captivating, compelling, and often thrilling stories rooted in history.
In The Bletchley Riddle, Lizzie is supposed to be on a boat to the United States for her safety but is determined to stay in London instead. She is intent on finding her mother who is presumed to be killed in the Nazi invasion of Poland. She knows that she’ll get no answers in America. With the Blitz on the horizon, London is no place for a kid. Lizzie visits her older brother, Jakob, who is involved in mysterious war work in the English countryside; Lizzie visits him at Bletchley Park. She soon realizes that the Park is not just an odd country estate, but an elaborate military operation that has gathered some of the best minds in Europe, attempting to crack Hitler’s war codes. They soon learn that their mother’s disappearance has much to do with coded messages and Bletchley is the best place either could be to solve the mystery and strike a blow against Hitler. This is a thrilling race to the very last pages.
Nathan Sekinger is a middle school librarian who is always ready to share a new story with his students.
CHARLIE HUSTLE
by Keith O’Brien
Published by Pantheon (March 26, 2024)
Paperback $19.00
Audiobook $14.99
Reviewed by Drew Gallagher
Pete Rose was my first boyhood idol.
I was recently watching a show on the Major League Baseball channel, and they were replaying a Phillies’ game at Wrigley Field from 1979. Pete Rose was the Phillies’ first baseman at the time, and they showed clips of Charlie Hustle doing exactly what earned him that nickname (even if it was coined derisively by Mickey Mantle) in a game where the Phillies led by 10 runs.
He played harder than any player I have ever seen, and I made my son watch those clips while I sat back in reverence.
Watching those clips of Pete Rose reminded me of the joy and energy he brought to the game I love. Pete Rose passed away in 2024, and I felt that loss more profoundly after reading Keith O’Brien’s excellent biography on Rose titled Charlie Hustle.
Pete Rose was a fascinating man who lived and played on the edge, and O’Brien masterfully captures the complicated essence of Rose. Charlie Hustle reminded me of my childhood and why I idolized him in the first place.
(The author of Charlie Hustle, Keith O’Brien, will be visiting Fredericksburg and giving a lecture about Pete Rose on January 23, 2025 as a part of the Great Lives Lecture Series. The lecture is in Dodd Auditorium on the campus of the University of Mary Washington at 7:30pm.)
Drew Gallagher is a freelance writer residing in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is the second-most-prolific book reviewer and first video book reviewer in the 136-year history of the Free Lance-Star Newspaper. He aspires to be the second-most-prolific book reviewer in the history of FXBG Advance.
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