“The Codebreaker Girl” is a WWII historical fiction novel by Gosia Nealon. The beginning of this book is about Poland’s codebreaking efforts. I found that section of the book rather interesting - along with the mentions of historical people in the field. The main female character, Beata, is a translator at the Polish codebreaking facility. She meets Harry, a British codebreaker (later agent) and they develop feelings for each other. Through some twists and turns, Beata is put into a concentration camp and basically is trying to survive that horror. The first part of this book I found really interesting regarding the codebreaking and working with other countries to try to thwart the Germans. After Beata decides to leave Europe is when this book became, sadly, less interesting. Concentration camps were horrors and trying to live/survive was a struggle and Ms. Nealon does a great job describing (tastefully) that experience, but I didn’t feel like I learned anything new. Additionally as the book progressed, this seemed more like a romance novel with the war serving as a background. I think this book was had a great premise, but I wish more had been done in this book on the code breaking - or even translating aspect. I’d recommend this book to those who haven’t read much about codebreaking - but caution that it’s more about the mechanics involved not the actual codebreaking work. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because the first part did hold my interest.

The beginning of the novel was promising as it described the situation, setting and deciphering the Enigma code. However, the novel turned mostly into a romance which I did not particularly find interesting. Harry particularly, writing in a journal to his dead mother could not move me. I thought the storyline would be more about the mathematicians who worked on the code and their flight away from occupied Poland. I definitely expected more than a romance!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

The book is set in WWII and the efforts to break the Enigma Code. The story follows a woman and her journey and hardships during the war. It is a compelling story. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

Thank you net galley for the advance reqde copy of this novel. I enjoyed reading about the polish cryptograhers so much! The writing style seemed stilted and almost child like in some ways. The courage and hope that prisoners in the camps gave to each other was a beautiful detail captured in this novel.