Cover Recreation: The Enigma Game

We love The Enigma Game so much, we decided to try our hand at recreating the cover on Instagram and asked some of our bookstagram friends to join us!

We tried our best to match the colour scheme:

Alexis at hooked_to_books struck a pose in front of some beautiful bookshelves:

Caitlin at turningpagebooks found the perfect background: a library!

Rachel at mostly.borrowed gave us some lovely autumn vibes with her outdoorsy shoot:

Thanks to Alexis, Caitlin, and Rachel for joining us! If you haven’t picked up The Enigma Game yet…what are you waiting for??


The Enigma Game
By Elizabeth Wein
448 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback
ISBN 9780735265288 | Penguin Teen
A German soldier risks his life to drop off the sought-after Enigma Machine to British Intelligence, hiding it in a pub in a small town in northeast Scotland, and unwittingly bringing together four very different people who decide to keep it to themselves. Louisa Adair, a young teen girl hired to look after the pub owner’s elderly, German-born aunt, Jane Warner, finds it but doesn’t report it. Flight-Lieutenant Jamie Beaufort-Stuart intercepts a signal but can’t figure it out. Ellen McEwen, volunteer at the local airfield, acts as the go-between and messenger, after Louisa involves Jane in translating. The planes under Jamie’s command seem charmed, as Jamie knows where exactly to go, while other squadrons suffer, and the four are loathe to give up the machine, even after Elisabeth Lind from British Intelligence arrives, even after the Germans start bombing the tiny town.

Join Us for a HerStory Tea Time

Need some plans this long weekend? Join us for our first ever HerStory Tea Time on Monday, October 12 at 12pm PST/3pm EST! We’ll be chatting all things historical fiction with some incredible YA authors including Elizabeth Wein (The Enigma Game), Sherri L. Smith (The Blossom and the Firefly), Virginia Frances Schwartz (Among the Fallen), and Stacey Lee (The Downstairs Girl). Make sure to RSVP here to get the link!

The Enigma Game
By Elizabeth Wein
448 Pages | Ages 12+ | Paperback
ISBN 9780735265288 | Penguin Teen Canada
A German soldier risks his life to drop off the sought-after Enigma Machine to British Intelligence, hiding it in a pub in a small town in northeast Scotland, and unwittingly bringing together four very different people who decide to keep it to themselves. Louisa Adair, a young teen girl hired to look after the pub owner’s elderly, German-born aunt, Jane Warner, finds it but doesn’t report it. Flight-Lieutenant Jamie Beaufort-Stuart intercepts a signal but can’t figure it out. Ellen McEwen, volunteer at the local airfield, acts as the go-between and messenger, after Louisa involves Jane in translating. The planes under Jamie’s command seem charmed, as Jamie knows where exactly to go, while other squadrons suffer, and the four are loathe to give up the machine, even after Elisabeth Lind from British Intelligence arrives, even after the Germans start bombing the tiny town.

The Blossom and the Firefly
By Sherri L. Smith
320 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781524737900 | Putnam BFYR
Japan 1945. Taro is a talented violinist and a kamikaze pilot in the days before his first and only mission. He believes he is ready to die for his country . . . until he meets Hana. Hana hasn’t been the same since the day she was buried alive in a collapsed trench during a bomb raid. She wonders if it would have been better to have died that day . . . until she meets Taro. Here, with achingly beautiful prose, Smith weaves a tale of love in the face of death, of hope in the face of tragedy, set against a backdrop of the waning days of the Pacific War.

Among the Fallen
By Virginia Frances Schwartz
304 Pages | Ages 14+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9780823441020 | Holiday House
Though haunted by nightmarish flashbacks and withering in the miserable conditions of Tothill prison, an infamous Victorian workhouse, Orpha perseveres, doing what she can to befriend and protect the other girls imprisoned alongside her. She doesn’t speak about what happened – no one would listen. No one would believe her. But then a mysterious letter arrives, offering her a place at Urania cottage. This experimental home aims to rehabilitate so-called fallen women – many of them victims of sexual abuse, suffering not only the trauma of their experiences, but the blame and loss of reputation and livelihood. It sounds too good to be true – but with nowhere else to go, Orpha decides to take her chance. Soon she discovers her unknown savior is none other than Charles Dickens, whose writing deals extensively with the plight of the lower class, and whose friendship and guidance offers Orpha a new way to express herself. With the support of the other women of Urania and the promise of a real future, Orpha will have to confront the darkest parts of her past – and let go of her secrets.

The Downstairs Girl
By Stacey Lee
384 Pages | Ages 12+ | Hardcover
ISBN 9781524740955 | Putnam BFYR
By day, seventeen-year-old Jo Kuan works as a lady’s maid for the cruel daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Atlanta. But by night, Jo moonlights as the pseudonymous author of a newspaper advice column for the genteel Southern lady, “Dear Miss Sweetie.” When her column becomes wildly popular, she uses the power of the pen to address some of society’s ills, but she’s not prepared for the backlash that follows when her column challenges fixed ideas about race and gender. While her opponents clamor to uncover the secret identity of Miss Sweetie, a mysterious letter sets Jo off on a search for her own past and the parents who abandoned her as a baby. But when her efforts put her in the crosshairs of Atlanta’s most notorious criminal, Jo must decide whether she, a girl used to living in the shadows, is ready to step into the light. With prose that is witty, insightful, and at times heartbreaking, Stacey Lee masterfully crafts an extraordinary social drama set in the New South.

A Call for Blog Tour Participants: Stones for My Father

Trilby Kent is back for her second blog tour and we want you to join! We had a fantastic time touring Medina Hill the first time around, click here to see the wonderful response we got, and the book even got a starred review from Booklist Magazine.

What is a blog tour?
Similar to a book tour where an author travels from store to store across the country, a blog tour is when an author virtually visits a series of blogs during a consecutive number of days. Click here for some examples.  The tour dates for Trilby Kent’s are April 25-29 2011.

What do I need to participate?
First of all, you will need a blog. Second, a love for reading! Third, a commitment to host the author on your scheduled blog tour date.

How can I help during the blog tour?
As a participating blogger, you will be given an advance copy of Stones for My Father to read and contact with Trilby Kent. On your scheduled posting date, you should post your review of the book for tour followers to see. If you don’t want to do a review, you can also post an author interview, a home-made book trailer, or collaborate with Trilby Kent on an unique post! We highly encourage creativity here!

We will be promoting the blog tour, so your blog will see an increase in traffic. Tundra will be sharing your link on our own blog here, our facebook page, and twitter. We would greatly appreciate it if you could help spread the word too. Feel free to post your reviews on Goodreads, LibraryThing, or online retailers.

Where do I sign up?
I thought you would never ask! If you are getting this as an e-mail subscriber, please fill out the form on our blog:
The form is now closed. Thank you to everyone who signed up!

Stones for My Father
Written by Trilby Kent
Hardcover | Ages 11+ | 176 pages
ISBN 978-1-77049-252-3
eBook 978-1-77049-260-8
Corlie Roux’s farm life in South Africa is not easy: the Transvaal is beautiful, but it is also a harsh place where the heat can be so intense that the very raindrops sizzle. When her beloved father dies, she is left with a mother who is as devoted to her sons as she is cruel to her daughter. Despite this, Corlie finds solace in her friend, Sipho, and in Africa itself and in the stories she conjures for her brothers.

But Corlie’s world is about to vanish: the British are invading and driving Boer families like hers from their farms. Some escape into the bush to fight the enemy. The unlucky ones are rounded up and sent to internment camps.

Will Corlie’s resilience and devotion to her country sustain her through the suffering and squalor she finds in the camp at Kroonstad? That may depend on a soldier from faraway Canada and on inner resources Corlie never dreamed she had….

TRILBY KENT was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in cities on both sides of the Atlantic. After completing degrees at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she worked for a time in the rare books department at Bonhams before turning to journalism and writing novels for children and adults. Her first book, Medina Hill, is also available from Tundra Books. Trilby Kent lives in London, England.

Let’s Tour Medina Hill

Medina HillTrilby KentNext week, we will be hosting our first ever Blog Tour! We have a wonderful line-up of contributors and tour hosts for Trilby Kent’s debut novel, Medina Hill.

Trilby Kent was born in Toronto, Ontario, and grew up in cities on both sides of the Atlantic. After completing degrees at Oxford University and The London School of Economics, she worked in the rare books department at a prominent auction house before turning to writing feature articles for publication in Europe and North America. She now lives in London, England.

Open Book: Toronto will be kicking off the tour and posting tour updates for you to follow. Stay tuned and in the meantime, here is the schedule of the tour stops:

Monday, November 2, 2009:

  1. Nathaniel G. Moore at Open Book: Toronto
  2. Belle at Ms. Bookish
  3. Alea at Pop Culture Junkie
  4. Morgan at Books and Literature for Teens
  5. Carrie Anne at Another Day, Another Thought… Or Two

Tuesday, November 3, 2009:

  1. Kerry at Shelf Elf
  2. Cindy at Cindy’s Love of Books
  3. Melissa at Librarian by Day
  4. Melanie at Melanie’s Musings
  5. Lauren at Lauren’s Crammed Bookshelf

Wednesday, November 4, 2009:

  1. Kristen at BookWorming in the 21st Century
  2. Melissa at Must Read Faster
  3. Janssen at Everyday Reading in collaboration with Kayla at Ad Absurdum
  4. Carrie at Carrie’s YA Bookshelf
  5. Diana at Stop, Drop, and Read

Thursday, November 5, 2009:

  1. Shelly at Write for a Reader
  2. Taschima at Bloody Bookaholic
  3. Amanda at A Patchwork of Books
  4. Khy at Frenetic Reader
  5. Leila at BookChildWorld

Friday, November 6, 2009:

  1. Sarah at Green Bean Teen Queen
  2. Luisa at Chicklish
  3. Jenny at Wondrous Reads
  4. Sally at An Awfully Big Blog Adventure
  5. Eve at Vulpes Libris

Launch of: The Battle for Duncragglin

Andrew H. Vanderwal’s young adult novel, The Battle for Dunragglin, was launched on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. The outstanding event was held at the Assembly Hall from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

The Battle for DuncragglinCopies of The Battle for Duncragglin waiting to be signed and read.

Andrew H. Vanderwal's first signing at the launchAndrew H. Vanderwal’s first signing at his launch!

MCI Senior Strings Quartet
MCI Senior Strings QuartetAndrew H. Vanderwal hired his son’s school’s quartet, The MCI Senior Strings Quartet, to play at the book launch.

McDonnell School of Highland Dance
The McDonnell School of Highland DanceA wonderful performance from the McDonnell School of Highland Dance. Many thanks to Julie McDonnell and her students! Short video clips of the performance can be viewed on our facebook page.

Kathy LowingerTundra’s publisher, Kathy Lowinger, talks about The Battle for Duncragglin and introduces Andrew H. Vanderwal on stage.

Andrew H. VanderwalAndrew H. Vanderwal talks about the progression of The Battle for Duncragglin and reads a passage from the book.

Guests at the Battle for Duncragglin launchWhat a fabulous turnout of guests!

Tundra would like to thank Andrew H. Vanderwal and his wife, Jan, for making the event such a success! You can read about the launch on Andrew’s blog here.