Stateless

Stateless

Elizabeth Wein

Little Brown, 2023

216 pages

Grades 7-Up

Historical Fiction/Mystery/Adventure

It is 1937 and an air race between young people of different European nations has been devised to promote peace and to avoid another world war. Stella North is determined to win the race for England. As the only woman and not officially a British citizen (she fled the Russian Revolution as a child), she feels as if she has a lot to prove. In order to duck reporters, Stella hops into the plane of a fellow contestant flying for France. Tony also is not native to the country he is representing and barely speaks the language. He also seems to have something to hide. In the first day in the air it becomes clear that all is not as it should be. Some planes appear to have been tampered with and the eccentric Italian flyer goes missing. Stella sees another plane attack the Italian pilot and reports the incident upon landing. No one believes her, but as more incidents occur, it is hard to ignore that there is someone who will go to any length to win. Is it another pilot? Stella learns who to trust as she finds help in unexpected areas and learns some of the secrets behind her fellow pilots. At break-neck speed the young people fly through the countries of Europe, trying to stay alive, all while seeking out the person behind the sabotage.

Elizabeth Wein, of Code Name Verity fame, is a wonderful storyteller. This fresh book weaves together a murder mystery, high flying adventure, and a mad dash through Europe all within the framework of the years leading up to World War II. The story is seeped in its setting and readers will feel as if they are truly there. Would a woman have been invited to participate in such a race in the 1930's? I'm guessing not, but Wein explains why Stella got in plausibly. The characters are all well developed and it is interesting to see what skeltons folks have hiding in their closets. I like that the Spanish Civil War plays a role in the plot, as it's a war that we don't see represented often in books for young people. The mystery is satisfactorily solved with a splashy scene at the end to expose the bad guy. There are a lot of red herrings along the way and twists and turns in the plot to keep the readers guessing. Everything moves along quite briskly and young people will keep turning pages without a chance to get bored. The cover looks a bit "girlie", tapping into the format made successful by current adult historical fiction titles aimed at women, but this is a book that boys would like too if given the chance. There is some romance, but just a little and it isn't the point of the book. The author leaves the readers wondering what happened to all of our young and bright pilots about to head into World War II. Even though the characters are fictional, the idea certainly gave me pause.