Stateless

By: Elizabeth Wein

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

In this historical thriller from the bestselling author of Code Name Verity, Stella North enters an air race competition as the only woman—and finds herself thrown into a mystery she must solve before it kills her.

When Stella North is chosen to represent Britain in Europe’s first air race for young people, she knows all too well how high the stakes are. As the only participating female pilot, it’ll be a constant challenge to prove she’s a worthy competitor. But promoting peace in Europe, the goal of the race, feels empty to Stella when civil war is raging in Spain and the Nazis are gaining power—and when, right from the start, someone resorts to cutthroat sabotage to get ahead of the competition.

The world is looking for inspiration in what’s meant to be a friendly sporting event. But each of the racers is hiding a turbulent and violent past, and any one of them might be capable of murder—including Stella herself.

Agatha Christie meets Karen McManus in this thrilling mystery, packed with adventure, intrigue, love, and betrayal, from bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth Wein.

Critic reviews

“Intrigue and danger in the air and on the ground make for an exciting read that is steeped in interwar history…. Thrilling.” —Kirkus Reviews

"A beautifully crafted novel soaring straight through the golden age of aviation into the darkening clouds of a coming war. A riveting, thought-provoking, page-turner."—Sharon Cameron, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Light in Hidden Places

"Elizabeth Wein does it again! You’re not going to want to miss a minute of this high flying game of cat and mouse. Stateless is simply spectacular."—Sherri L. Smith, award-winning author of Flygirl

"Stateless is a soaring, immersive exploration of what it means to belong. I loved it."—Stacey Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl

Praise for The Enigma Game:

“Even if you’re not one for “war stories,” you’ll likely get caught up in the breathless thrill-ride of Wein’s newest World War II novel. [I]ts twisty plot, multivoiced narration, and poetic prose make it fly by. It’s an illuminating historical read and a realistic depiction of the costs of war.”

—New York Times Book Review

* "Gripping.... Readers will enjoy The Enigma Game as a standalone thriller or as a prequel to Wein's 2013 Printz Honor book Code Name Verity...The Enigma Game furthers Wein's streak of excellent historical fiction."—BookPage, starred review

* "This is historical fiction at its finest...another soaring success."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Compelling and emotionally taut…Wein's story of unexpected friendship and empowerment during wartime is intelligent, compassionate and thrilling."

—Shelf Awareness, starred review

* "A comprehensive, believable, and engaging page-turner that should not be missed."—School Library Connection, starred review

* "Cleverly plotted...a rich work of historical fiction."—The Horn Book, starred review

"Exhilarating and atmospheric.... Just the ticket for lovers of historical thrillers and Wein's many fans."—School Library Journal

"Dramatic and informative."—BCCB

"Engrossing."—PopSugar

Very good

What a stunner. The themes, the plot, the characters... I loved all of it. Stella is a character who will stay with me forever. I wish more people read historical fiction. And I wish the cover did a better job at conveying what this book is actually about. You can barely see the planes. I didn’t until far into the book.

Entertaining

I enjoy Elizabeth Wein books for the most part. Not my fav in her catalogue but I was entertained and enjoyed the author’s note at the end detailing her inspiration for the book. I read all WWII era books for the most part. And although this was pre war, I still found it a good reminder that even before Hitler’s takeover of Europe in the 40’s, there was still very strong tensions between countries. It was such a fragile time. And even though hope was there of keeping things peaceful, the continued hate spewed by the powers at be never would have settled for it.

Fascinating all the way through- SUPERB narration

Simply loved it all the way through. Wein’s knowledge of planes, flight, pre ww2 history. Shows the research she must have done. New thought about the desperate hope that everything in the world was going to go well after WW1 despite all the signs. Great insight. I’ve read CNV and the next one and both were so good but heartbreaking. I liked that this one didn’t have those difficult parts. I’m an escapist reader often (as you can maybe tell lol) but I love a good novel based on true history. That’s one of my favorite genres! Great job and keep writing!
And extremely honourable mention- the narrator! There are not that many that can capture emotion and do that many accents as well as she did. And not faking a men’s voice. Thank you!

Excellent YA historical fiction

What a fantastical story, giving you an adult heroes to love. The research was impeccable.