This is absolutely brilliant series which I discovered at book 3 and although it would be nice to start at the beginning of the series, I didn’t feel it necessary. IMPORTANT – Books 1 and 2 of the series are in store now (click here for more info). This 3rd book is scheduled to arrive during November 2024.

Full of interesting facts and snippets, this historical fiction is set during World War 2. However, it is so much more than that, seeking to cast a critical eye on inequality, racism and gender biases by taking a look at the emotions and fears that govern human nature.

Rosie is a princess from a distinguished line of Indian royalty. She has a British father but lost her Indian mother who died from an illness. Her grandfather was a senior figure in the British Empire and very much a believer in all that was wrong with the colonial attitudes and behaviour. His son, Rosie’s father is the complete opposite and seemingly disowned by his father for marrying an Indian girl, princess or not. Rosie and her father are British spies, with the logic that a father daughter team is less likely to be suspected. This book starts with a rescue mission in France and then moves to code breaking work done at Bletchley Park and the famous Enigma machine. Their mission is to root out spies, including British traitors planted at the top-secret facility. There is a sideline too of following the events in India before partition and Gandhi’s movement as Rosie’s aunt is very involved in this and they want India to be free to govern itself.

Rosie herself is female and of mixed race and yet she is a very capable child spy, guided by but also respected by her father. She even gets rebuked by one female character for talking herself down and belittling her achievements, highlighting something that women do often whilst men tend to do the opposite. However, we are reminded that Rosie is also a twelve year old girl who occasionally acts on a whim, guided by her emotions rather than her mind which inevitably leads to some problem or other. But she learns from her mistakes and we learn alongside her.

Throughout the book Rosie meet characters who explain in simple terms, events in world history that gets Rosie and the reader thinking. It tackles the topic of colonial powers, specifically the British Empire and points out the sacrifices that many countries far away from Britian made during these war years. It also seeks to explain why inequalities arise as they do by touching on the insecurities and biases felt by people and how this manifests itself in their actions. Whilst this is to rationalise (but not excuse) colonial efforts, we can see that this behaviour is not confined to history; it’s happening all around us today. During the book, the reader understands the realities of what was faced in these war years and is challenged to question how it was possible that so many atrocities were committed. The sad thing is that many of these atrocities are still being committed in wars in other countries. People are still looking to impose their rule over others and take what is not theirs.

I see this as being an excellent class reading book as there is just so much to take from it and explore. It encourages students to examine uncomfortable history and promotes discussion of lessons to be learned so that hopefully current and future generations don’t fall into the same destructive behaviours. Definitely recommended for 11 to 14 year olds.