TRAJECTORY

Seventeen-year-old Eleanor is recruited for her math prowess to support U.S. efforts during World War II.

It’s 1942, and Eleanor, who’s Jewish, lives with her family in Jenkintown, just outside Philadelphia. The Schiffs anxiously await news from abroad about the Nazis, Jewish ghettos, and the fate of family members in Poland. Following her participation in MathMeet, a competition for Pennsylvania high schoolers, Eleanor is recruited for the top-secret Philadelphia Computing Section of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. Like her math professor father, who’s been disabled by a stroke, Eleanor has long had a gift and passion for math; she quickly sets herself apart from the rest of the group. Eventually, she’s even selected to go to an army air base in the California desert for a classified assignment involving a new bombsight called the Norden. Gordon anchors this work of fiction, which includes equations and models, in many real historical elements. Alyce, Eleanor’s new friend at the PCS and the only Black woman on the team, is a kindred spirit. Gordon explores segregation in military and civilian life, the Japanese American internment, sexism, and the Holocaust in ways that are historically accurate and appropriately horrifying. Eleanor starts off unsure and unnoticed but slowly, believably blossoms in self-confidence; the supporting characters are also well drawn and likable. The plot moves quickly, and the brisk pacing will keep readers turning pages.

Compelling, fast-paced historical fiction.