Historical fictions are not only the glimpses of our past but also show us the path to the future. You will find something to love or to connect in every historical novel. Some of them offer adventure or romance, some shed light on the darkest parts of our history and give us hope when we need it most. There are plenty of books on World War 2 have been written and most of them are awesome.
If you love to read books on World War 2, We’ve compiled the list for you. Some of these books are most inspiring, heartbreaking and powerful reads. Each of them will give you a new perspective on time.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Liesel Meminger is living outside of Munich with a foster family. She loves to read books so much that she can’t resist herself stealing the books. With the help of her foster-father, who plays the accordion, she learns to read. Liesel shares the stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids. She also shares books with a Jewish man hiding in her basement. And most importantly, the death narrated the book. It’d be one of the best books on World War 2 to experience the war-time.
Front Lines by Michael Grant
With the girl soldiers fighting on the front lines, this epic history series re-imagines WW2. This series of books on World War 2 follows three girls who have their reasons for fighting. They discover the roles that define them on the front line in the war. Front Lines answers the question If women were soldiers, what would the war have been like and opens up a new perspective.
Wait For Me by Caroline Leech
This historical romance book, Wait For Me, is set in 1945. It follows the story of Paul and Lorna, each on the opposite side of World War 2. The book creates a more 3-dimensional depiction of those who lived through that period of war. Before the end of the war determines their fate, Lorna must decide how much she’s willing to sacrifice. Caroline Leech creates a perfect blend of sweet romance and historical flavor in her debut novel Wait For Me. This is one of the most heart-wrenching books on World War 2 you’ll read ever.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
This spy thriller book, Code Name Verity, gives us glimpses of the life of a spy in World War 2. The Gestapo arrested ‘Verity’ and she’s sure that she doesn’t stand a change. Nazi interrogators give ‘Verity’ a simple choice. Either she reveals her mission or faces a grisly execution. But trading the secret will not be enough to save her from the enemy.
Rose Under Fire is another thrilling and heartbreaking novel by Elizabeth Wein. The story follows a female pilot and her experiences in Ravensbruck, the women’s concentration camp. Elizabeth Wein has written 3 books on World War 2 till now.
In My Enemy’s House by Carol Matas
The book In My Enemy’s House gives words to the wild desperation for safety existed among those being persecuted in World War 2. A Polish Jew Marisa, whose blue eyes and blond hair make it easy for her to pass as a Christian. She takes the papers of a Polish girl ans goes to Germany in to survive as a Polish worker. Marisa works as a servant for the Reymanns, a high-ranking Nazi official. She’s hiding in plain sight in her enemy’s house.
Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
The story of Salt to the Sea is about refugees seeking a place of safety. Thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom as World War 2 drawing to a close in East Prussia. Many of them have something to hide. When they think the freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. All of them must fight for survival including children. This is one of the most touching books on World War 2 that shows us the war with the perspective of refugees.
The Warramunga’s War by Greg Kater
The Warramunga’s War is a story of the friendship formed between Jamie Munro and Jack ‘Jacko’ O’brien during the Syrian Campaign against the Vichi French in WWII. After Jacko rescues wounded Jamie, MI6 conscripted them to Cairo. Here, Jamie and Jacko learn about the seamy side of the war in counter-espionage as they track down German spies. The principal fictional characters interact with actual historical figures and events throughout the story.
As desert war escalates to west Cairo, the MI6 team confuses the enemy with local entertainers as undercover agents. On one of his day leaves, Jacko meets a beautiful young Syrian-French girl. A strong romantic bond forms between the two during his time in Cairo. This is the first book in the trilogy followed by two books, The Warramunga’s War and The Warramunga’s Aftermath of War. This is one of the best series of books on World War 2 written in recent times.
Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Between Shades Of Gray is a story of a fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl Lina. Soviet officers interrupted Lina’s life and torn apart her family. The book shows the scale to which world war 2 impacted families of all background and beliefs.
Lina, her mother, and her young brother forced onto a crowded train after separated from her father. They make their way to a Siberian work camp. Lina embeds clues of their location in her drawings and secretly passes them along. She risked everything on the hope that her drawings will make their way to her father’s prison camp.
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
Flygirl tells the riveting story of a black woman’s role in the war. Ida Mae Jones wants to fly but being a black woman in 1940s Louisiana, she knows the sky is off-limits to her. But after America enters World War 2, Army forms the WASP-Women Airforce Service Pilots. Ida has a chance to fly if she uses her light skin to pass as a white girl. She wants to fly more than anything, but soon she learns that denying one’s self and family is a heavy burden. She realizes that it’s not what you do but who you are is the most important.
The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
Karl Stern was bullied at his school in Nazi-era Berlin because he’s a Jew. The bullies don’t care that Karl has never visit a synagogue or his family doesn’t practice religion. Karl demoralized by the attacks on a heritage he doesn’t accept as his own. He longs to prove his worth.
Max Schmeling, a champion boxer and German national hero, offers to give him boxing lessons. To Karl, this chance seems perfect to reinvent himself. But Karl must take on a new role of protector of his family when Nazi violence against Jews escalates. And Max’s fame forces him to associate with Hitler and other Nazi elites. Karl begins to wonder about his hero Max, and where his sympathies truly lie. This is one of the most inspiring books on World War 2 you won’t want to miss.
Prisoner of Night and Fog By Anne Blankman
Danger lurks behind the dark corners and secrets are buried deep within the 1930s Munich. But Gretchen Muller has been shielded from that side of society by her Uncle Dolf; he is none other than Adolf Hitler. Before meeting Daniel Cohen, a handsome young Jewish reporter, Gretchen followed every command from her uncle. Gretchen can’t stop herself from listening to Daniel’s story.
Despite of everything they taught Gretchen about Jews, she can’t help the fierce attraction brewing between them. Gretchen investigates the people she has always considered friends; and must decide where her loyalties lie.
The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The story of The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is set in 1942, in the middle of World War 2. Bruno discovers that his father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far away. There is no one to play with him and he has nothing to do. He sees a tall fence stretches as far as he can see. The fences cut them off from the strange people wearing striped clothes in the distance.
Bruno longs to be an explorer and thinks that there must be more to this desolate new place. While exploring his new place, Bruno meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own. Their meeting results in a friendship which has devastating consequences. The Boy In the Striped Pajamas is one of those books on World War 2 which will bring tears in your eyes.
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
This book paints a picture of the military experiences in World War 2. What I Saw and How I Lied narrated the traumatic effects that war can have on soldiers and their families. When Evie’s father returned home from World War 2, her family fell back into normal life quickly. But her father, Joe Spooner, came back with more than just good war stories.
One day Peter Coleridge, a handsome movie-star and a young ex-GI who served in Joe’s company in postwar Austria, shows up to their home. Suddenly a complex web of lies caught Evie which she slowly recognizes. She falls for Peter, ignoring the secrets that surround him; until a tragedy occurs that shatters her family and breaks her life in two.
Girl In The Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
The story of Girl In the Blue Coat is set in 1943, Amsterdam. Hanneke spends her days finding and selling sought-after black market goods. Mrs. Janssen, a client, asks Hanneke for help on a routine delivery. Hanneke was shocked when she heard the frantic plea to find a person. Mrs. Janssen had been hiding a Jewish teenager; and who has vanished without a trace from a secret room.
Dust of Eden by Mariko Nagai
The story of Dust of Eden is set in early 1942 and revolves around thirteen-year-old Mina Masako Tagawa and her family. They are sent to an internment camp in Idaho from their home in Seattle. Through the book, Mariko Nagai discusses the Japanese internment camps in an eye-opening way. It gives the reader an inside look at this part of the history of America. The book sheds a light on important perspectives and events concerning Japanese Americans throughout World War 2.
Thank you for this, Bookish Elf. Our collective pasts and futures are within hearshot. It is wise to be listening to them. I was born in ’64 and these days I sometimes wonder at the proximity of that date to the end of WW2… a million miles, but a matter of millimetres, really. Today, 20 years ago seems like nothing. Keep on, keeping on.