Best World War 2 Books

In Nazi Germany, a young girl falls in love with books and words. From stealing books from book burnings to the mayor's wife's library, Liesel's love affair with literature blooms with the help of her foster father. But when her family hides a Jew in their basement, the danger intensifies. Markus Zusak's superbly crafted writing tells a timeless story of love and loss in a tumultuous era.

Set against the backdrop of World War II, this beautiful and moving novel follows the intertwined lives of a blind French girl and a German boy. When Marie-Laure and her father must flee Paris for the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, they carry with them a valuable and dangerous jewel from the Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, Werner Pfennig grows up enchanted by a radio he finds in a mining town in Germany, and becomes enlisted to track down the resistance. As their paths converge, they must try to be good to each other in the midst of the devastation of war. With stunning detail and captivating prose, this National Book Award finalist is a must-read for lovers of historical fiction.

Set in WWII France, The Nightingale follows the stories of two sisters who embark on their own dangerous paths towards survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France. Vianne and Isabelle's lives take different turns during the war, but both must make impossible choices to stay alive. Kristin Hannah's heartbreakingly beautiful novel illuminates the rarely seen stories of women's war and celebrates the resilience and durability of the human spirit. It's a novel for everyone, a must-read for a lifetime.

Set in Nazi-occupied France, this gripping novel follows a British spy plane crash that leaves its pilot and passenger, best friends, in a game of survival. One is arrested by the Gestapo and faces a life-or-death choice: reveal her mission or be executed. As she weaves her confession, the story reveals the girls' past and the strength of friendship. This harrowing and beautifully written novel will keep you on edge until the very end.

Take a journey with a nine-year-old boy named Bruno, but beware of the fence he eventually reaches - one you hope to never have to cross. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a difficult story to describe, with a mystery that makes it best to start without any prior knowledge. Although not written for nine-year-olds, this tale will capture anyone's heart.

A powerful memoir, Night delves into the memories of Elie Wiesel, a Jewish teenager taken from his home and sent to concentration camps during WWII. Wiesel recounts the anguish of losing his family and his faith, and his despair in coming face to face with the unimaginable evil of humanity. This moving and unforgettable testimony serves as a stark reminder of the need to fight against such atrocities ever occurring again.

Surviving the horrors of Auschwitz-Birkenau, Lale Sokolov is tasked with tattooing his fellow prisoners with their identification numbers. Witnessing atrocities and acts of compassion, Lale risks his life to provide food for his fellow prisoners. When he meets a young woman named Gita, Lale vows to survive and marry her. The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a vivid and hopeful re-creation of one man's endurance and love during the Holocaust.

This satirical novel explores World War II experiences and journeys through time of a chaplain's assistant, highlighting the firebombing of Dresden in a semi-autobiographical story. It is a highly influential and popular work from the author.

This debut novel takes readers on a journey through World War II, revealing the stories of three women whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. New York socialite Caroline Ferriday navigates her world-changing when Hitler’s army invades Poland, while Kasia Kuzmerick, a Polish teenager, becomes deeply involved in the underground resistance movement. Meanwhile, the ambitious German doctor Herta Oberheuser finds herself trapped in a male-dominated Nazi power structure. The lives of these women collide when Kasia is sent to Ravensbrück, a notorious concentration camp for women. This gripping novel brings history to life while exploring themes of love, redemption, and justice.

Discover a world classic and timeless testament to the human spirit in this extraordinary diary, written by a teenage girl who hid with her family from Nazis for two years in Amsterdam. With new passages originally withheld by her father, meet Anne Frank: stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life, and facing hunger, fear, death, and frustrations few teenagers have ever known. Explore her secret world of soul-searching, rebellious clashes, romance, newly discovered sexuality, and candid observations of companions. Imparting adult wisdom beyond her years, Anne's story is that of every teenager.