Best of
World-War-Ii

2022

The Child Without a Home


Ann Bennett - 2022
    Breathtaking and unputdownable, this story of courage and survival is perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Sold on a Monday and The Orphan’s Tale.1944, East Prussia. When the war comes to twelve-year-old Agnes’ village, she finds herself stuck between two terrifying armies. Everyone in her town has been forced to fight for the Nazis, and as the Red Army approaches every innocent woman and child is made to leave their home. Then tragedy strikes and Agnes and her brother Dieter find themselves completely alone in a vast, isolated woodland. Though she is terrified, Agnes knows that she must protect her brother, no matter the cost…Cambridge, present day. When her beloved grandfather dies, Freya is distraught. Not only has she lost the man who helped raise her, but she knows the story of his time as a pilot in World War Two, and her family’s history, is gone forever. But then Freya meets her new next-door neighbour Agnes, whose accent is just like her grandfather’s. She has a framed picture of a snow-covered castle that looks strangely familiar, and a weather-beaten image of a little blonde boy in braces and boots.Agnes vowed never to tell the painful story of the young boy who risked everything for her, even if Freya believes Agnes may hold the key to unlocking her own family’s secrets. But what Freya doesn’t realise is that Agnes’ past has the power to change everything she ever thought she knew about her family…

Until Leaves Fall in Paris


Sarah Sundin - 2022
    The Germans make it difficult for her to keep Green Leaf Books afloat. And she must keep the store open if she is to continue aiding the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. But in order to carry out his mission, he must appear to support the occupation—which does not win him any sympathy when he meets Lucie in the bookstore.In a world turned upside down, will love or duty prevail?

Sisters of Night and Fog: A WWII Novel


Erika Robuck - 2022
    In a world newly burning with war, and in spite of her American family’s wishes, Virginia decides to stay in occupied France with her French husband. She’s sure that if they keep their heads down they’ll make it through. But as the call to resist the enemy grows around her, Virginia must decide if she's willing to risk everything to help those in need.Nineteen-year-old Violette is a crack shot with an unquenchable spirit of adventure, and she's desperate to fight the Nazis however she can. When her mother sends her to find an exiled soldier, Violette meets the man who will change her life. Then tragedy strikes, and Britain’s clandestine war organization—the Special Operations Executive—learns of Violette’s dual citizenship and adept firearm handling and starts to recruit her. But Violette is no stranger to loss and must decide whether the cost of defiance is too great a price to pay.Set across the European theater of WWII, Sisters of Night and Fog tells the story of two women whose clandestine deeds come to a staggering halt when they are brought together at Ravensbrück concentration camp.

The White Rose Network


Ellie Midwood - 2022
    The White Rose Network brings to life the incredible true story of Sophie Scholl––one of history’s bravest women, who risked everything to lead a revolution against darkness.Sophie was born to be a rebel, raised by parents who challenged the brutal Nazi regime. Determined to follow in their footsteps, she leaves for university, defying Hitler’s command for women to stay at home.On her first day in Munich, Sophie’s brother Hans introduces her to his dear friend. When she meets Alexander, with his raven-black hair and brooding eyes, she knows instantly that she isn’t alone. There are more courageous souls like her, who will fight against evil.Together, and with others who also refuse to back down, they form the White Rose Network. In an underground vault, Sophie and Alexander conspire in whispers, falling in love as they plot against Hitler. Promising her heart to Alexander is the most dangerous act of all––with each risk they take, they get closer to capture.As snowflakes fall on a frosty February morning, Sophie and her brother scatter Munich University with leaflets calling for resistance: “We will not be silent; we will not leave you in peace!”But their lives hang in the balance, with the secret police offering a reward to anyone with information on the White Rose Network. It is only a matter of time before the Gestapo closes in… And when Sophie is imprisoned in an interrogation room, staring a Nazi officer in the eye, will she take their secrets to her grave? Will she sacrifice her freedom for love?Fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz, The Alice Network and The Lilac Girls will be completely gripped by this heartbreaking and addictive page-turner. Based on a true story, this inspirational tale shows that, in the face of evil, giving up is not an option…

The Commandant's Daughter


Catherine Hokin - 2022
    Ten-year-old Hanni Foss stands by her father’s side watching the torchlit procession to celebrate Adolf Hitler as Germany’s new leader. As the lights fade, she knows her safe and happy childhood is about to change forever. Practically overnight, the father she adores becomes unrecognisable, lost to his ruthless ambition to oversee an infamous concentration camp…Twelve years later. As the Nazi regime crumbles, Hanni hides on the fringes of Berlin society in the small lodging house she’s been living in since running away from her father’s home. In stolen moments, she develops the photographs she took to record the atrocities in the camp – the empty food bowls and hungry eyes – and vows to get some measure of justice for the innocent people she couldn’t help as a child.But on the day she plans to deliver these damning photographs to the Allies, Hanni comes face to face with her father again. Reiner Foss is now working with the British forces, his past safely hidden behind a new identity, and he makes it clear that he will go to deadly lengths to protect his secret. In that moment Hanni hatches a dangerous plan to bring her father down, but how far she is willing to go for revenge? And at what cost?

Always Remember Your Name: A True Story of Family and Survival in Auschwitz


Andra Bucci - 2022
    Along with their mother, Mira, their aunt, and cousin Sergio, they were deported to Auschwitz. Over 230,000 children were deported to the camp, where Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death, performed deadly experiments on them. Only a few dozen children survived, Tati and Andra among them. Tati, Andra, and Sergio were separated from their mothers upon arrival. But Mira was determined to keep track of her girls. After being tattooed with their inmate numbers, she made them memorize her number and told them to “always remember your name.” In keeping this promise to their mother, the sisters were able to be reunited with their parents when WWII ended. An unforgettable narrative of the power of sisterhood in the most extreme circumstances, and of how a mother’s love can overcome the most impossible odds, the Bucci sisters' memoir is a timely reminder that separating families is an inexcusable evil.

Red Burning Sky: A WWII Novel Inspired by the Greatest Aviation Rescue in History


Tom Young - 2022
    Summer 1944: Yugoslavia is locked in a war within a war. When not fighting against German occupation, Chetnik and Partisan factions battle each other. Hundreds of Allied airmen have been shot down over this volatile region, among them American Lieutenant Bill Bogdonavich. Though grateful to the locals who risk their lives to shelter and protect them from German troops, Bogdonavich dreams of the impossible: escape.With three failed air missions behind him, Lieutenant Drew Carlton is desperate for redemption. From a Texas airbase he volunteers for a secretive and dangerous assignment, codenamed Operation Halyard, that will bring together American special operations officers, airmen, and local guerilla fighters in Yugoslavia's green hills. The daring plan--to evacuate hundreds of stranded airmen while avoiding detection by the Germans--faces overwhelming odds. What follows is one of the greatest stories of World War II heroism, an elaborate rescue that required astonishing courage, sacrifice, and resilience.Red Burning Sky is a riveting and ultimately triumphant tale based on true events, all the more remarkable for being so little known--until now.

Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II


Alex Kershaw - 2022
    Maurice "Footsie" Britt, a former professional football player, became the very first American to receive every award for valor in a single war. Michael Daly was a West Point dropout who risked his neck over and over to keep his men alive. Keith Ware would one day become the first and only draftee in history to attain the rank of general before serving in Vietnam. In WWII, Ware owed his life to the finest soldier he ever commanded, a baby-faced Texan named Audie Murphy. In the campaign to liberate Europe, each would gain the ultimate accolade, the Congressional Medal of Honor.Tapping into personal interviews and a wealth of primary source material, Alex Kershaw has delivered his most gripping account yet of American courage, spanning more than six hundred days of increasingly merciless combat, from the deserts of North Africa to the dark heart of Nazi Germany. Once the guns fell silent, these four exceptional warriors would discover just how heavy the Medal of Honor could be--and how great the expectations associated with it. Having survived against all odds, who among them would finally find peace?

Beyond the Wire


James D. Shipman - 2022
    Like other members of the Sonderkommando, Jakub was selected on arrival for an unthinkable job: sorting through the clothes of the dead and moving their bodies from the gas chambers to the crematoriums. In this hell within a hell, Jakub clings to the promise he made to his murdered father--to live, at any cost--and to the moments he is able to spend in the company of Anna, imprisoned in the women's camp.Every morning, Anna marches miles to the union munitions factory where she works alongside other prisoners. Even Jakub doesn't know that she and a few other women have been taking the ultimate risk, smuggling trace amounts of gunpowder back in their clothing. A bold plan is brewing to revolt against the SS and liberate the camp. Jakub, pressured to join the resistance, knows that any uprising faces impossible odds. Added to this already stark choice is another desperate reality--the risk from informers who see their only chance of survival in betraying their fellow Jews.Powerfully moving and unflinching in its authenticity, Beyond the Wire tells of the women and men who, though outnumbered and outgunned, fought to free themselves, sparking a brilliant flash of light and hope amidst the darkest evil that humans can conceive.

Before the Dawn


Emma Pass - 2022
    Ruby Mottram works for her local newspaper, the Bartonford Herald, typing up adverts and obituaries, whilst dreaming of a more exciting life. Between her shifts as an ARP warden and caring for her ailing father, the chance for escape doesn't come often to Devon.Meanwhile, in America's deep south, Sam Archer is hatching a plan to raise enough money to get his mother and sister away from his abusive stepfather. Using falsified documents to hide his age, he enlists with the U.S. Army.Two chance encounters bring Ruby and Sam together from opposite sides of the Atlantic, giving them the chance of love, hope and freedom from their troubled lives. But fate, in the shape of D-Day and Omaha Beach, has other ideas.When their very lives are at risk, will their promise to wait for one another be what keeps them alive?