Ready for reading?!
We're rounding up some of our recent favorite fictional books,
all with a WWII setting.
It's been interesting to learn about lesser known facts surrounding
conditions, groups and ideals within this time period in history.
And how those factors played out with the characters in the books.
You'll find characters thrown into situations such as spying, the Italian resistance movement, home cooks in England, women new to the workplace, displaced children, saving works of art in Paris, morals during war, refugees, escaping life threatening situations, changing opportunities for women, and post war Germany, to name a few.
Workers at the Louvre scramble to save the art. They secretly transport as many works as possible and hide them in the French countryside. Their goal is to protect as many works of art as possible from getting into the Nazi's hands, including their the most prized work -- the Mona Lisa. A young archivist is asked to help with the safety of these masterpieces, by evading the Germans who are getting closer at every turn. She has own family drama to deal with and a connection to the Resistance, plus she might have some romance along the way.
The Ops Room Girls (a series) follows three women from different backgrounds thrown together as WAAFS at a fighter station on the Sussex coast. They overcome personal challenges, navigate relationships and fight the enemy as they try to protect the soldiers they work with.
Follow Stella, a young woman in Italy covertly working for the Resistance. Who can she trust? How can she use her talent for writing to help encourage her fellow countrymen? A look into how the war affected those in Italy with German and Fascist occupation.
A fascinating look at how post war effected Germany,
eventually dividing the country and the city of Berlin in half-- either under Communist or free control.
Literally overnight a divide was built. What if your business was on one side and your home on the other? What about the divide of families? Twin sisters, Jutta and Krin are just in that situation. Is it possible for anyone to escape to the free side? After you establish a life out of necessity in Communist Berlin, would you be able to or want to leave if given the chance? You also get a glimpse into how your life would be very different without freedoms, dreams are dashed and how one is worn down by living in almost constant fear.
During WWII the roles of women begin to shift. They are now in the work force and getting a chance to use their talents and abilities in a whole new way. That includes intelligence work and spying. You follow Paddy Bennett (James Bond author Ian Flemming will base his character of Miss Moneypenny on her) who is instrumental in a mission to fool the Germans entitled, Operation Mincemeat and she also gets involved other endeavors to help bring an end to the war. Is there a personal cost working for intelligence agencies? Then there is Friedl, an Austrian, who is drawn into becoming a double agent, plus her life is further complicated when she falls in love with another spy. Which side will she choose in the end? Each woman will face danger and deception as eventually their paths cross. Based on true events.
In 1939 Berlin, a Jewish family is torn apart as they lose their beloved bookstore, and the father is sent to a concentration camp. The mother, Amanda, takes her two daughters and flees to a friend in the French countryside. She hears of a refugee ship sailing for Cuba. (This is an interesting fact that refugees not only fled to other parts of Europe, but to Cuba!) Through a series of events, only one can go on the ship. Who will she save? How will the other two fare? Now it's 2015 New York, 80-year-old Elise Duval finds letters from her mother written in German and discovers a shocking past and family secrets that were almost lost.
Fenna escapes her tragic past in a Michigan mining town by becoming an escape artist and performs across the country. She is recruited by British intelligence to help create tools and devices that will help their M19 agents. With her skills of escape and puzzle solving, she joins the offbeat group of inventors. Follow Fenna as she eventually has to deal with her past, her relationship with longtime friend Arie, ethical issues, spy missions, danger and redemption.
Stephen is a 15-year-old Jew and budding playwright. His best friend is Zoe, a Christian whose mother edits an anti- Nazi newspaper. As the Nazi's take control, their lives dramatically change. Can they survive the war or even escape Germany? Truus has never been able to have children. Along with her husband, they become members of the Dutch Resistance secretly transporting as many children out of Germany and Austria as possible. Based on true events.
Two years into the war, in an effort to help housewives cultivate, preserve and cook with food rations, England turns it into a BBC radio program called The Kitchen Front. The program decides to hold a contest for the female cook with the best recipes using only rationed foods. They hope the contest will help bring the country together and boost morale. The winner will be the first ever female co-host for the program and receives a monetary prize. Four women with very different backgrounds vie for the win, which would change each of their lives immensely. You'll come to love, dislike, understand and cheer for these ladies as they compete, and their lives intertwine. It was a fun fact to learn about this real radio program in England during the war. Loved the setting of this book about everyday women holding down the home front. It made you think of how you would respond in similar situations of using your resources, food, friendships, morals, relationships and ingenuity to survive.
Ava is a librarian at the Library of Congress. She soon finds herself in Lisbon helping to decode hidden messages with a little spying on the side. Meanwhile, Elaine starts working for the Resistance after her husband goes missing. She has to assume a new identity, becomes a currier of secret messages and eventually learns how to run the printing press they use for their publications. Will her coded messages reach the Allies, and will someone there figure out the message? Each woman has her own type of danger, risks, helping Jews escape, and figuring out who they can trust while there is always the possibility of being arrested and tortured if they get caught. Will they ever see their loved ones again? Can they survive the war?
An interweaving of two timelines, the present day and 1941. Cara works for an antiques dealer and comes across an old WWII diary with a photo of a young woman. Intrigued, she researches out the story. It's the story of Louise, whose life at 19 seems to be all planned out, but she unexpectedly meets and falls for Paul, a RAF fighter pilot. He's deployed and she becomes a Gunnar Girl, helping to identify enemy planes and bombs during air raids. I never knew about the job of a Gunnar Girl, another interesting and dangerous way women stepped up during the war.
Comments
Post a Comment