Reviews by Tag: WWII

Teen Review
The Book Thief book cover

The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Victoria O.
Mar 18, 2024

The Book Thief is a historical fiction book by Markus Zusak. The book takes place in Germany during WWII and is narrated by Death. After the death of Liesel's brother and being separated from her mother, Liesel is taken in by a foster family just outside of Munich. Using a book she found in the snow, Liesel learns to read and becomes very close with her foster father, Hans. As the war progresses, Liesel's family hides a Jew in their basement, and Liesel will go to extreme lengths to defend him.

Teen Review
Mila 18 book cover

Mila 18

By Leon Uris
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Mahad Z.
Mar 1, 2024

Mila 18 by Leon Uris is a historical novel set in Warsaw, Poland, during World War II, focusing on the Jewish resistance fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto. The story follows a diverse group of characters as they struggle against the Nazi occupation and the atrocities of the Holocaust. The titular Mila 18 is a bunker where the resistance makes its last stand against the overwhelming forces of the German army during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Teen Review
The War That Saved My Life book cover

The War That Saved My Life

By Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Nehanika C.
Jan 4, 2024

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley is a book about two children named Ada and Jamie. Ada is a 10-year-old girl who is living in terrible conditions. They usually didn’t have food or water to drink or any to bathe with. Ada also had clubfoot and her terrible mother hated her because of it. She forced her to stay in one room and go to the restroom in a bucket. Whenever Ada was “bad” she made her climb into and old dirty cabinet. She was abusive to Ada and Jamie.

Teen Review
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Greta K.
Jan 24, 2023

Liesel Meminger’s life changes after her brother dies and she moves in with a foster family.
This book covers her adventures with her best friend, her struggles and a secret she had to
keep. From the point of view of the narrator Death, Liesel experiences Germany during World
War II and steals books to read thus becoming “The Book Thief”.

Teen Review

Unbroken

By Laura Hillenbrand
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Anna S.
Jun 10, 2022

Louis Zamperini was a runner, a captive, and a fighter. Louie grew up causing problems, so he picked up a hobby of running. Soon this hobby spiraled into a possible career. Louie continued his life as a runner and became very talented in this field. Then WW2 broke out. Louie went out to fight for the United States, until disaster struck. His plane crashed. Louie became helpless and hopeless, while floating in the middle of the ocean. Louie and Phil, who was with him, were found, but were they found by their friends or enemies.

 

Teen Review
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
N.A. Singh
Dec 9, 2021

Told through the point of view of Death, we follow a young German girl named Liesel. She is living in the midst of World War II in Germany, the heart of the Nazi regime. After stealing her very first book, she finds comfort in the words and develops a passion for reading and learning. However, soon her life is put into danger when her parents decide to hide a Jew, the once thought of enemy.

Teen Review
A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A Separate Peace

By John Knowles
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Taylor E.
Nov 29, 2021

John Knowles' A Separate Peace is a coming-of-age story that recounts the friendship of two boys during World War II. Gene is brilliant and introverted, while Phineas is charismatic and popular. As the two boys suffer under the pressures of war, their jealously will attempt to overcome their friendship. This book appears to be a simple story, but it's filled with symbolic meaning.

Teen Review
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Resistance

By Jennifer A. Nielsen
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Shreya A.
Oct 21, 2021

This historical fiction book written by Jennifer A. Nielsen is an engrossing and suspenseful novel with crazy plot twists and diverse characters. Chaya (the main character) is a resistance fighter against the Nazis. She teams up with a girl she despises at first and quickly learns to love her like a sister. They move from ghetto to ghetto, trying to help their people fight.

Teen Review
White Rose by Kip Wilson

White Rose

By Kip Wilson
Star Rating
★★★

Rated by
Shreya A.
Oct 5, 2021

White Rose is an inspiring and active historical fiction novel by Kip Wilson. This book is about Sophie and her brother who fight for not their freedom but the freedom of others. They hand out pamphlets outside their college classrooms talking about World War II that has taken many innocent Jewish lives. They get caught and are sentenced to death for their betrayal to their country. 

Teen Review
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

All the Light We Cannot See

By Anthony Doerr
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Ayan A.
Oct 1, 2021

This novel is about two characters and their stories while living through the Second World War. Marie-Laure is a young, blind girl who lives with her father in Paris but is forced to move to Saint-Malo after German occupation. Werner is a young orphan from Zollverein with incredible talent who is enlisted in the army after attending a Nazi training school. Ultimately, their paths collide and they try surviving the devastation of the war.

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