A Night Divided is a historical fiction book written by Jennifer Nielsen. The main character of the book Gerta, has been living in Eastern Germany after World War II ended. At the time, Eastern Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union and life there was harsh. In hopes of finding opportunities on the other side, her family is split in an instant as the Berlin Wall goes up. In this book, Gerta and her brother Fritz deduce a way to meet their family on the other side of the wall.
Summary: We Are Not Free by Traci Chee is a historical fiction novel set during World War II that follows the lives of fourteen Japanese American teenagers living in San Francisco. As they are forcibly relocated to internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the group grapples with loss, injustice, and the impact of discrimination on their friendships and identities.
The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure is a novel set during World War II. The main character, Lucien Bernard, is an architect in Paris. During this time, architects took any jobs they could get. Lucien receives a job from Monsieur Manet, who is successful and extremely wealthy. Manet asks him to design factories, but little does Lucien know that he will also be asked to design a hiding place for Jews.
Words cannot truly communicate how I feel about this book. Hosseini did a fantastic job with this piece--so much so that I could not accept that it’s fiction. Largely taking place in Afghanistan, we see little Amir’s ups and downs in life--from his relationships with his father to the power dynamic between him and his family servant (aka his best friend). They frequently participated in the annual kite-flying tournaments--Amir was the kite flier while Hassan was the kite runner.
Sitlali is a girl in the modern day who wants to cross the border to the US after a gang leader gets interested in her. On the other hand, Calizto is a warrior in Tenochtitlan in the 1500s fighting against the Spanish to save his country. Both want to protect themselves and least want a romantic relationship that would do nothing for them. However, when they discover that the moon conch connects them from different eras, their ideas of love change.
Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns is a tale of two Afghanistani women named Laila and Mariam who got married to the same man. Maraiam a teenager from Herat was forced to marry Rasheed after her mother passed away. Laila was born almost a generation after Mariam and had to marry Rasheed after he rescued her when her home was rocketed and her family was killed. It follows the story of the two women living through the wars in Afghanistan.
In this novel, the two main characters’- Marie-Laure Leblanc and Werner Pfennig- stories are followed until they intersect in Saint-Malo, in August of 1944.
Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac is a historical fiction novel that follows the remarkable journey of Ned Begay, a young Navajo boy who becomes a Code Talker during World War II. Inspired by his heritage and language, Ned enlists in the Marines and is trained to use the Navajo language as a secret code to transmit vital military messages, confounding enemy forces.
In Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, a ten-year-old girl named Annemarie Johansen lives in Denmark during World War II. As Germans take over Denmark, they begin to “relocate” all Jews. Annemarie’s friend Ellen is Jewish, so the Johannsen’s take in Ellen and pretend she is their daughter. As the German soldiers become suspicious, they move to Annemarie’s uncle’s home in the countryside. Annemarie must be brave and help keep her friend out of danger.
The Tailor’s Daughter by Janice Graham is a historical fiction book, set in Victorian England, featuring the main character — Veda Grenfell, a master tailor’s daughter. She is a very passionate young woman who loves and excels at her father’s work. At the age of sixteen, a fever leaves her deaf, disconnecting her from her life as a young woman emerging into society. With no hopes left of marriage, she turns to what she loves most — tailoring.
