Reviews by Tag: world war II

Teen Review
Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Resistance

By Jennifer A. Nielsen
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Shreya A.
Jul 8, 2021

This historical fiction book written by Jennifer A. Nielsen is engrossing and suspenseful, 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. This book discusses the struggles the Jews had to face in the hands of their enemy. Resistance has made me realize what true courage and strength is.

Teen Review
The Dog Who Could Fly by Damien Lewis

The Dog Who Could Fly

By Damien Lewis
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Gemma K.
May 5, 2021

The Dog Who Could Fly is the true story of a German Shepherd who was rescued by a Chezhslovakian WWII airman. The dog, who was named Antis, formed an unbelievably close relationship with Robert, his master. When Robert was on missions flying, Antis would wait beside the runway till he returned, refusing food and water till his master was back. He became the good luck charm of Robert’s plane and teammates in the British Air Force.

Teen Review
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Gemma K.
Apr 20, 2021

The Book Thief is a historical fiction novel about a girl named Liesel who loves words and books, to the extent that she is willing to steal them. It is narrated by the sarcastic, ever working, overwhelmed, and caring Death throughout the period of World War II.

Teen Review
A Separate Peace by John Knowles

A Separate Peace

By John Knowles
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Elise H.
Feb 13, 2021

Written by John Knowles, ​A Separate Peace​ is a realistic fiction story about a boy named Gene who attends boarding school in New England and is set during the years of World War II. The plot mainly follows Gene and his best friend Phineas. Gene is quiet, inverted and an intellectual. Phineas is everyone’s favorite person; he is athletic, charming, and a daredevil.

Teen Review
Cover photo of the book Paper Girl of Paris

The Paper Girl of Paris

By Jordyn Taylor
Star Rating
★★★★

Rated by
Lisa J.
Dec 16, 2020

After sixteen-year-old Alice Prewitt’s French grandmother passes away, she finds out that she has inherited an abandoned apartment in Paris. Alice travels to Paris in order to see the apartment for herself, but she makes a shocking discovery — her grandmother had a sister: Adalyn, a resistance worker during WWII. However, Alice has no idea about her great-aunt’s work, and what’s more, Adalyn’s old photos and diary suggest that she was a Nazi sympathizer. With the help of Paul, a handsome French teenager, Alice starts to uncover the truth that Adalyn took to her early grave.

Teen Review
Traitor by Amanda McCrina "Betrayal is a matter of life and death"

Traitor

By Amanda McCrina
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by
Zoe D.
Dec 7, 2020

Traitor highlights the societal division and question of morality that was prominent during World War II. In this novel, the lives of two teenagers, a Ukrainian orphan named Aleksey who fights to protect his brother and stay alive, and Tolya, a half-Polish, half-Ukrainian seventeen year old who is unsure of where his loyalties lies.

Teen Review

No Better Friend

By Robert Weintraub

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Jul 10, 2018

This book tells the extraordinary story of survival and friendship between a man and his dog during war. This is the story of the dog Judy, the only official prisoner of war in World War ll. It details how she and flight technician Frank Williams met in a POW internment camp in the Pacific theater. Their story of an unbreakable bond during the worst circumstances is one of the great undiscovered stories during the war.

Teen Review

Unbroken: An Olympian's Journey From Airman to Castaway to Captive

By Laura Hillenbrand

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
May 21, 2018

Louis Zamperini was an army air forces bomber during World War II. And before that, he was an Olympic sprinter. But now he is a captive of the Japanese forces. His plane crashed and he survived thousands of miles in the open ocean with little to no water or food. His raft eventually washed up near a Japanese base and he was sent to a POW camp. This book tells the incredible story of his survival against all odds and about the amazing life he led.

Teen Review

Maus

By Art Spiegelman

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Mar 27, 2018

This book tells the story of a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist trying to come to terms with his father’s story and the death of his mother. This book follows the story of his father’s experiences in Poland and Auschwitz, as well as that of his entire family. It tells of the romance between his father and mother during this time and their struggles to stay together despite the circumstances. This book shows the relationship between the author and his father throughout. This graphic novel portrays the Jews as mice and the Nazis as cats during the Holocaust.

Teen Review

The Librarian of Auschwitz

By Antonio Iturbe

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Mar 23, 2018

This book is based on the incredible true story of the Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus. She was taken from the Terrezin ghetto in Prague, and she is adjusting to life in the Nazi camp with her mother and father. And when the Jewish leader Fredy Hirsch asks her to protect the 8 precious books prisoners have managed to sneak past the guards, she agrees. This is the story of how she became the librarian of Auschwitz. This girl risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust despite constant danger every day.

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