Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Hate & Anger, Love
Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Military & War, World War II, Holocaust, Fantasy
World War II
This carefully curated selection of titles examines the history, politics, and social impacts of World War II and its indelible mark on the world. The Collection highlights global perspectives through historical fiction, memoirs and biographies, and nonfiction titles that discuss topics including the Holocaust, the atomic bombings of Japan, and the effects of conflict.
The World That We Knew
They Called Us Enemy
They Went Left
The Zookeeper's Wife
Thin Wood Walls
This Light Between Us
Truman
Tunes for Bears to Dance To
Unbroken
Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation)
Under a Cruel Star
Under a War-Torn Sky
Under the Blood Red Sun
War and Genocide
War Games
Warlight
War Stories
War Without Mercy
We Are Not Free
Weedflower
Publication year 2019
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Fear, Hate & Anger, Love
Tags Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Trauma & Abuse, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, Military & War, World War II, Holocaust, Fantasy
Publication year 2019
Genre Graphic Novel/Book, Nonfiction
Themes Race
Tags US History, Japanese Literature, Asian Literature, Social Justice, World War II, Military & War, World History, Biography
They Called Us Enemy is a 2019 graphic memoir written by author, actor, and activist George Takei and illustrated by Harmony Becker. The story chronicles Takei’s childhood experience in the Japanese concentration camps created by the United States during World War II. Takei frames the narrative with a modern-day talk delivered at the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who presided over the country during the war and issued Executive Order 9066, which empowered the US... Read They Called Us Enemy Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Fear, Grief, Guilt, Hate & Anger, Love, Memory, Death, Marriage, Siblings, War, Good & Evil, Justice, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Military & War, World History
Publication year 2007
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hope, War, Animals
Tags World War II, Holocaust, European History, Animals, Military & War, World History, Biography
The Zookeeper’s Wife, by Diane AckermanThe Zookeeper’s Wife is a non-fiction narrative recounting the heroic efforts of Antonina Żabińska and her husband, Jan Żabiński, during World War II. When soldiers of the Third Reich invade Poland on September 1, 1939, Jan is the ambitious director of the Warsaw Zoo. Antonina is an amazingly gifted woman who connects emotionally with all the animals in the zoo and the multitudes of human visitors and officials drawn to... Read The Zookeeper's Wife Summary
Publication year 2004
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Coming of Age, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Coming of Age, Race & Racism, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Arts & Culture
Thin Wood Walls by David Patneaude was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2004. A historical fiction novel for young adult readers, Thin Wood Walls explores the experience of incarceration through the eyes of an 11-year-old Japanese American boy during World War II. The novel depicts themes of hope, family, resilience, and xenophobia, or bigotry against individuals from other countries. Thin Wood Walls is a Washington Reads Selection and a Mark Twain Award nominee. It... Read Thin Wood Walls Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, War, Coming of Age, Hope, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age, Military & War, World War II, Holocaust, World History
Publication year 1992
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Justice, Power & Greed, Politics & Government, War, Nation, Perseverance
Tags Politics & Government, US History, World War II, Crime & Law, World History, Biography
Publication year 1992
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Race, Good & Evil, Grief, The Past
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Education, Education, World War II, Realistic Fiction
Tunes for Bears to Dance To by pioneering young adult writer Robert Cormier (1925-2000) is a young adult novella that explores themes of The Inadequacy of Language, The Everyday Nature of Evil, and The Inescapability of the Past. First published in 1992, the story follows 11-year-old Henry, who, while grappling with the recent loss of his brother, becomes entangled in a sinister plot devised by Mr. Hairston, the manipulative manager of the grocery store where... Read Tunes for Bears to Dance To Summary
Publication year 2010
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes War, Shame & Pride
Tags Military & War, World War II, World History, Biography
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption is a biography by Laura Hillenbrand that tells the life story of Louie Zamperini, an Italian-American from Torrance, California who lived from 1917 to 2014. Published in 2010, Unbroken was a The New York Times bestseller for over four years.Plot SummaryIn his youth, Louie Zamperini was the town troublemaker, a boy who used his cunning to commit acts of petty theft and public nuisance... Read Unbroken Summary
Publication year 2014
Genre Biography, Nonfiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Perseverance, Forgiveness, Death, War, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Biography, Inspirational, World History, Sports, Military & War, World War II
Publication year 1973
Genre Autobiography / Memoir, Nonfiction
Themes Truth & Lies
Tags Holocaust, European History, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Biography
Content Warning: This study guide and the memoir contain references to antisemitism and violence, as well as descriptions of conditions in a concentration camp during the Nazi holocaust. Under a Cruel Star: A Life in Prague 1941-1968, a memoir by Heda Margolius Kovály, was first published under this title in 1986. The memoir was originally published in Czech as Na vlastní kůži (On your own skin) in 1973, by 68 Publishers, an independent press operated... Read Under a Cruel Star Summary
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Fear, Coming of Age, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger
Tags World War II
Publication year 1994
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, War, Coming of Age
Tags Children`s Literature, Education, Education, Military & War, World History, Historical Fiction, World War II, Action & Adventure, Sports
Publication year 2002
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Themes War, Politics & Government, Power & Greed
Tags World History, Holocaust, World War II, Education, Education, Military & War, European History
Publication year 2025
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Justice, Self Discovery, Politics & Government, Race, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Sports
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Memory, Fear, Grief, Loneliness, Gender Identity, Family, Mothers, Self Discovery, Social Class, Nation, War, Loyalty & Betrayal, Safety & Danger, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Coming of Age, Post-War Era
Warlight (2018) is a historical fiction novel by Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje. Ondaatje is best known for his Booker Prize winning novel, The English Patient (1992). Part spy thriller and coming-of-age story, Warlight follows 14-year-old Nathaniel Williams and his older sister, Rachel, in post-World War II London. When their parents depart for a year-long work assignment in Singapore, the siblings are left in the care of an enigmatic guardian named The Moth. Nathaniel... Read Warlight Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Truth & Lies, Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Guilt, Memory, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Military & War, World War II, Children`s Literature, World History
Publication year 1986
Genre Book, Nonfiction
Tags US History, Race & Racism, Military & War, World War II, World History, Japanese Literature
In his 1986 nonfiction work War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian John W. Dower investigates the racism between the United States and the Empire of Japan, as it existed before, during, and after the Second World War. The very nature and understanding of who the enemy was, for both the Anglo-Americans and the Japanese, presented in many forms. On the American side, there was an important... Read War Without Mercy Summary
Publication year 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Politics & Government, Friendship, Family
Tags Historical Fiction, World War II, Asian Literature, Race & Racism, Military & War, Modern Classic Fiction, Asian Literature, World History
Publication year 2006
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Friendship, Community, Safety & Danger, Coming of Age, Justice, Race, Shame & Pride, Loneliness, Family, Order & Chaos, Trust & Doubt, Equality, Fear, War
Tags Historical Fiction, Children`s Literature, Military & War, World History, Japanese Literature, Arts & Culture, World War II, Coming of Age
Weedflower, Cynthia Kadohata’s 2006 historical fiction young adult novel, tells the story of 12-year-old Japanese American Sumiko amid Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and the US government’s ensuing involvement in World War II. Kadohata depicts the conditions of Japanese internment camps from Sumiko’s perspective, providing unique insight and education on the racism that Japanese Americans faced and the US government’s poor decisions.This guide references the 2009 paperback reprint edition from Atheneum Books for Young Readers.Plot... Read Weedflower Summary