Salt to the Sea has been on my TBR shelf for years. I just need to pick it up! I used to read a lot of WWII historical fiction but I think I got burnt out on it. Need to explore the genre again!
Both of those Ruta Sepetys books are some of my absolute favorite historical fiction books! The Prisoner of Night and Fog and the second book sound really interesting, I'm going to have to get my hands on those!
I’m one of the minority who liked the storyteller more than the nightingale. Also The last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia is great. Not a WW2, takes place in 1949 when Chinese people fled Stalin. Same as Hitler when many didn’t believe what was happening. I read it in 2019 and can’t forget it. I didn’t know anything about this subject.
Any book by Ruta is phenomenal! She's an auto buy author for me :) Finally someone else loves Prisoner of Night and Fog! ❤️ I think you'd love Monica Hesse books as well! Especially They Went Left and R.M. Romero's The Dollmaker of Krakow
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda. Highly recommend this book. A Japanese-American Boy and a French Jewish Girl were penpals for a school project, until they both were incarcerated in internment camps. Manzanar and Aushwhits
I've been reading historical fiction for the last 60 years. THE best World War II historical fiction that has ever been written or is likely to be written is "Life and Fate" by Vasily Grossman. Grossman was a Ukrainian Jew and was a war correspondent on the Eastern Front. This book was written in the late 50's but 'arrested' by Soviet authorities. The author died in the 60's, the book was smuggled out of the USSR in the 80's and published in Russian, and it was finally translated and published in English in 2009. The prequel 'Stalingrad' was translated and published in 2012. He was a prolific note taker and wrote down a lot of the little things. These books are fiction but include many events that he witnessed. It follows an extended family, the Shapishnikovs. He is particularly adept at describing the 'little' personal events of the war: a village throwing a feast before the Germans arrive because they know the Germans will take everything anyway, a mother mourning for her dead son, a scientist getting a last letter from his Jewish mother (by a circuitous route) before she is murdered by the SS, German soldiers surrounded in Stalingrad on Christmas decorating a pitiful Christmas tree with broken bits of toys from a destroyed orphanage they're sheltering in. These are long books, 900 pages each, with a huge cast of characters, and the subject matter is obviously dark, but they are well worth the effort. I read both, but if you're only going to read one, 'Life and Fate' is uncensored and the better of the two. It is already available as an Everyman's Library Contemporary Classic hardcover. An historical note: Grossman wrote the first published newspaper report of a Nazi death camp, Treblinka. It was originally written off as propaganda but ultimately proved to be terrifyingly accurate. It was actually entered into evidence at the Nuremburg Tribunal.
I have read and can't recommend more Lilac Girls, Those who saved us and The Tattooist of Auschwitz! All a different read but heart wrenching in their own ways.
Some of these were already on my TBR, but now I have them all. :) It's going to take me forever to read everything, but I'm so excited to get started on them!
I read The Nightingale in 2019 based on Sarah's Nightstand's recommendation. It was a turning point for me and led me into a love of historical fiction. I haven't looked back since. Ruta Sepetys is wonderful. I've not yet read either The Storyteller or The Book Thief, but both are standing by on my shelves waiting for me. A WWII story I recently read for #historathon is called The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey. It's based on the American standpoint towards the end of WWII and is about the Red Cross Clubmobiles and the women that went overseas to boost morale for the troops. It was my first 5 star read of 2021. Highly recommend.
I know this is older video -- but I have a recommendation / trilogy that I read years ago that was so good - The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons followed by Tatiana and Alexander and the last book is The Summer Garden. If you like chunky reads - you'll get lost in these. Very well written. Jacqueline
One of my favorite WWll historical fiction book is A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean. I could not put that book down. By the end of it I was bawling so so good. I am definitely going to pick up those recommendations I have almost all of them on my shelf so this will give me the push I need to read them.
I DNFd Salt to the Sea. You made it sound so much more interesting than I remember! Maybe I'll pick it back up. I didn't enjoy The Fountains of Silence either so I figured maybe Ruta Sepetys just wasn't an author for me but you made me wants to read Between Shades of Grey as well. Loved The Nightingale and The Storyteller!
Salt to the Sea and Fountains of Silence are both written in very short alternating POVs which can make them hard to follow. I can definitely see how they wouldn't be for everyone. Between Shades of Grey is only told from one POV so that one might work better for you.
I love reading The Book Thief, Prisoner of Night and Fog duology. I thought they were very well written and loved all the characters. Last year I read an ARC of a book that just came out this month is The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac, White Rose by Kip Wilson, I know this is a bit of "fantasy" but I LOVED the graphic novels DC Bombshells and their take on WWII, Louder Than Words by Kathy Kacer
I read way too much world war two historical fiction so here are titles you wouldnt know about cause nobody talks about them!! The medallion by cathy gohkle, the german midwife by mandy robotham, the child of auchwitz by lily graham, what only we know by catherin hokin, the child on platform one by gil thompson, karolina’s twins by ronald balson, and girl in the blue coat by monica hesse. I read way more but have never heard anybody mention them! You’re also the first to mention those who save us! That one’s great too!! And i probably spelled some authors wrong!
Beneath the Scarlet Sky is a favorite of mine. It is based in Italy during the War. Also, The Alice Network is based on a network of women spies in Germany. There is a follow up to that one that I have but still need to read, The Huntress, which is about women spies in Russia during the War. I really need to read that one. It sounds so good. Prisoner of Night and Fog sounds so interesting. I think I'll have to read it. Thanks for the recs. :-)
I liked but didn’t love The Nightingale. I personally felt like too many bad things happened to the sisters. It was almost as if every Nazi atrocity was thrust on them. It was well-written and I get why people love it but I personally think there are more interesting WWII stories out there. I loved The Book Thief and really want to read both those Ruta Sepetys books. Great recommendations!
Thanks for the tips! Have you ever read Dancing under the Red Star by Karl Tobien? It's a historical account of the only American woman to survive a Russian gulag, Margaret Werner.
I just read Ashes in the snow by Ruta which is the movie version of Between shades of gray. Loved it!! I'm a huge historical fiction reader. You might like If I Were You by Lynn Austin and The Shoemakers Wife by Adriana Trigiani. TFS your recommendations!
I've got a lot of problems with Salt to the Sea due to the genre crossover. She's attempting to tell a very grim story that an American teen can find accessible and relatable. I give her full credit for knowing the events and people. She name drops flawlessly, the geography is correct, the real world events are correct and yet.... I can't buy into it. The allegorical little Hitler serving as crewman aboard the Gustloff ruins the ambience as well as the forced romance story between the teens. Considering the immediate surroundings and violence of those involved, let alone the starvation and illness, there's not a chance of love blossoming in the air, these kids are just existing and surviving. The author chooses love conquers all instead of the harsh reality that did occur. That choice makes it a fail for me. If it happens to ignite a flame of curiosity in readers as to the saga of WW2 and'/or history in general I would wave it flag forever but I fear it's going to be recalled a wartime 'romance.' Ugh.
Oh my... so many good WW2 books... For Middle Grade you MUST read The War that Saved my Life and the sequel The War I Finally Won. For YA... check out Code Name Verity For Adult... From Sand and Ash The Taster, and bouncing between ww1 and ww2... The Alice Network.
I have a MG Hist Fic recs coming next week. I gave Code Name Verity in my tbr for this month. I haven't read any of the adult ones you mentioned though.
The things we cannot say by Kelly Rimmer is a heart wrenching but beautiful WW2 book
Beneath a Scarlet Sky is amazing!
One of my all time favorites!
I've heard good things but never read it.
Sounds like great books. Beneath a Scarlet Sky is so good. Also, I recently read The Flight Girls. So good.
I just added Flight Girls to my TBR. So many people are recommending Beneauth a Scarlet Sky. Sounds like I'm gonna need to read that one.
The Storyteller is probably my favorite too! It’s soooo good!
I know. That ending!!
Salt to the Sea has been on my TBR shelf for years. I just need to pick it up! I used to read a lot of WWII historical fiction but I think I got burnt out on it. Need to explore the genre again!
I like reading about different sides of WWII, not just the Holocaust. That's how I keep it fresh.
Both of those Ruta Sepetys books are some of my absolute favorite historical fiction books! The Prisoner of Night and Fog and the second book sound really interesting, I'm going to have to get my hands on those!
I think you'll really like Prisoner of Night and Fog.
I’m one of the minority who liked the storyteller more than the nightingale. Also The last Boat Out of Shanghai by Helen Zia is great. Not a WW2, takes place in 1949 when Chinese people fled Stalin. Same as Hitler when many didn’t believe what was happening. I read it in 2019 and can’t forget it. I didn’t know anything about this subject.
That sounds fascinating!
Any book by Ruta is phenomenal! She's an auto buy author for me :) Finally someone else loves Prisoner of Night and Fog! ❤️ I think you'd love Monica Hesse books as well! Especially They Went Left and R.M. Romero's The Dollmaker of Krakow
I have heard of both of those. I really should read them. And definitely agree, Ruta Sepetys is just amazing!
There are so many ways to explore WWII through fiction. It’s a great way to commemorate that time 🙂
I agree!
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda. Highly recommend this book. A Japanese-American Boy and a French Jewish Girl were penpals for a school project, until they both were incarcerated in internment camps. Manzanar and Aushwhits
I just added this one to my list. I want to read it soon!
I've been reading historical fiction for the last 60 years. THE best World War II historical fiction that has ever been written or is likely to be written is "Life and Fate" by Vasily Grossman. Grossman was a Ukrainian Jew and was a war correspondent on the Eastern Front. This book was written in the late 50's but 'arrested' by Soviet authorities. The author died in the 60's, the book was smuggled out of the USSR in the 80's and published in Russian, and it was finally translated and published in English in 2009. The prequel 'Stalingrad' was translated and published in 2012. He was a prolific note taker and wrote down a lot of the little things. These books are fiction but include many events that he witnessed. It follows an extended family, the Shapishnikovs. He is particularly adept at describing the 'little' personal events of the war: a village throwing a feast before the Germans arrive because they know the Germans will take everything anyway, a mother mourning for her dead son, a scientist getting a last letter from his Jewish mother (by a circuitous route) before she is murdered by the SS, German soldiers surrounded in Stalingrad on Christmas decorating a pitiful Christmas tree with broken bits of toys from a destroyed orphanage they're sheltering in. These are long books, 900 pages each, with a huge cast of characters, and the subject matter is obviously dark, but they are well worth the effort. I read both, but if you're only going to read one, 'Life and Fate' is uncensored and the better of the two. It is already available as an Everyman's Library Contemporary Classic hardcover.
An historical note: Grossman wrote the first published newspaper report of a Nazi death camp, Treblinka. It was originally written off as propaganda but ultimately proved to be terrifyingly accurate. It was actually entered into evidence at the Nuremburg Tribunal.
One of my favorites is Beantown Girls. So good!
I have read and can't recommend more Lilac Girls, Those who saved us and The Tattooist of Auschwitz! All a different read but heart wrenching in their own ways.
Ditto Lilac Girls! Tattooist of Aushwitz I have complicated feelings about
Finally!! Someone whose read those who save us!! I liked that one!!
@@Readingindarknesss I still think about it! That story really caught me by surprise.
I have Those Who Saved Us and just read Lilac Girls in January. I really really like it.
@@OnTheMiddleShelf would love to hear what you think of Those who saved us. It was such a different story. I can't stop thinking about it.
My favorite wWII writer is Sarah Sundin. Her characters and settings take you all over the place geographically and emotionally.
I've never heard of her! Thanks for the rec!
I absolutely LOVE Rupta Sepetys. I cried in salt to the sea and BALLED at between shades of gray!
Between Shades of Gray is being adapted into a graphic novel and I can not wait !!!!
@@OnTheMiddleShelf have you seen the movie Ashes In The Snow?
@@littleangels85 yes. It was so well done!
@@OnTheMiddleShelf I haven't seen it myself yet, but if its as good as the book, I imagine I will enjoy it just as much
@@littleangels85 It is subtitled, but worth it.
Some of these were already on my TBR, but now I have them all. :) It's going to take me forever to read everything, but I'm so excited to get started on them!
Hope you enjoy them all!
I read The Nightingale in 2019 based on Sarah's Nightstand's recommendation. It was a turning point for me and led me into a love of historical fiction. I haven't looked back since. Ruta Sepetys is wonderful. I've not yet read either The Storyteller or The Book Thief, but both are standing by on my shelves waiting for me.
A WWII story I recently read for #historathon is called The Beantown Girls by Jane Healey. It's based on the American standpoint towards the end of WWII and is about the Red Cross Clubmobiles and the women that went overseas to boost morale for the troops. It was my first 5 star read of 2021. Highly recommend.
That sounds fascinating! I'll definitely have to check it out!
I know this is older video -- but I have a recommendation / trilogy that I read years ago that was so good - The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons followed by Tatiana and Alexander and the last book is The Summer Garden. If you like chunky reads - you'll get lost in these. Very well written. Jacqueline
One of my favorite WWll historical fiction book is A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean. I could not put that book down. By the end of it I was bawling so so good. I am definitely going to pick up those recommendations I have almost all of them on my shelf so this will give me the push I need to read them.
I've never heard of that one!
I DNFd Salt to the Sea. You made it sound so much more interesting than I remember! Maybe I'll pick it back up. I didn't enjoy The Fountains of Silence either so I figured maybe Ruta Sepetys just wasn't an author for me but you made me wants to read Between Shades of Grey as well. Loved The Nightingale and The Storyteller!
Salt to the Sea and Fountains of Silence are both written in very short alternating POVs which can make them hard to follow. I can definitely see how they wouldn't be for everyone. Between Shades of Grey is only told from one POV so that one might work better for you.
The Bicycle Spy is an excellent middle-grade World War II historical fiction novel.
Ooooo I've never heard of that one!
The storyteller is one of my favorites too!! It’s amazing!! I love the nightengale too but doesnt beat the storyteller!
Agree!!
I am currently reading and enjoying All the Light We Cannot See
Hope you enjoy it!
Good job, Amana! I have read most of the books you suggested. I think The Story Teller sounds like something I would like to read.
I bet you would love it!
I love reading The Book Thief, Prisoner of Night and Fog duology. I thought they were very well written and loved all the characters. Last year I read an ARC of a book that just came out this month is The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac, White Rose by Kip Wilson, I know this is a bit of "fantasy" but I LOVED the graphic novels DC Bombshells and their take on WWII, Louder Than Words by Kathy Kacer
Thanks for all the recommendations!
Its author is unfashionable( To put it mildly), but the greatest novel about World War 2 is Guard Of Honor, by James Gould Cozzens.
My favorites are the Lilac Girls or City of Thieves!
I just read Lilac Girls, but I've never heard of City of Thieves. I'll have to check it out!
I read way too much world war two historical fiction so here are titles you wouldnt know about cause nobody talks about them!! The medallion by cathy gohkle, the german midwife by mandy robotham, the child of auchwitz by lily graham, what only we know by catherin hokin, the child on platform one by gil thompson, karolina’s twins by ronald balson, and girl in the blue coat by monica hesse. I read way more but have never heard anybody mention them! You’re also the first to mention those who save us! That one’s great too!! And i probably spelled some authors wrong!
The only one I have heard from from that list is Girl in the Blue Coat. I'm going to have to look the rest of those up!
Beneath the Scarlet Sky is a favorite of mine. It is based in Italy during the War. Also, The Alice Network is based on a network of women spies in Germany. There is a follow up to that one that I have but still need to read, The Huntress, which is about women spies in Russia during the War. I really need to read that one. It sounds so good. Prisoner of Night and Fog sounds so interesting. I think I'll have to read it. Thanks for the recs. :-)
You're not the first person to recommend Beneath a Scarlet Sky. Sounds like it's one I definitely need to check out.
I liked but didn’t love The Nightingale. I personally felt like too many bad things happened to the sisters. It was almost as if every Nazi atrocity was thrust on them. It was well-written and I get why people love it but I personally think there are more interesting WWII stories out there. I loved The Book Thief and really want to read both those Ruta Sepetys books. Great recommendations!
I agree with The Nightingale. Some books make it so SO many bad things happen to one person it's barely believable. Like a Grey's Anatomy episode!
The Nightingale is the best! Cant wait for the movie!
Definitely interested in seeing how they do with the movie.
Tattooist of Auschwitz for sure. Really hard to read but I am glad I read it! I need to read the second one next, Cilka’s Journey.
I've read mixed reviews on that one. I'm so glad it was a winner for you!
Thanks for the tips! Have you ever read Dancing under the Red Star by Karl Tobien? It's a historical account of the only American woman to survive a Russian gulag, Margaret Werner.
No I haven't. That sounds fascinating!
Have you read We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter? One of my favorites!
Not yet!
The War That Saved My Life
One of my favorites!
I would drop the Jodi Picoult book. All she did was dumb down and paraphrase the much better 2009 book by Jonathan Littell "The Kindly Ones."
I just read Ashes in the snow by Ruta which is the movie version of Between shades of gray. Loved it!! I'm a huge historical fiction reader. You might like If I Were You by Lynn Austin and The Shoemakers Wife by Adriana Trigiani. TFS your recommendations!
I'm so glad you loved Between Shades of Gray! Thanks for the recs!
The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel was very good,, I didn’t want to put it down and that to me is a sign of a very good book.
I've heard so many people love that one. I need to get my hands on it.
I've got a lot of problems with Salt to the Sea due to the genre crossover. She's attempting to tell a very grim story that an American teen can find accessible and relatable. I give her full credit for knowing the events and people. She name drops flawlessly, the geography is correct, the real world events are correct and yet.... I can't buy into it. The allegorical little Hitler serving as crewman aboard the Gustloff ruins the ambience as well as the forced romance story between the teens. Considering the immediate surroundings and violence of those involved, let alone the starvation and illness, there's not a chance of love blossoming in the air, these kids are just existing and surviving. The author chooses love conquers all instead of the harsh reality that did occur. That choice makes it a fail for me. If it happens to ignite a flame of curiosity in readers as to the saga of WW2 and'/or history in general I would wave it flag forever but I fear it's going to be recalled a wartime 'romance.' Ugh.
Oh my... so many good WW2 books...
For Middle Grade you MUST read The War that Saved my Life and the sequel The War I Finally Won.
For YA... check out Code Name Verity
For Adult... From Sand and Ash
The Taster, and bouncing between ww1 and ww2... The Alice Network.
I have a MG Hist Fic recs coming next week. I gave Code Name Verity in my tbr for this month. I haven't read any of the adult ones you mentioned though.