Historical Fiction – WW II

Last Updated: February 4, 2023

Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson

Based on the true story of the 6888th Postal Battalion, this novel explores the untold story of what life was like for the only all-Black, female U.S. battalion to be deployed overseas during World War II.

Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan

Manhattan Beach
by Jennifer Egan

Anna Kerrigan’s father has disappeared and the country is at war. She becomes the first female diver at the Brooklyn Naval Yard, caring for her mother and sister. She reunites with Dexter Styles, years after originally meeting, and she begins to understand the complexity of her father’s life and the reasons he might have vanished.

The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel

The Book of Lost Name
by Kristin Harmel

Eva Traube Adams, a librarian from Florida, holds the answers to The Book of Lost Names, but will she have the strength to revisit old memories and help those lost during the war?

I'll Be Seeing You by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan

I’ll Be Seeing You
by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan

Two women forge a friendship during World War II through their letters to each other, allowing them to survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front and giving them the courage to face the battles raging in their very own backyards.

The Woman with the Blue Star by Pam Jenoff

Inspired by the harrowing true stories of those who hid from the Nazis in the sewers, this emotional testament to the power of friendship follows Ella, an affluent Polish girl, as she helps Sadie and her pregnant mother survive despite the worsening dangers of the war.

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris

Cilka’s Journey
by Heather Morris

Cilka is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942 at age 16, where, because of her beauty, she is given special privileges others don’t get. After liberation, she is sent to a Siberian prison camp for her cooperation with the enemy, where she faces new and horribly familiar challenges. She’s taken under the wing of a doctor and finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love.

The Tenth Muse by Catherine Chung

The Tenth Muse
by Catherine Chung

Determined to conquer the Riemann hypothesis despite cultural discrimination against women intellectuals, a genius mathematician uncovers a mysterious theorem’s unexpected World War II link to her family.