Books About War in Honor of Memorial Day
Books About War in Honor of Memorial Day
I want to note that I do not get paid to do these posts, I just love authors and the book industry. However, they do take time and energy to create. If you want to donate a few dollars to my coffee fund, which keeps this blog going, you can do so here: https://venmo.com/AshleyHasty or here: http://paypal.me/hastybooklist.
To Die Beautiful by Buzzy Jackson
Historian and award-winning author of three nonfiction books Buzzy Jackson brings to life the incredible true story of World War II hero Hannie Schaft in this debut, TO DIE BEAUTIFUL (Dutton; on sale May 2, 2023). Following Hannie’s harrowing journey as a member of the Dutch Resistance from 1940-1945, the novel is a riveting tale of love, loyalty, and the limits we confront when our deepest values are tested.
When the Nazi occupation in The Netherlands endangers her two Jewish best friends, shy law student Hannie is moved to fight against the insidious rise of fascism. She first begins her Resistance work as a courier but quickly realizes the value of her unsuspecting appearance. Soon, she’s an active armed member, bombing munitions factories and luring in powerful Nazis with her beauty to assassinate them at point-blank range. Word of her threatening prowess even makes its way to Adolf Hitler, who dubs her the "Girl with Red Hair."
As the world around her collapses, Hannie builds a chosen family within the Resistance, even falling in love with a daring fellow resistor at a tremendous cost. Her greatest weapon is her determination to "stay human" (blijf menselijk), a promise increasingly difficult to keep amidst the devastation that surrounds her. Hannie continually channels the strongest women in her life—including her late sister Annie—in order to stand up in the face of unthinkable danger.
Although Hannie is renowned in the Netherlands, her inspirational resistance work is little-known in the U.S. A member of the National Book Critics Circle with a PhD in history, Jackson’s skills as a writer and historian bring Hannie’s story vividly to life for English-language audiences. Her meticulous historical research, alongside the emotional weight and striking present-day relevance of Hannie’s story, make TO DIE BEAUTIFUL a moving page-turner not to be missed.
Hotel Cuba by Aaron Hamburger
Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the terror of the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda sail for America to join their sister in New York. But discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, and the young women are turned back at Ellis Island. With few options, Pearl and Frieda head for Havana, Cuba, convinced they will find a way to overcome this setback.
At first, life in big-city Prohibition-era Havana is overwhelming, like nothing Pearl and Frieda have ever experienced—or could have ever imagined in the rural shtetl where they grew up. As the sisters begin to adjust, their plans for going to America together become complicated. Frieda falls for the not-so-dreamy man of her dreams while Pearl’s life opens up unexpectedly, offering her a taste of freedom and heady romance, and an opportunity to build a future on her own terms. Though to do so, she must confront her past and the shame she has long carried.
A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women displaced from their home who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.
The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry
When a woman stumbles across a mysterious children’s book, long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed in this “transporting, heartfelt, and atmospheric” (Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author) novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Surviving Savannah and Becoming Mrs. Lewis.
The Golden Doves by Martha Hall Kelly
Two former female spies, bound together by their past, risk everything to hunt down an infamous Nazi doctor in the aftermath of World War II—an extraordinary novel inspired by true events from the New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls
American Josie Anderson and Parisian Arlette LaRue are thrilled to be working in the French resistance, stealing so many Nazi secrets that they become known as the Golden Doves, renowned across France and hunted by the Gestapo. Their courage will cost them everything. When they are finally arrested and taken to the Ravensbrück concentration camp, along with their loved ones, a reclusive Nazi doctor does unspeakable things to Josie’s mother, a celebrated Jewish singer who joined her daughter in Paris when the world seemed bright. And Arlette’s son is stolen from her, never to be seen again.
A decade later the Doves fall headlong into a dangerous dual mission: Josie is working for U.S. Army intelligence and accepts an assignment to hunt down the infamous doctor, while a mysterious man tells Arlette he may have found her son. The Golden Doves embark on a quest across Europe and ultimately to French Guiana, discovering a web of terrible secrets, and must put themselves in grave danger to finally secure justice and protect the ones they love.
Martha Hall Kelly has garnered acclaim for her stunning combination of empathy and research into the stories of women throughout history and for exploring the terrors of Ravensbrück. With The Golden Doves, she has crafted an unforgettable story about the fates of Nazi fugitives in the wake of World War II—and the unsung females spies who risked it all to bring them to justice.
The Swiss Nurse by Mario Escobar
Based on the true story of an astonishingly brave woman who saved hundreds of mothers and their children during the Spanish Civil War and World War II.
Elisabeth Eidenbenz left Switzerland in 1937 to aid children orphaned during the Spanish Civil War. Now, her work has led her to France, where she’s determined to provide expectant mothers and their unborn children a refuge amid one of the worst humanitarian crises of the twentieth century.
Desperate to escape the invasion of Franco’s Fascist troops, Isabel Dueñas becomes one of many Spanish patriots fleeing their country. She leaves behind her husband as he fights for democracy, and she seeks asylum in a refugee camp across the border in France. Without adequate shelter, clean drinking water, or medical care, Isabel’s future looks bleak—until she meets Elisabeth.
When Germany invades Poland, a new avalanche of humanity enters France. And soon, fate binds Elisabeth and Isabel together in the most important work of their lives.
Based on the true stories of refugees and the woman who risked everything to save them, The Swiss Nurse shares a message of love and strength amid one of the darkest moments in history.
Dead Heat to Destiny by J.B. Rivard
Destined for success in the booming world of high fashion, young Adrienne Boch deflects the romantic pursuit of Will Marra, an American student in Paris. Her cousin, Gregor Steiner, completes his training as an officer in the Imperial German Navy. They, like the entire world, are unprepared when World War I begins. As the invading German army threatens Paris, Gregor advances to captain a U-boat, Will becomes a pilot in the U.S. Army, and Adrienne’s family flees an overrun Belgium. In Central America, a spy is recruited to defeat the United States. At the climax—during which love hangs in the balance—the protagonists meet in an emotionally riveting clash.
An Enemy Like Me by Teri M Brown
How does a man show his love - for country, for heritage, for family - during a war that sets the three at odds? What sets in motion the necessity to choose one over the other? How will this choice change everything and everyone he loves?
Jacob Miller, a first-generation American, grew up in New Berlin, a small German immigrant town in Ohio where he endured the Great Depression, met his wife, and started a family. Though his early years were not easy, Jacob believes he is headed toward his 'happily ever after' until a friend is sent to an internment camp for enemy combatants, and the war lands resolutely on his doorstep.
In An Enemy Like Me, Teri M. Brown uses the backdrop of World War II to show the angst experienced by Jacob, his wife, and his four-year-old son as he leaves for and fights in a war he did not create. She explores the concepts of xenophobia, intrafamily dynamics, and the recognition that war is not won and lost by nations, but by ordinary men and women and the families who support them.
Love and War In The Jewish Quarter by Dora Levy Mossanen
A breathtaking journey across Iran where war and superstition, jealousy and betrayal, and passion and loyalty rage behind the impenetrable walls of mansions and the crumbling houses of the Jewish Quarter.
Against the tumultuous background of World War II, Dr. Yaran will find himself caught in the thrall of the anti-Semitic Governor General, the most powerful man in the country. Dr. Yaran falls in love with the Governor General’s defiant wife, Velvet, upending not only the life of the doctor’s beloved daughter, but the entire community. In his quest to save everything and everyone he loves, Dr. Yaran will navigate the intersections of magic, science, lust, and treachery. His sole ally is the Governor General’s servant, an exotic eunuch, who will do anything to aid his mistress in her dangerous quest to attain forbidden love.
Lost Souls of Leningrad by Suzanne Parry
Equal parts war epic, family saga, and love story, Lost Souls of Leningrad brings to vivid life this little-known chapter of World War II in a tale of two remarkable women—grandmother and granddaughter—separated by years and experience but of one heart in their devotion to each other and the men they love. Neither the oppression of Stalin nor the brutality of Hitler can destroy their courage, compassion, or will in this testament to resilience
When We Had Wings by Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, Susan Meissner
From three powerhouses in historical fiction – Ariel Lawhon, Kristina McMorris, and Susan Meissner – When We Had Wings tells the interwoven and inspirational story of three nurses in the Philippines during the Second World War. Following US Navy nurse Eleanor Lindstrom, US Army nurse Penny Franklin, and civilian Filipina nurse Lita Capel as they forge an unbreakable bond as the first female prisoners of WWII. This spectacular historical fiction novel highlights the meaning of sacrifice, the unshakeable nature of true friendship, and the importance of hope in even the darkest of times.
A Bend of Light by Joy Jordan-Lake
A quiet coastal village in post–World War II America is shaken when the secrets of the past and present collide in a riveting novel by the bestselling author of Under a Gilded Moon.
Five years after the war, Amie Stilwell, a photo interpreter for an Allied unit in England, returns to her hometown in Maine. Jobless and discouraged but stubbornly resourceful, she’s starting over in the same coastal village where her life once went so wrong. Waiting for her is Shibby Travis, the surrogate mother with whom Amie never lost touch. But the unexpected also awaits…
The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong
The Paris Library meets The Flight Girls in this captivating historical novel about the sacrifice and courage necessary to live a life of honor, inspired by the first female volunteer librarians during World War I and the first women accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy.
