All the Light We Cannot See
Anthony Doerr
A blind French girl and a German boy with a gift for radios move toward each other in occupied Saint-Malo, in a lyrical novel of short chapters.
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Books like The Book Thief
The Book Thief follows Liesel Meminger, a foster child who learns to read and steals books in a small German town during World War II, with Death as the narrator. These seven novels bring more young characters and quiet courage, at different levels of intensity.
Books to read next
The Nightingale
Kristin Hannah
Two sisters in occupied France take very different risks to survive, in a sweeping, emotional novel that includes sexual violence.
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry
In 1943 Copenhagen, ten-year-old Annemarie must find the courage to help her Jewish best friend escape the Nazis, in a novel written for younger readers.
The Girl in the Blue Coat
Monica Hesse
A teenage black-market runner in 1943 Amsterdam is asked to find a Jewish girl who has vanished from a hiding place, in a fast young adult mystery.
Salt to the Sea
Ruta Sepetys
Four young people fleeing the Soviet advance in 1945 make their way toward the doomed ship Wilhelm Gustloff, in a young adult novel with short chapters.
Sarah's Key
Tatiana de Rosnay
A ten-year-old girl locks her little brother in a cupboard during the 1942 Paris roundup, and a journalist decades later uncovers her story, in a heartbreaking novel.
Code Name Verity
Elizabeth Wein
After a plane crash in Nazi-occupied France in 1943, a captured young woman tells a story of friendship, espionage and courage, in a gripping young adult novel.
How to choose
The Book Thief mixes war with a love of words, so choose by how much of the war you want. Number the Stars is written for younger readers, and The Girl in the Blue Coat, Salt to the Sea and Code Name Verity are fast young adult novels. All the Light We Cannot See is also lyrical, in short chapters. The Nightingale and Sarah's Key are adult, emotional novels. All of these deal with the cruelty of Nazi rule, and several go further: The Nightingale, All the Light We Cannot See and Salt to the Sea include sexual violence, and Code Name Verity and The Nightingale include torture. Check content notes first.
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