Books about World War II for teens
The Second World War has inspired many stories, and told the stories of many people over the years. These books for teenagers take a variety of different approaches to representing the events of World War II.
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Code Name Verity
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Interest age: 14+
Reading age: 14+Two young women become unlikely best friends during WWII, until one is captured by the Gestapo...
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Code Name Kingfisher
Author: Liz Kessler
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 9-11
Reading age: 9+In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam in 1942, Hannie joins the Resistance. In the modern day, Liv is trying to cope with bullies at school. Historical fiction of the highest order – heart-breaking, thought-provoking and vital.
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Between Shades of Gray
Author: Ruta Sepetys
Publisher: Puffin
Interest age: 14+
Reading age: 14+Set in 1941, Between Shades of Grey is an extraordinary and haunting story based on first-hand family accounts and memories from survivors.
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White Bird
Author: R J Palacio
Publisher: Penguin
Interest age: 12-16
Reading age: 9+Now he’s a teenager, Julian wants to hear the details of what happened to Grandmère during her childhood in France in World War Two. A compelling graphic novel about courage in adversity, and how kindness and humanity can overcome evil.
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That Burning Summer
Author: Lydia Syson
Publisher: Hot Key
Interest age: 13-14
Reading age: 13+In the long hot summer of 1940, planes are doing battle over the channel, and the south coast of England is braced for a German invasion.
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Duty Calls: Battle of Britain
Author: James Holland
Publisher: Puffin Books
Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 11+It's the Battle of Britain and 19-year-old pilot officer Archie Jackson is in control of the RAF's newest fighter aircraft, a Supermarine Spitfire.
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Duty Calls: Dunkirk
Author: James Holland
Publisher: Puffin Books
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 9+The exciting story of a teenage recruit who finds himself caught up in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in 1940.
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Hero on a Bicycle
Author: Shirley Hughes
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 11+
Reading age: 11+The first novel from much-loved author and illustrator Shirley Hughes is a thrilling and moving story about a boy and his bicycle, set against a dramatic background of war-torn Italy
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The Children of Willesden Lane
Author: Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen
Publisher: Hachette
Interest age: 11-14
Reading age: 12+Aspiring concert pianist Lisa Jura is just 14 when she is forced to leave Germany behind and travel to England on the Kindertransport. Told by her daughter Mona, it's an eye-opening insight into life as a young refugee during World War Two.
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When the World Was Ours
Author: Liz Kessler
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Interest age: 12-15
Reading age: 12+Elsa, Max, and Leo are three friends who live in Vienna - but as Hitler's rise to power begins to cast a shadow over Europe, they find themselves torn in different directions. This moving and well researched book about the holocaust is only suitable for readers 12+.