Big Books of 2026

Listopia > World War Two Book Lists

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Nightingale by Kristin HannahThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferSarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
WWII Historic Fiction
1,455 books — 1,529 voters
The Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Bronze Horseman by Paullina SimonsSarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Fiction Set During WWII
385 books — 257 voters

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankUnbroken by Laura HillenbrandAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrBand of Brothers by Stephen E. Ambrose
World War 2 books
388 books — 210 voters
The Nightingale by Kristin HannahAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrBeneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. SullivanThe Alice Network by Kate QuinnCode Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
WW2: The Resistance - Fiction & Non-Fiction
304 books — 191 voters

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakCode Name Verity by Elizabeth WeinBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta SepetysSalt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysRose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
YA Fiction set in the 1940s
209 books — 158 voters
1776 by David McCulloughTeam of Rivals by Doris Kearns GoodwinBattle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPhersonJohn Adams by David McCulloughA People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn
U.S. History Reading List
443 books — 140 voters

The Land Beneath Us by Sarah SundinThe Socialite by J'nell CiesielskiCode Name Hélène by Ariel LawhonAll the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz WilliamsThe Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel
WW2 Era Fiction published in 2020
139 books — 129 voters
The 231 Club by J. BartellThe Spy and the Traitor by Ben MacintyreA Spy Among Friends by Ben MacintyreAgent Zigzag by Ben MacintyreThe Ghost by Jefferson Morley
Best Espionage Books (nonfiction)
157 books — 107 voters

Blackout by Connie WillisThe Raiders and the Cross by Patrick LarsimontLetters to the Lost by Iona GreyAll Clear by Connie WillisThe English Agent by Clare Harvey
The Blitz: Fiction & Non-Fiction
189 books — 82 voters
The Rose Code by Kate QuinnLast One Home by Shari J. RyanRadar Girls by Sara AckermanA Peculiar Combination by Ashley WeaverThe Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh
WW2 Era Fiction published in 2021
61 books — 82 voters

Number the Stars by Lois LowryThe War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyThe Hundred Dresses by Eleanor EstesSomeone Named Eva by Joan M. WolfLily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff
Middle Grade Fiction set in the 1940s
385 books — 80 voters
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. ShirerThe Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankMein Kampf by Adolf HitlerIn the Garden of Beasts by Erik LarsonI Will Bear Witness 1933-41 by Victor Klemperer
Classics on Nazi Germany
112 books — 76 voters

Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda DykesThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisAll the Light We Cannot See by Anthony DoerrThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferThe Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Fiction Set in 1940s
267 books — 64 voters
I Capture the Castle by Dodie SmithPrisoner of Night and Fog by Anne BlankmanA Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle CooperConspiracy of Blood and Smoke by Anne BlankmanThe FitzOsbornes in Exile by Michelle Cooper
YA Fiction set in the 1930s
80 books — 60 voters

The Book Thief by Markus ZusakSalt to the Sea by Ruta SepetysThe Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John BoyneCome Back for Me by Sharon Hart-GreenBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Holocaust Fiction for Older Teens
61 books — 57 voters
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. LewisGood Night, Mr. Tom by Michelle MagorianThe War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyCarrie's War by Nina BawdenThe Sky Is Falling by Kit Pearson
War Guests in Children's Literature
95 books — 43 voters

They Called Us Enemy by George TakeiWeedflower by Cynthia KadohataThe Fences Between Us by Kirby LarsonDisplacement by Kiku HughesUnder the Blood-Red Sun by Graham Salisbury
Japanese American Internment in YA & Middle Grade Fiction
56 books — 26 voters
War Horse by Michael MorpurgoIsabel by Carolyn MeyerThe Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow by Ann RinaldiNumber the Stars by Lois LowryThe Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Historical Fiction for Children
123 books — 26 voters

Atomic Secrets by Janet AsbridgeGone with the Wind by Margaret MitchellThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann ShafferThe English Patient by Michael OndaatjeThe Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
Wartime Romances
59 books — 25 voters
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne FrankA Woman in Berlin by AnonymousJambusters by Julie SummersDesert Exile by Yoshiko UchidaBlitz Writing by Inez Holden
Everyday Lives in History: 1940s (nonfiction)
130 books — 23 voters

Delivery Man by Rory LavertyWith the Old Breed by Eugene B. SledgeIf You Survive by George WilsonThe Forgotten Soldier by Guy SajerHelmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie
World War II Combat Memoirs (nonfiction)
54 books — 16 voters
Heroes in Good Company by Skyler BaileyWith the Old Breed by Eugene B. SledgeEscaping with His Life by Sir Nicholas YoungParachute Infantry by David Kenyon WebsterDance of Death by Erich Kern
WW2 Soldier's Memoirs and Accounts
76 books — 15 voters

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate AlbusOur Castle by the Sea by Lucy StrangeThe War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker BradleyWhen the Sky Falls by Phil EarleThe Swallows' Flight by Hilary McKay
Children's WWII Fiction set in the UK
59 books — 13 voters
The Last Secret of The Soul by Stephen P. SmithGreeks Bearing Gifts by Philip KerrThe Huntress by Kate QuinnThe Odessa File by Frederick ForsythThe Nazis Next Door by Eric Lichtblau
Nazi Hunters
35 books — 8 voters

One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping by Barry DenenbergEarly Sunday Morning by Barry DenenbergMy Secret War by Mary Pope OsbornePieces of the Past by Carol MatasThe Fences Between Us by Kirby Larson
Scholastic Diaries: WWII
25 books — 7 voters
The Huntress by Kate QuinnDaughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. RunyanWe Rule the Night by Claire Eliza BartlettNight Witches by Kathryn LaskyRose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
Night Witches: WWII
52 books — 7 voters

Box 1663 by Alex SorelWingmen by Ensan CaseUnhinge the Universe by Aleksandr VoinovLovers in Arms by Osiris BrackhausThe German Officer’s Boy by Harlan Greene
Best M/M Fiction Taking Place in World War II
15 books — 7 voters
The Alice Network by Kate QuinnMy Dear I Wanted to Tell You by Louisa YoungA Good Woman by Danielle SteelSomewhere in France by Jennifer RobsonThe Lost Soldiers by Liz Trenow
World War One & Two Romantic Fiction
59 books — 5 voters

Sex and The Single Girl by Helen Gurley BrownMake Do and Mend by Imperial War MuseumsHow to Run Your Home Without Help by Kay SmallshawMiss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior by Judith MartinKeeping Up Appearances by Roy Clarke
How to be a Lady (Vintage Advice)
37 books — 3 voters
The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul FussellThe Tin Drum by Günter GrassThe Naked and the Dead by Norman MailerThe Rise and Fall of the Third Reich by William L. ShirerFear by Gabriel Chevallier
Prisha's world war syllabus
100 books — 2 voters

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