All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

An alternative to the epic, sweeping historical World War II sagas, this award-winning literary novel makes history much smaller and very personal - as seen through the perspective of a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy.

When you understand that no one is completely good and no one is completely bad - that life is much more nuanced and impacted by perspective - it's easier to see that WWII wasn't simply the Evil Nazis versus the Free World.

Werner's early aptitude for science and math are his salvation from working the coal mines that entombed his father. The conformity and cruelty of his instructors and schoolmates in the elite Nazi Wehrmacht school are tough for the boy to handle, yet he doesn't dare to rebel and destroy his chance for a future.

Marie-Laure goes blind as a young child, and her locksmith father finds fabulous ways to empower his daughter to independence. When they're forced to flee Paris upon invasion, the pair settle with her mentally fragile great-uncle in a towering house on the coast in Saint-Malo.

Many have been critical of the super-short chapters and constantly switching perspectives and timeframes, but I thought it allowed the book to move briskly without my attention flagging. It's not a book that's tied up in a neat bow at the end - some things remain a mystery - again, much like real life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and understand why it won both the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Also, it made me want to read Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!

Code Name: Verity

by Elizabeth Wein

Female pilots are rarely the first thing that comes to mind when someone mentions WWII.  In reality, many did have the important task of ferrying new and/or damaged planes from airfield to airfield.  Thanks to those oft-forgotten women, Wein created Maddie, a young woman with an aptitude for mechanics.  Get to know Maddie through the eyes of her friend, a female spy.  This friend is a prisoner of war with an engaging story to tell.  Throughout much of the book, I couldn't help but wonder how much was really the cover story.  By the end you will know.  If you are a tenderheart, you will be blubbing your way to the finale.

Note: This title ties in well with the nonfiction title, Beyond Courage by Doreen Rappaport.