Bob Hawke College Library: Year 10 Reading Responses - War

The Paper Girl of Paris by Jordyn Taylor Sixteen-year-old Alice is spending the summer in Paris, but she isn't there for pastries and walks along the Seine. When her grandmother passed away two months ago, she left Alice an apartment in France that no one knew existed. An apartment that has been locked for more than seventy years. Alice is determined to find out why the apartment was abandoned and why her grandmother never once mentioned the family she left behind when she moved to America after World War II. With the help of Paul, a charming Parisian student, she sets out to uncover the truth. However, the more time she spends digging through the mysteries of the past, the more she realises there are secrets in the present that her family is still refusing to talk about. Then: Sixteen-year-old Adalyn doesn't recognize Paris any more. Everywhere she looks, there are Nazis, and every day brings a new horror of life under the occupation. When she meets Luc, the dashing and enigmatic leader of a resistance group, Adalyn feels she finally has a chance to fight back. But keeping up the appearance of being a much-admired socialite while working to undermine the Nazis is more complicated than she could have imagined. As the war goes on, Adalyn finds herself having to make more and more compromises--to her safety, to her reputation, and to her relationships with the people she loves the most.

My Brother Jack by George Johnston David and Jack Meredith grow up in a patriotic suburban Melbourne household during the First World War, and go on to lead lives that could not be more different. Through the story of the two brothers, George Johnston created an enduring exploration of two Australian myths: that of the man who loses his soul as he gains worldly success, and that of the tough, honest Aussie battler, whose greatest ambition is to serve his country during the war.

Interned by Pamela Rushby It's 1914. Gretta lives a privileged life in Singapore, the daughter of a businessman; Tilly lives a modest life in Brisbane, the daughter of a baker. When war breaks out and both countries turn on their families for being German, the two girls find themselves taken from their homes, interned at a camp in rural New South Wales. Far away from everything they have ever known, Gretta and Tilly are forced to face prejudice, overcome adversity and to make their own community.

The Donkey Who Carried the Wounded by Jackie French Most Australians know of Simpson and his donkey, who became heroes at Gallipoli even among the Turkish forces. Few know where the donkey came from or what happened to him after World War I. Or that another man carried on rescuing the wounded with the donkey after Simpson died. This is the story of a small unassuming donkey. It's also the story of Gallipoli, of Jack Simpson, and New Zealander stretcher-bearer Richard Henderson, who literally took up the reins after Simpson's death.

The Trenches: Billy Stevens, The Western Front 1914-1918 by Jim Eldridge The account of a young telegraph operator who enlists in the army with his friends at the tender age of 15 and who finds himself part of key events in World War I.

Wave by Paul Dowswell Brothers Eddie and Charlie find a photo of the great-great-uncles they were named after and discover an amazing story of WWI, at the Front and back at home. Assured that the Germans have been destroyed by bombardment, the earlier Eddie and Charlie are sent into No Man's Land in the 'First Wave' of the Somme. But when Charlie is forced to leave Eddie behind, his life is haunted by grief and guilt.

The Good Son: a Story from the First World War, Told in Miniature by Pierre-Jacques Ober It is Christmastime, 1914, and World War I rages. A young French soldier named Pierre had quietly left his regiment to visit his family for two days, and when he returned, he was imprisoned. Now he faces execution for desertion, and as he waits in isolation, he meditates on big questions: the nature of patriotism, the horrors of war, the joys of friendship, the love of family, and how even in times of danger, there is a whole world inside every one of us. And how sometimes that world is the only refuge. Its publication coinciding with the centennial of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, this moving and sparely narrated story, based on true events, is reenacted in fascinating miniature scenes that convey the emotional complexity of the tale. Notes from the creators explore the innovative process and their personal connection to the story.

Let's Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C.Anderson When Abdi's family is kidnapped, he's coerced into becoming a child soldier for ruthless militia group Al Shabaab. Agreeing to act as a spy for the Americans in the hope of saving those he loves, Abdi soon finds himself so embroiled in the militia group that he's no longer sure what he believes. After finally escaping, Abdi finds himself on the streets of Sangui City, stealing what he can to get by and trying desperately to forget the atrocities he witnessed. However, he soon finds he can no longer run when an arrest for petty theft sets in motion a chain of events which force him to confront the past.

Little Brother by Allan Baillie It follows a young boy, separated from his elder brother whilst attempting to flee the terror of the reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It provides an insight into the general plight of refugees using the specific instance of this horrible experience as a backdrop.

Ground Zero: A Novel of 9/11 by Alan Gratz It's September 11, 2001. Brandon, a 9-year-old boy, goes to work for the day with his dad at the World Trade Center in New York City. When two planes hit the towers, Brandon and his father are trapped inside a fiery nightmare as terror and confusion swirl around them. Can they escape and what will the world be like when they do? In present-day Afghanistan, Reshmina is an 11-year-old girl who is used to growing up in the shadow of war, but she has dreams of peace and unity. When she ends up harboring a wounded young American soldier, she and her entire family are put in mortal danger.

Parvana by Deborah Ellis There are many types of battle in Afghanistan.Imagine living in a country where women and girls are not allowed to leave the house without a man. Imagine having to wear clothes that cover every part of your body, including your face, whenever you go out. This is the life of Parvana, a young girl growing up in Afghanistan under the control of an extreme religious military group.When soldiers burst into her home and drag her father off to prison, Parvana is forced to take responsibility for her whole family, dressing as a boy to make a living in the marketplace of Kabul, risking her life in the dangerous and volatile city.By turns exciting and touching, Parvanais a story of courage in the face of overwhelming fear and repression.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien Lieutenant Jimmy Cross, the leader of a platoon of soldiers in Vietnam, carries physical reminders of Martha, the object of his unrequited love. Thoughts of Martha often distract Lieutenant Cross from his team's objectives. A death in the squad under his supervision causes Cross to reconsider his priorities; as he was heartbroken, he burns and throws away all reminders of Martha in order to focus on the mission and avoid distractions.

Father of the Lost Boys for Younger Readers by Yuot A. Alaak Once, there was a man who rescued 20,000 boys from almost certain death. That man was my father. One of those boys was me. This is our story. During the Second Sudanese Civil War, thousands of boys were displaced or orphaned. In 1989, Mecak Ajang Alaak led the Lost Boys on a four-year journey from Ethiopia to Kenya to protect them from becoming child soldiers.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John le Carre It is now beyond a doubt that a mole, implanted decades ago by Moscow Centre, has burrowed his way into the highest echelons of British Intelligence. His treachery has already blown some of its most vital operations and its best networks. It is clear that the double agent is one of its own kind. But which one? George Smiley is assigned to identify him. And once identified, the traitor must be destroyed.

Boy, Everywhere by A. M. Dassu What turns citizens into refugees and then immigrants? In this powerful middle-grade debut, Sami and his family embark on a harrowing journey to save themselves from the Syrian civil war. Sami loves his life in Damascus, Syria, but when war breaks out his parents decide they must flee their home for the safety of the UK.

Amazing World War II Stories by Nel Yomtov; Blake Hoena; Bruce Berglund In times of war, soldiers on the front lines must show their bravery. But acts of courage by some people aren't known until years after the fighting ends. From flying bombing missions in the dead of night, to tricking the enemy with fake encampments and unbreakable codes, to surviving horrific treatment by the enemy through sheer force of will, these incredible true tales will show how courage in war is often displayed by history's unsung heroes.

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank In the summer of 1942, fleeing the horrors of the Nazi occupation, Anne Frank and her family were forced into hiding in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse. Aged thirteen when she went into the secret annexe, Anne kept a diary in which she confided her innermost thoughts and feelings, movingly revealing how the eight people living under these extraordinary conditions coped with the daily threat of discovery and death, being cut off from the outside world, petty misunderstandings and the unbearable strain of living like prisoners. An intimate record of tension and struggle, adolescence and confinement, anger and heartbreak.

Heroes of the Secret Underground by Susanne Gervay A timely and powerful time-slip story inspired by the author's family in Budapest during the Holocaust. Louie lives with her brothers, Bert and Teddy, in a hotel run by their grandparents. It is one of Sydney's grand old buildings, rich in history ... and in secrets. When a rose-gold locket, once thought lost, is uncovered, it sends Louie and her brothers spinning back in time. Back to a world at war: Budapest in the winter of 1944, where their grandparents are hiding secrets of their own.

The Bombing of Darwin: the diary of Tom Taylor 1942 by Alan Tucker 'More bombs exploded and within seconds several ships were on fire. Japanese planes flew so close to me that I could not only see the red circles painted under their wings, but I could see the pilots' faces.' It only took a moment. It was a moment that Tom would always remember--that morning of 19 February 1942, when everything changed changed from peace to war.

The Boy and the Spy by Felice Arena A thrilling wartime story. Life has never been easy for Antonio, but since the war began, there are German soldiers on every corner, fearsome gangsters and the fascist police battle each other in the town, and no one ever has enough to eat. But when Antonio decides to trust a man who has literally fallen from the sky, he leaps into the adventure of a lifetime. An adventure that will change his life and maybe even the future of Sicily.

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne Bored and lonely after his family moves from Berlin to a desolate place called "Out-With" in 1942, nine-year-old Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends Shmuel, a boy in striped pyjamas who lives behind a wire fence.

SS-GB by Len Deighton In February 1941, British Command surrendered to the Nazis. Churchill has been executed, the King is in the Tower and the SS are in Whitehall. For nine months Britain has been occupied, a blitzed, depressed and dingy country. However, it's business as usual at Scotland Yard, run by the SS, when Detective Inspector Archer is assigned to a routine murder case. Life must go on. But when SS Standartenfuhrer Huth arrives from Berlin with orders from Himmler himself to supervise the investigation, the resourceful Archer finds himself caught up in a high-level, all-action espionage battle.

While the Storm Rages by Phil Earle September 1939. The world is on the brink of war. As his dad marches off to fight, Noah makes him a promise, to keep their beloved family dog safe. When the government advises people to have their pets put down in readiness for the chaos of war, hundreds of thousands of people do as they are told. But not Noah. He's not that sort of boy. With his two friends in tow, he goes on the run, to save his dog and as many animals as he can. No matter what.

Tulips for Breakfast by Catherine Bauer Set in Amsterdam during the Second World War, from the arrival of the German army to liberation. For much of this time, Adelena lives in hiding in the home of her music teacher. Her Jewish parents, who fled pre-war Germany with Adelena, have left her in the care of someone else in the belief their only child's chances of survival are greatest if she can remain in hiding for as long as it takes to be free again. Adelena feels abandoned but finds a way to adjust, her heart warmed by memories.

The Dog with Seven Names by Dianne Wolfer A tiny dog, the runt of the litter, is born on a remote cattle station. She shouldn't have survived, but when Elsie finds, names and loves her, the pup becomes a cherished companion. Life is perfect, until War arrives. With Japanese air raids moving closer, Elsie's family leaves the Pilbara for the south and safety. But the small dog has to stay behind. After travelling far from home with drovers and a flying doctor, she becomes a hospital dog and experiences the impact of war on north-western Australia. She witnesses wonderful and terrible things and gives courage to many different humans. But through all her adventures and many names, the little dog remembers Elsie, who girl who loved her best of all. Will she ever find her again?

Katipo Joe by Brian Falkner Young Joe is living in pre-WWII Berlin, with his British father and NZ mother, attending school and witnessing the excitement of his friends who are enthusiastically joining the Hitler Youth Movement. Joe feels uncomfortable with the growing mistreatment of local Jews, and after the arrest of his father as a spy, he is forced to escape from Berlin with his mother. Joe is separated from his mother and evacuated to New Zealand, and, while war looms in Europe, he is frustrated by his distance from the action, and his inability to do anything about finding his father. After a harrowing route back to Europe, Joe attempts to infiltrate the Hitler Youth movement in Germany while at the same time searching for his mother and father in wartime Berlin.

Waiting for the Storks by Katrina Nannestad It's the Second World War and Himmler's Lebensborn Program is in full flight when eight-year-old Zofia Ulinski is kidnapped by the Germans. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the other Polish children taken from their families and robbed of their names, their language, their heritage. But when Zofia is adopted into a wealthy and loving German family, it is easier, it is safer to bury her past, deep down, so everything is forgotten. Until the Polish boy arrives. And the past comes back to haunt her.

Hetty: a true story by Hetty E. Verolme An extraordinary story of the struggle and survival of a group of children in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, this autobiographical tale details the motherly role adopted by the adolescent author during her time in the camp. This moving memoir reveals how Hetty and her siblings survived after they were taken from their parents and encamped at the Children’s House in Belsen, Germany.

Irena's Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo In 1942, one young social worker, Irena Sendler, was granted access to the Warsaw ghetto as a public health specialist. While there, she reached out to the trapped Jewish families, going from door to door and asking the parents to trust her with their young children. She started smuggling them out of the walled district, convincing her friends and neighbors to hide them. Driven to extreme measures and with the help of a network of local tradesmen, ghetto residents, and her star-crossed lover in the Jewish resistance, Irena ultimately smuggled thousands of children past the Nazis. She made dangerous trips through the citys sewers, hid children in coffins, snuck them under overcoats at checkpoints, and slipped them through secret passages in abandoned buildings. But Irena did something even more astonishing at immense personal risk: she kept secret lists buried in bottles under an old apple tree in a friends back garden. On them were the names and true identities of those Jewish children, recorded with the hope that their relatives could find them after the war. She could not have known that more than ninety percent of their families would perish. (

The Last Train by Rona Arato The Last Train is the harrowing true story about young brothers Paul and Oscar Arato and their mother, Lenke, surviving the Nazi occupation during the final years of World War II. Living in the town of Karcag, Hungary, the Aratos feel insulated from the war - even as it rages all around them. Hungary is allied with Germany to protect its citizens from invasion, but in 1944 Hitler breaks his promise to keep the Nazis out of Hungary. The Nazi occupation forces the family into situations of growing panic and fear: first into a ghetto in their hometown; then a labor camp in Austria; and, finally, to the deadly Bergen Belsen camp deep in the heart of Germany. Separated from their father, 6-year-old Paul and 11-year-old Oscar must care for their increasingly sick mother, all while trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy amid the horrors of the camp. In the spring of 1945, the boys see British planes flying over the camp, and a spark of hope that the war will soon end ignites. And then, they are forced onto a dark, stinking boxcar by the Nazi guards. After four days on the train, the boys are convinced they will be killed, but through a twist of fate, the train is discovered and liberated by a battalion of American soldiers marching through Germany.

Flowers in the Gutter by K. R. Gaddy Their earliest memories were of the Nazi rise to power and of their parents fighting Brownshirts in the streets, being sent to prison, or just disappearing. By the time they were teenagers, the Nazis expected them to be part of the war machine. Fritz, Gertrud, and Jean and hundreds like them said no. They grew bolder, painting anti-Nazi graffiti, distributing anti-war leaflets, and helping those persecuted by the Nazis. The Gestapo pursued and arrested hundreds of Edelweiss Pirates. In the war's desperate final year, some Pirates joined in sabotage and armed resistance, risking the Third Reich's ultimate punishment. This is their story.

A woman of no importance: the untold story of WWII's most dangerous spy, Virginia Hall by Sonia Purnell The never-before-told story of one woman's heroism that changed the course of the Second World War. In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." This spy was Virginia Hall, a young American woman--rejected from the foreign service because of her gender and her prosthetic leg--who talked her way into the spy organization dubbed Churchill's "ministry of ungentlemanly warfare," and, before the United States had even entered the war, became the first woman to deploy to occupied France. Virginia Hall was one of the greatest spies in American history, yet her story remains untold. Sonia Purnell uncovers the captivating story of a powerful, influential, yet shockingly overlooked heroine of the Second World War. At a time when sending female secret agents into enemy territory was still strictly forbidden, Virginia Hall came to be known as the "Madonna of the Resistance," coordinating a network of spies to blow up bridges, report on German troop movements, arrange equipment drops for Resistance agents, and recruit and train guerilla fighters. Even as her face covered WANTED posters throughout Europe, Virginia refused order after order to evacuate. She finally escaped with her life in a grueling hike over the Pyrenees into Spain, her cover blown, and her associates all imprisoned or executed. But, adamant that she had "more lives to save," she dove back in as soon as she could, organizing forces to sabotage enemy lines and back up Allied forces landing on Normandy beaches.

Courage Be My Friend by Jenny Davis Sister Vivian Bullwinkel was the only survivor of the Bangka Island massacre during World War II. Her evocative story is told through the eyes of fifteen-year-old Edith ‘Edie’ Kenneison. Sister Bullwinkel enlisted in the Australian Army Nurse Service at the outbreak of World War II and was posted to Singapore. In February 1942, she and hundreds of others attempted to escape the advancing Japanese army but was captured and held as a prisoner of war. Vivian spent the next three years in captivity, working tirelessly to help her fellow prisoners. One of those prisoners was young Edie. Their remarkable friendship would help them survive and became the basis of a lifelong bond.

Fritz and Kurt by F DRO When everything is taken away from you, love and courage are all you have left. In 1938, the Nazis come to Vienna. They hate anyone who is different, especially Jewish people. Fritz and Kurt's family are Jewish, and that puts them in terrible danger. Fritz, along with his father, is taken to a Nazi prison camp, a terrible place, full of fear. When his father is sent to a certain death, Fritz can't face losing his beloved Papa. He chooses to go with him and fight for survival. Meanwhile, Kurt must go on a frightening journey, all alone, to seek safety on the far side of the world. In this extraordinary true story, Fritz and Kurt must face unimaginable hardships, and the two brothers wonder if they will ever return home . . .

28 Days: a Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto by David Safier Warsaw, 1942. Sixteen-year old Mira smuggles food into the Ghetto to keep herself and her family alive. When she discovers that the entire Ghetto is to be "liquidated" -- killed or "resettled" to concentration camps -- she desperately tries to find a way to save her family. She meets a group of young people who are planning the unthinkable: an uprising against the occupying forces. Mira joins the resistance fighters who, with minimal supplies and weapons, end up holding out for twenty-eight days, longer than anyone had thought possible.

Last Man Out: A personal account of the Gallipoli evacuation by Louise Park The evacuation from Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand troops was a logistically incredible undertaking. The exhausted young men were to slip away by ship in the dead of night. But…Someone needed to remain behind to cover for their fellow soldiers. This was a mission that almost certainly meant death. Would it be you? Would you volunteer to be the last man out? And so, the rivalry begins. Who will be chosen to stay on until the end? Who will hold fast to the last to allow tens of thousands to slip away silently from Gallipoli? Only the fittest, the most gallant and capable will be chosen. The pick of the whole force, we are told. And the message is clear: the rear guard of honour will be killed or captured. The rear party, the most daring men of all, doomed. John Alexander Park grew up in England and served in Africa, the Afghan War, and the Boxer Rising before settling in Australia. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914 sparked The Great War -- or World War I. On 1st March 1915, John joined the Australian Army in Sydney and was promoted to Sergeant before being assigned to the 19th Battalion. He was 36 years old and a seasoned serviceman when he arrived at Gallipoli. And he was the last man out.

Escape from East Berlin by Andy Marino December, 1961 - Marta is a young girl who saw thirty miles of barbed wire appear across her city overnight, separating Berlin into West and East - with Marta's home on the Communist Bloc - controlled eastern side. January, 1989 - Now a spray-painted concrete monolith, the Berlin Wall bisects the city. Kurt, a young East Berliner, often wonders what those living on the other side must think of their unseen neighbours. Do they hate the people of East Germany as completely as Kurt has been instructed to hate them? Inspired by real events, Escape from East Berlin tells two stories of daring bids for freedom from the Eastern Bloc, set decades apart and relayed in alternating perspectives. Triumph and tragedy intertwine in this examination of both the earliest and final days of the Berlin Wall.

The Boy Who Didn't Want To Die by Peter Lantos Peter and his parents set out from a small Hungarian town, travelling through Austria and then Germany together. Along the way, unforgettable images of adventure flash one after another: sleeping in a tent and then under the sky, discovering a disused brick factory, catching butterflies in the meadows - and as Peter realises that this adventure is really a nightmare - watching bombs falling from the blue sky outside Vienna, learning maths from his mother in Belsen. All this is drawn against a background of terror, starvation, infection and, inevitably, death, before Peter and his mother can return home

The tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris This novel is based on the true story of Lale and Gita Sokolov, two Slovakian Jews, who survived Auschwitz and eventually made their home in Australia. In that terrible place, Lale was given the job of tattooing the prisoners marked for survival - literally scratching numbers into his fellow victims' arms in indelible ink to create what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust. Lale used the infinitesimal freedom of movement that this position awarded him to exchange jewels and money taken from murdered Jews for food to keep others alive. If he had been caught he would have been killed; many owed him their survival.

Grenade by Alan Gratz It's 1945, and the world is in the grip of war. Hideki lives with his family on the island of Okinawa, near Japan. When WWII crashes onto his shores, Hideki is drafted into the Blood and Iron Student Corps to fight for the Japanese army. He is handed a grenade and a set of instructions: Don't come back until you've killed an American soldier. Ray, a young American Marine, has just landed on Okinawa. This is Ray's first-ever battle, and he doesn't know what to expect - or if he'll make it out alive. He just knows that the enemy is everywhere with ambushes and dangerous traps. But then the two of them collide in the middle of the battle and choices they make in that single instant will change everything.

Running with Ivan by Suzanne Leal Thirteen-year-old Leo Arnold hates his life. He doesn't want a new school. a new house or a new family. And he definitely doesn't want to be sharing a room with his new stepbrother, Cooper. What Leo wants is to be somewhere else, far away. So when he discovers an old music box and turns the key, he is astonished to find himself in Prague, surrounded by whispers and fears of a second world war. A war that ended decades ago. In Prague, Leo meets Iva, a Czech boy, and the two become friends, But when World War Two finally erupts, the unimaginable becomes real and the boys are imprisoned. Fearing the worst, Leo and Ivan frantically search for an escape. A search that sends them running. Running against time. Running for their lives.

Sharpe's tiger: Richard Sharpe and the Siege of Seringapatam, 1799 by Bernard Cornwell Richard Sharpe avoids the tyrannical Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill and endeavours to rescue a British officer from under the nose of the Tippoo of Mysore. But in fleeing Hakeswill, Sharpe enters the exotic and dangerous world of the Tippoo. An adventure that will require all of his wits just to stay alive, let alone save the British army from catastrophe. Soldier, hero, rogue - Sharpe is the man you always want on your side. Born in poverty, he joined the army to escape jail and climbed the ranks by sheer brutal courage. He knows no other family than the regiment of the 95th Rifles whose green jacket he proudly wears.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy The novel begins in 1805, in the crowded and gossip-filled rooms of a St Petersburg party, and follows the fortunes of the aristocratic Bolkonsky and Rostov families as Napoleon's armies sweep through Europe, culminating in the French invasion of Russia in 1812 and Napoleon's defeat. Tolstoy's vast novel takes in both the epic sweep of national events and the private experience of individuals, from the keen young soldier to Napoleon himself, and at the heart of it all, the complicated triangle of affection that binds his central characters.

You Don't Know What War Is by Yeva Skalietska Everyone knows the word "war". But very few understand what it truly means - when you find you have to face it, you feel totally lost, walled in by fright and despair. All of your plans are suddenly interrupted - Until you've been there, you don't know what war is. This is the gripping, urgent and moving diary of young Ukrainian refugee Yeva Skalietska. It follows twelve days in Ukraine that changed 12-year-old Yeva's life forever. She was woken in the early hours to the terrifying sounds of shelling. Russia had invaded Ukraine, and her beloved Kharkiv home was no longer the safe haven it should have been. It was while she and her Granny were forced to seek shelter in a damp, cramped basement that Yeva decided to write down her story. And it is a story that the world needs to hear.

The War that Saved my Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley Nine-year-old Ada has never left her one-room flat. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada's twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn't waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him. So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Miss Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take in the two children. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie. But in the end, will their bond be enough to hold them together through wartime? Or will Ada and her brother fall back into the cruel hands of their mother?

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has the seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

In Harm's Way by Iain Martin In September 1941, young Jack Kennedy was appointed an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve. After completing training and eager to serve, he volunteered for combat duty in the Pacific and was appointed commander of PT 109. On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's PT 109 and two others were on a night mission to ambush an enemy supply convoy when they were surprised by a massive Japanese destroyer. The unsuspecting Americans had only seconds to react as the Japanese captain turned his ship to ram directly into Kennedy's. PT 109 was cut in half by the collision, killing two of Kennedy's 12 crewmen and wounding several others in the explosion.

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi Two sisters are torn apart by war and must fight their way back to each other in a futuristic, Black Panther—inspired Nigeria.The year is 2172. Climate change and nuclear disasters have rendered much of earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky.In a war-torn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying, deadly mechs and soldiers are outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to protect them from the harsh, radiation-heavy climate. Across the nation, as the years-long civil war wages on, survival becomes the only way of life.Two sisters, Onyii and Ify, dream of more. Their lives have been marked by violence and political unrest. Still, they dream of peace, of hope, of a future together.And they're willing to fight an entire war to get there.