Historical Fiction To Read if You Love We Were the Lucky Ones
We Were the Lucky Ones is a remarkable story of one family’s resilience during World War II. Filled with captivating characters and a lot of heart, it isn’t hard to see why this New York Times bestseller has sold over one million copies worldwide and is the inspiration for the new series on Hulu! The extraordinary and propulsive historical fiction novels on this list all demonstrate how in the face of history’s darkest moments, the human spirit can endure and even thrive.
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Add to BookshelfWe Were the Lucky Ones
by Georgia Hunter
Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive — and to reunite — We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds.
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Next Year in Havana: Reese’s Book Club
by Chanel Cleeton
After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity — and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution…
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$19.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Wind Knows My Name
by Isabel Allende
“The lives of a Jewish boy escaping Nazi-occupied Europe and a mother and daughter fleeing twenty-first-century El Salvador intersect in this ambitious, intricate novel about war and immigration” (People), from the author of A Long Petal of the Sea and Violeta.
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Code Name Hélène
by Ariel Lawhon
Based on the thrilling real-life story of a socialite spy and astonishing woman who killed a Nazi with her bare hands and went on to become one of the most decorated women in WWII.
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
A remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German Occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name. Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
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Daughters of Shandong
by Eve J. Chung
A propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story.
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$28.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Shanghai Girls
by Lisa See
At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection. Along the way they’ll face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding novel hold fast to who they are: Shanghai girls.
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All We Were Promised
by Ashton Lattimore
A housemaid with a dangerous family secret conspires with a wealthy young abolitionist to help an enslaved girl escape, in volatile pre-Civil War Philadelphia.
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$30.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir
by Jennifer Ryan
The Chilbury Ladies’ Choir unfolds the struggles, affairs, deceptions, and triumphs of a village choir during World War II. An enchanting ensemble story that shuttles from village intrigue to romance to the heartbreaking matters of life and death, Jennifer Ryan’s debut novel thrillingly illuminates the true strength of the women on the home front in a village of indomitable spirit.
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Eternal
by Lisa Scottoline
#1 bestselling author Lisa Scottoline offers a sweeping and shattering epic of historical fiction fueled by shocking true events, the tale of a love triangle that unfolds in the heart of Rome … in the creeping shadow of fascism.
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When the Emperor Was Divine
by Julie Otsuka
This commanding novel paints a portrait of the Japanese American incarceration camps that is both a haunting evocation of a family in wartime and a resonant lesson for our times.
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$16.00Buy from Other Retailers:
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Lilac Girls
by Martha Hall Kelly
Inspired by the life of a real World War II heroine, this remarkable debut novel reveals the power of unsung women to change history in their quest for love, freedom, and second chances.
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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
“An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut that explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle era during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love” (Lisa See).
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A Single Thread
by Tracy Chevalier
An immersive, moving story of a woman coming into her own at the dawn of the Second World War, from internationally bestselling author Tracy Chevalier.
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