Books like 'Anya'
Readers who enjoyed Anya by Susan Fromberg Schaeffer also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical 20th century military, war & conflict europe ww2 historical-fiction western-central-europe poland war literary-fiction
-
Hana by Alena Mornštajnová
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIt's 1954 and nine-year-old Mira's life is about to change forever. After a typhoid outbreak rages through her town, robbing her of her parents and siblings, the orphaned child is forced to live with her mysterious, depressive Aunt Hana, a figure both frightening and fragile... -
![All the Broken Places by John Boyne]()
All the Broken Places by John Boyne
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsThe sequel to the phenomenal bestseller, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, this is John Boyne's latest novel for adults.1946. Three years after a cataclysmic event which tore their lives apart, a mother and daughter flee Poland for Paris, shame, and fear at their heels, not knowing how hard it is to escape your past... -
![Three Sisters by Heather Morris]()
Three Sisters by Heather Morris
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA promise to stay together.An unbreakable bond.A fierce will to survive.From international bestselling author Heather Morris comes the breathtaking conclusion to The Tattooist of Auschwitz trilogy.When they are girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what.Years later, at just 15 years old, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis... -
![The Postcard by Anne Berest]()
The Postcard by Anne Berest
Rated: 4.44 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsAnne Berest’s luminous, moving, and unforgettable new novel The Postcard is the most acclaimed and beloved French book in recent years... -
-
![The Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel]()
The Girls in the Attic by Marius Gabriel
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe bestselling author of The Designer presents a sweeping story of blind faith, family allegiance and how love makes one man question everything he thought he knew.Max Wolff is a committed soldier of the Reich. So when he is sent home wounded, only to discover that his mother is sheltering two young Jewish women in their home, he is outraged... -
![Two Brothers by Ben Elton]()
Two Brothers by Ben Elton
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsTwo Brothers is a heartrending story of two boys growing up under the darkening shadow of the Nazis. Born in Berlin in 1920 and raised by the same parents, one boy is Jewish, his adopted brother is Aryan. At first, their origins are irrelevant. But as the political landscape changes they are forced to make decisions with horrifying consequences...Categorized as:
coming-of-age drama europe family historical-fiction literary-fiction war western-central-europe -
![The German Girl by Lily Graham]()
The German Girl by Lily Graham
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratings‘Our parents were taken. And if we go home, the Nazis will take us too…’Hamburg 1938. Fifteen-year-old Asta is hurrying home from school with her twin brother Jurgen. The mood in the city is tense – synagogues have been smashed with sledgehammers, and Asta is too frightened to laugh as she used to.But when she and Jurgen are stopped in the street by a friend, her world implodes further...Categorized as:
drama europe family historical-fiction literary-fiction war western-central-europe ww2 -
![A Ration Book Daughter by Jean Fullerton]()
A Ration Book Daughter by Jean Fullerton
Rated: 4.63 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsCathy was a happy, blushing bride when Britain went to war with Germany three years ago. But her youthful dreams were crushed by her violent husband Stanley's involvement with the fascist black-shirts, and even when he's conscripted to fight she knows it's only a brief respite - divorce is not an option. Cathy's only solace is her little son Peter... -
![The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller]()
The Girls in Blue by Fenella J. Miller
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsJane Hadley has nothing to lose when she runs away to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Whatever faces her in war-torn London can't be any worse than staying at home with her abusive father...The city is nothing like she could have imagined, but she's soon on the move, travelling from base to base for her top-secret training...Categorized as:
historical-fiction ww2 war coming-of-age literary-fiction romance historical fiction -
![The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham]()
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children... -
![Pastel Orphans by Gemma Liviero]()
Pastel Orphans by Gemma Liviero
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsIn 1930s Berlin, young Henrik, the son of a Jewish father and Aryan mother, watches the world around him crumbling: people are rioting in the streets, a strange yellow star begins appearing in shop windows, and friends are forced to move—or they simply disappear.After his father becomes gravely ill, Henrik and his little sister, Greta, are taken by their mother to Poland for safety... -
![The Child On Platform One by Gill Thompson]()
The Child On Platform One by Gill Thompson
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsInspired by the real-life escape of thousands of Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe on the Kindertransport trains to London, the new novel from the author of The Oceans Between Us Gill Thompson. For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz Heather Morris, The Choice Edith Eger and Lilac Girls Martha Hall Kelly. Prague 1939. Young mother Eva has a secret from her past... -
![On a Wing and a Prayer by Helen Carey]()
On a Wing and a Prayer by Helen Carey
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 10 ratings‘This dramatic and poignant novel depicts the resilience of ordinary people caught up in an extraordinary war.Unputdownable!’ Western Telegraph Life is hard in London in 1941, and yet Helen de Burrel finds herself volunteering to join the SOE. Nobody knows that her cool exterior conceals such courage ... and such fear. It also means that love, when it strikes unexpectedly, is doubly dangerous... -
![Life in the Tomb by Stratis Myrivilis, Στρατής Μυριβήλης]()
Life in the Tomb by Stratis Myrivilis, Στρατής Μυριβήλης
Rated: 4.42 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"Life in the Tomb" a war novel written in journal form by a sergeant in the trenches, has been the single most successful and widely read serious work of fiction in Greece since its publication in serial form in 1923-1924, having sold more than 80,000 copies in book form despite its inclusion on the list of censored novels under both the Metaxas regime and the German occupation... -
-
![Surviving the Fatherland by Annette Oppenlander]()
Surviving the Fatherland by Annette Oppenlander
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSpanning thirteen years from 1940 to 1953 and set against the epic panorama of WWII, SURVIVING THE FATHERLAND is a sweeping saga of family, love, and betrayal that illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the children's war...Categorized as:
coming-of-age family historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century audiobook -
![Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel]()
Night Angels by Weina Dai Randel
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsFrom the author of The Last Rose of Shanghai comes a profoundly moving novel based on the true story of a diplomat and his wife who risked their lives to help Viennese Jews escape the Nazis.1938. Dr. Ho Fengshan, consul general of China, is posted in Vienna with his American wife, Grace...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe historical-fiction ww2 war literary-fiction family austria -
![The Bomb Girl Brides by Daisy Styles]()
The Bomb Girl Brides by Daisy Styles
Rated: 4.67 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt's 1944 and Britain is a country at war. The young women of the Phoenix munitions factory are giving their all to the cause, but romance is beckoning . . . The life of a Bomb Girl isn't usually glamourous. But Maggie is getting married, so she is going to make sure her wedding day is - even if she does have to spend every other day slaving on the factory floor... -
![28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto by David Safier]()
28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto by David Safier
Rated: 4.31 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsInspired by true events, David Safier's 28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto is a harrowing historical YA that chronicles the brutality of the Holocaust.Warsaw, 1942. Sixteen-year old Mira smuggles food into the Ghetto to keep herself and her family alive... -
![The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix]()
The Secret Letter by Debbie Rix
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFor readers of Orphan Train, The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Book Thief comes an unforgettable novel inspired by a true story about the power of human kindness and bravery in a time of unimaginable heartbreak... -
![Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard]()
Confusion by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom Simon & Schuster, Elizabeth Jane Howard's Confusion is the next chapter in the Cazalet Chronicles perfect for any lovers of historical fiction and one that will not disappoint.The long, dark days of struggle provide the poignant background to the third book of the Cazalet Chronicle. As the war enters its fourth year, chaos has become a way of life... -
![Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard]()
Casting Off by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom Simon & Schuster, Elizabeth Jane Howard's Casting Off is the next chapter in the Cazalet Chronicles perfect for any lovers of historical fiction and one that will not disappoint.In the aftermath of Ve Day in England, the extended Cazalet family endures such difficult events as deaths, weddings, a shattering pregnancy, and divorces... -
![Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Richard Harris]()
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Richard Harris
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis collection brings together music played by Captain Corelli himself and original pieces evoking the sounds and events of the book and of 3 earlier novels, the Latin Trilogy', by Louis de Bernieres... -
![Heavy Sand by Anatoli Rybakov]()
Heavy Sand by Anatoli Rybakov
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsTwo main parts of Anatoly Rybakov are titled after the writer’s major novels, Children of the Arbat and Heavy Sand, and explore the continuing relevance of these works for contemporary Russia... -
![The Inseparable Twins by Anatoly Pristavkin, Michael Glenny]()
The Inseparable Twins by Anatoly Pristavkin, Michael Glenny
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsВ этот сборник А.Приставкина вошли повесть "Ночевала тучка золотая" и рассказы, написанные в разные годы. Но объединены они все одной общей темой - темой войны. Это суровое и тяжкое детство, это люди, спасшие из военного пожара целое поколение. Это размышления автора о раннем взрослении юных, о дружбе и товариществе, о любви к родной земле... -
-
![The Lifeline by Deborah Swift]()
The Lifeline by Deborah Swift
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the heart of Norway to Shetland in Scotland, one couple fight to overthrow the Nazis…1942, Nazi-occupied NorwaySchoolteacher Astrid Dahl has always kept out of trouble. But when she is told to teach the fascist Nazi curriculum, she refuses and starts a teacher’s rebellion, persuading eight thousand teachers to go on strike... -
![The Maid's Secret by Shari J. Ryan]()
The Maid's Secret by Shari J. Ryan
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsCzechoslovakia, 1942: “Please don’t take him,” I plead to the Nazis.“I love you, Mila,” Ben says, hoarsely. “So much. Forever.”“Ben!” I shout as the soldiers pull him away, my heart thudding. “I love you. Please, come back.” I’m screaming at the top of my lungs as the world turns black around me.In the mountains of Bohemia, Mila, a Romani, works as a maid for an aristocratic Jewish family...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe historical-fiction war ww2 coming-of-age literary-fiction historical -
![The Scarlet Nightingale by Alan Titchmarsh]()
The Scarlet Nightingale by Alan Titchmarsh
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsAs war rages across Europe, one young woman is torn between love and loyalty.Set in wartime London and occupied France, this is a thrilling story of love, danger and sacrifice from bestselling novelist Alan Titchmarsh.It is the late 1930s when seventeen-year-old Rosamund Hanbury leaves behind the endless summers of her coastal Devonshire home for the fast pace of high society London... -
![The Smallest Crack by Roberta Kagan]()
The Smallest Crack by Roberta Kagan
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratings1933 Berlin, GermanyWhen the price for life is dishonor dipped in blood, how much is too much?Eli Kaetzel and his beautiful but timid wife Rebecca suddenly find themselves in the gaping maws of Adolf Hitler's murderous rampage. Eli knows that their only chance, however slim, for survival may lie in the hands of Gretchen, a spirited Aryan girl...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe historical-fiction ww2 war literary-fiction germany urban -
![The Green Gauntlet by R.F. Delderfield]()
The Green Gauntlet by R.F. Delderfield
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsPaul and Claire Craddock have grown older in years - but not in spirit. World War II is over. But for Craddock and his family there are new battles to be fought and won. The new property laws enable speculators to reap huge profits from agricultural lands, and Paul's livelihood is threatened... -
![Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland]()
Dreams of Silver by Mina Baites, Alison Layland
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsA single treasured keepsake links one unforgettable family across continents in this enthralling saga by Mina Baites, the author of The Silver Music Box. London, 1963. I dream about my sister almost every night. Lilian Morrison has one memento of her beloved sister, Emma: a battered silver music box... -
![The Wall by John Hersey]()
The Wall by John Hersey
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRiveting & compelling, The Wall tells the inspiring story of forty men & women who escape the dehumanizing horror of the Warsaw ghetto. John Hersey's novel documents the Warsaw ghetto both as an emblem of Nazi persecution & as a personal confrontation with torture, starvation, humiliation & cruelty--a gripping, visceral story, impossible to put down...Categorized as:
classics coming-of-age historical-fiction literary-fiction war ww2 20th-century adult -
![Ofrene by Gerald Green]()
Ofrene by Gerald Green
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsGerald Green's novel Holocaust, which is based on his teleplay for the 1978 NBC miniseries, seeks to put faces on the tragedy by telling the story of the experience of two German families whose lives intersect at certain points...Categorized as:
classics drama europe historical-fiction literary-fiction war western-central-europe ww2 -
![To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield]()
To Serve Them All My Days by R.F. Delderfield
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsYoung David Powlett-Jones, a Welsh miner's son, is invalided home from France when he suffers severe shell shock on the Western Front... -
![The Lost Children by Shirley Dickson]()
The Lost Children by Shirley Dickson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAs they walked towards the railway station, their mother took an envelope from her handbag. ‘I want you to keep this somewhere safe.’‘What’s in the letter?’‘Listen carefully. You’re never to open it unless you or your sister are in real trouble. Promise me.’England, 1943: Home is no longer safe for eight-year-old twins Molly and Jacob... -
-
![Slepá mapa by Alena Mornštajnová]()
Slepá mapa by Alena Mornštajnová
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 16 ratings„Lidé přicházejí na svět z různých důvodů – z lásky, náhodou, nebo omylem. Já jsem se narodila kvůli bytu,“ předesílá hlavní hrdinka Anežka na začátku ságy o trojici žen, která se začala psát už před první světovou válkou.Do Anežčina osudu se promítají nejen životní příběhy jejích rodičů a prarodičů, ale i krutý dopad dějinných událostí... -
![The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher]()
The Sugar Men by Ray Kingfisher
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe Sugar Men - A Story of Holocaust Echoes. Susannah Morgan has been settled in sleepy North Carolina for almost sixty-five years, but is still haunted by memories of her escape from the holocaust as a child. For most of her life the flashbacks have been a lonely obsession - one she has managed to hide from her children... -
![The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf]()
The Notebook by Ágota Kristóf
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratings"With icy dispassion, first novelist Kristof, herself a refugee of war, spins a modern-day fable set in Eastern Europe during WW II. It records, in the form of a notebook written by two small boys, the nightmarish ordeal of twins brought by their mother from the bomb-spattered Big Town to their grandmother's home in Little Town... -
![A Fight in Silence by Melanie Metzenthin]()
A Fight in Silence by Melanie Metzenthin
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsGermany, 1926. When Richard and Paula meet in bustling, cosmopolitan Hamburg, everything feels possible. They fall in love, marry and are soon blessed with twins, a beautiful boy and girl. When Richard qualifies as a psychiatrist, life ahead looks bright. Their only sadness is that their son, Georg, was born deaf, although with his family to protect him they’re sure he’ll be okay...Categorized as:
europe western-central-europe historical-fiction war ww2 literary-fiction family germany -
![Darkest Before Dawn by Katie Flynn]()
Darkest Before Dawn by Katie Flynn
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe Todd family are strangers to city life when they move into a flat on the Scotland Road; their previous home was a canal barge. Harry gets a job as warehouse manager and his wife, Martha, works in a grocer's shop, whilst Seraphina trains as a teacher, Angela works in Bunney's Department Store and young Evie starts at regular school... -
![When I Was Yours by Lizzie Page]()
When I Was Yours by Lizzie Page
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsWe stand in the back of the hall as the children troop in. Big ones, little ones. Straggly hair, cropped hair, curls… the adults surge forward to choose and soon there is just one child left, a little girl sitting on the floor. She is thin as a string bean and her sleeve is ragged and damp – like she’s been chewing it. 1939... -
![Our Last Goodbye by Shirley Dickson, Joan Walker]()
Our Last Goodbye by Shirley Dickson, Joan Walker
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsA heart-wrenching, poignant and totally unforgettable tale of a young woman who must finally face up to the secret she has hidden for a lifetime. A beautiful World War Two novel for fans of Wives of War, Lisa Wingate and Diney Costeloe, that will have you reaching for the Kleenex... -
![The Puppet Boy Of Warsaw by Eva Weaver]()
The Puppet Boy Of Warsaw by Eva Weaver
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTHE PUPPET BOY OF WARSAW is the story of Mika, a Jewish boy who inherits a coat from his grandfather and discovers a puppet in one of its many secret pockets. He becomes a puppeteer in the Warsaw ghetto, but when his talent is discovered, Mika is forced to entertain the occupying German troops instead of his countrymen...Categorized as:
drama europe historical-fiction literary-fiction poland war western-central-europe ww2 -
![Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard]()
Marking Time by Elizabeth Jane Howard
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe wonderful sequel to The Light Years returns readers to Britain in September, 1939, as war breaks out. Sheltered Louise, now 16, goes from cooking school to London parties. For 14-year-old Polly, the terrors of war cannot forestall the pangs of adolescence. And though Clary's father has been reported missing since Dunkirk, she holds to the belief that he's alive... -
![Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins]()
Properties of Thirst by Marianne Wiggins
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA National BestsellerA New Yorker Best Book of 2022Fifteen years after the publication of Evidence of Things Unseen , National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist Marianne Wiggins returns with a “big, bold book” ( USA TODAY ) destined to be an American classic: a sweeping masterwork set during World War II about the meaning of family and the limitations of the American Dream... -
-
![The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe]()
The Girl With No Name by Diney Costeloe
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA heart-wrenching story from the bestselling author of The Throwaway Children. Thirteen-year-old Lisa has escaped from Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport. She arrives in London unable to speak a word of English, her few belongings crammed into a small suitcase. Among them is one precious photograph of the family she has left behind. Lonely and homesick, Lisa is adopted by a childless couple... -
![The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton]()
The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Exiles conjures her best novel yet, a pre-World War II-era story with the emotional resonance of Orphan Train and All the Light We Cannot See, centering on the Kindertransports that carried thousands of children out of Nazi-occupied Europe—and one brave woman who helped them escape to safety...Categorized as:
coming-of-age europe family historical-fiction literary-fiction war western-central-europe ww2 -
![Into the Burning Dawn: Heartbreaking and gripping World War 2 historical fiction set in Italy by Natalie Meg Evans]()
Into the Burning Dawn: Heartbreaking and gripping World War 2 historical fiction set in Italy by Natalie Meg Evans
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIn the terrace courtyard of the palazzo overlooking a sparkling bay, the scent of ripening lemons filled the air. His deep brown eyes gazed into hers with determination and longing. ‘Will you do it? Risk everything and join us?’Twenty-one-year-old Imogen Fitzgerald was raised in an English orphanage and never knew her parents... -
![Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash]()
Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratings“Spence-Ash has written the novel in eight points of view, but each character is utterly three-dimensional and distinct. This debut novel captivated me from start to finish... -
![Sarah Morris Remembers (Sarah) by D.E. Stevenson]()
Sarah Morris Remembers (Sarah) by D.E. Stevenson
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsWith the help of her diary, Sarah Morris tries to make a pattern of the lives of her family and her friends... The result is a brightly woven tapestry of which the main thread, Sarah’s own story, is the love which grows naturally from the innocent affection of a child into the all-absorbing passion of a woman. Sarah tells of her happy childhood at the Vicarage... -
![The Boy in the Attic by Imogen Matthews]()
The Boy in the Attic by Imogen Matthews
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAnna opened the letter with trembling hands. ‘My darling, if you’re reading this, I haven’t managed to unravel my parents’ secret. But you can. Will you finish the search for me, find out who they were, and who you really are?’Nazi-occupied Holland, 1944. As soldiers patrol the streets, nursing student Ilse is only just surviving the terrible famine and increasingly violent German occupation...Categorized as:
europe historical-fiction literary-fiction war western-central-europe ww2 20th-century adult
Or - use our amazing romance book finder to get recommendations based on your favorite content tropes and themes. Mix and match at will.
