War Stories for Teen Readers

Books based on and in times of war, some fictional and some true. Suitable for teen readers.
Updated January 22, 2023
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Code name Verity
Wein, Elizabeth.
Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless The beloved #1 New York Times bestseller, a "fiendishly plotted" (New York Times) "heart-in-your mouth adventure" (Washington Post) that "will take...
Rose under fire
Wein, Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning World War II thriller where a young female pilot will have to confront the realities of hope and bravery if she wants to survive capture. 
All the light we cannot see
Doerr, Anthony, 1973-
*NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES--from producer and director Shawn Levy (Stranger Things) starring Mark Ruffalo, Hugh Laurie, and newcomer Aria Mia Loberti* Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, the beloved instant New York Times bestseller...
All quiet on the western front
Remarque, Erich Maria, 1898-1970.
The masterpiece of the German experience during World War I, considered by many the greatest war novel of all time--with an Oscar-winning film adaptation now streaming on Netflix.   "[Erich Maria Remarque] is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank."--...
The Auslander
Dowswell, Paul.
When Peter's parents are killed, he is sent to an orphanage in Warsaw, Poland. But Peter is Volksdeutscher-of German blood. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he looks just like the boy on the Hitler Youth poster. The Nazis decide he is racially valuable. Indeed, a prominent German family is...
Black angels
Brown, Linda Beatrice, 1939-
The compelling story of three young orphans who must survive on their own during the Civil War. It's near the end of the war, and rumors of emancipation are swirling. Eleven-year-old Luke decides to run away to freedom and join the Union Army. But he doesn't find the Yankee troops he was hoping...
Black dove white raven
Wein, Elizabeth
Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's...
The boy at the top of the mountain
Boyne, John
The Boy at the Top of the Mountain by John Boyne, the author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, is another extraordinary historical fiction about World War II and innocence in the face of evil. When Pierrot becomes an orphan, he must leave his home in Paris for a...
Code Talker a novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two
Bruchac, Joseph, 1942-
Throughout World War II, in the conflict fought against Japan, Navajo code talkers were a crucial part of the U.S. effort, sending messages back and forth in an unbreakable code that used their native language. They braved some of the heaviest fighting of the war, and with their code, they saved...
Fallen angels
Myers, Walter Dean, 1937-2014.
An exciting, eye-catching repackage of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers' bestselling paperbacks, to coincide with the publication of SUNRISE OVER FALLUJA in hardcover.A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a...
Crossing stones
Frost, Helen, 1949-
Maybe you won't rock a cradle, Muriel. Some women seem to prefer to rock the boat. Eighteen-year-old Muriel Jorgensen lives on one side of Crabapple Creek. Her family's closest friends, the Normans, live on the other. For as long as Muriel can remember, the...
Girl in the blue coat
Hesse, Monica.
This bestselling and award-winning novel about a teenage girl in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam speaks powerfully to the realities of grief, heartbreak, and bravery, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Ruta Sepetys. Amsterdam, 1943. Hanneke spends her days procuring and...
Heroes don't run
Mazer, Harry, 1925-2016.
To honor his father who died during the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor, seventeen-year-old Adam eagerly enlists in the Marines in 1944, survives boot camp, and faces combat on the tiny island of Okinawa.
Kipling's choice
Spillebeen, Geert.
As a young man, Rudyard Kipling was devastated when his military application was rejected because of poor eyesight. Although Rudyard would go on to win England's highest accolades, he never got over this lost opportunity to serve his country. When World War I broke out, John, like...
Lost crown
Miller, Sarah, 1979-
Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia.  Like the fingers on a hand--first headstrong Olga; thenTatiana, the tallest; Maria the most hopeful for a ring; and Anastasia, the smallest. These are the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II, grand duchesses living a life steeped in tradition abd...
Nazi hunters how a team of spies and survivors captured the world's most notorious Nazi
Bascomb, Neal.
A thrilling spy mission, a moving Holocaust story, and a first-class work of narrative nonfiction. This Sydney Taylor Book Award- and YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award-winning story of Eichmann's capture is now a major motion picture starring Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley, Operation Finale! ...
Nazi war criminals
Nardo, Don, 1947-
Between 1938 and 1945 Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime murdered more than 6 million Jews. This virulent campaign, Hitler's so-called Final Solution, began with hatred and exclusion but steadily escalated to encompass persecution, expulsion, and finally, annihilation. Understanding the Holocaust...
No better friend a man a dog and their incredible true story of friendship and survival in World
Weintraub, Robert.
Discover an extraordinary tale of friendship and survival between a man and a dog in World War II in this young readers' adaptation of the New York Times bestseller No Better Friend. No Better Friend tells the incredible true story of Frank Williams, a...
Plot to kill Hitler Dietrich Bonhoeffer pastor spy unlikely hero
McCormick, Patricia, 1956-
Perfect for fans of suspenseful nonfiction such as books by Steve Sheinkin, this is a page-turning narrative about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and pacifist who became an unlikely hero during World War II and took part in a plot to kill Hitler. Written by two-time National Book Award finalist...
Remembrance
Breslin, Theresa.
It was the largest conflict the world had ever known. It covered three continents and lasted five years. Millions of soldiers returned wounded, millions more never returned at all. In the summer of 1915, in a small village in Scotland, the Great War has already begun to irrevocably alter the course...
Salt to the sea
Sepetys, Ruta
New York Times Bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal! "Masterfully crafted"--The Wall Street Journal For readers of Between Shades of Gray and All the Light We Cannot See, Ruta Sepetys returns to WWII in this...
Soldier boys
Hughes, Dean, 1943-
Spencer Morgan And Dieter Hedrick Are On Opposite Sides Of The War And Fighting For The Same Thing. At the age of fifteen, Dieter's blind devotion gets him promoted from Hitler Youth into the German army. Dieter's determined to prove his allegiance and bravery all costs. Spence, just...

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