I’ve been reading — a lot. I just haven’t found super amazing bellwether books. So I’m sharing some good books, some of which would be bellwethers if I hadn’t already reviewed so many WW2 novels. Here’s a potluck of potential reads in order of my favorites. Enjoy!

The Girl From the Train, Irma Joubert. 2016 Christy Award Finalist (NOT The Girl IN the Train). This WW2 saga begins with a child pushed off a train headed for Auschwitz which is later bombed by the Polish resistance. The saga of her life is interwoven with the rescuer Jakob and the need to hide her Jewish roots, Catholic upbringing, and relationship to Polish communism. The setting includes South Africa many years later. Fascinating book with a glimpse of history not previously known by me.

Secrets of a Charmed Life, Susan Meissner. 1940’s England. Two children: Emmy and Julia Downtree are sent to the country to avoid the London bombings. When one sister makes a bad choice, it devastates the family, separates the sisters, and causes their lives to take a tragic turn.

Everything We Keep, Kerry Lonsdale. The day of her wedding is her fiance’s funeral. Aimee has her doubts about his disappearance and in pursuing the truth, finds startling questions. The plot is intriguing and you’ll want to read to the finish to find answers for Aimee; but I didn’t find each paragraph written so compelling that I couldn’t just jump around to the end. Top 1500 in Amazon books.

The Silent Sister, Diane Chamberlain. Women’s Fiction. A young woman suspects her older sister might not have committed suicide and seeks out the truth only to find an unraveling of family lies. Top 1700 in books purchased through Amazon.

Secrets She Kept, Cathy Gohlke. 2016 Christy Award Winner. Hannah seeks to discover the truth about her mother’s life in WW2. The story-line moves back and forth from WW2 1940’s to present day 1970’s and how she finds her grandfather and the truth about her past.