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Great teenage reads - world war two

10 replies

Sparrows12 · 18/01/2013 14:42

I have just finished an unputdownable book which I had to share with you - called "Agent ZigZag" by Ben Mackintyre (mindblock over spelling his surname) - the true story of M15 double agent Eddie Chapman during the war - a great tale of courage, patriotism, derring do and moral ambivalence. I've passed it to my daughter who is "doing" the Nazis for GCSE - not just because it is about the war but mostly because it is a great read. He has also written "Operation Mincemeat" - about the dead body the British put in the sea with fake ID, successfully fooling the Germans as to which front the battle was going to open up on. I'm going to read that next.

There seems to be a lot of great war fiction out there that is accessible to teenagers - I'm looking forward to CJ Sansom's Dominion - that came out in December - coming out in paper back - it has had great reviews - a "what if" story imagining if the Nazis had occupied Britain and won the war.

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booksteensandmagazines · 18/01/2013 15:01

For some different stories on WW2 try Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (SOE agent caught in France), the Things We did for Love by Natasha Farrant (French resistance and nazi reprisal based on a true story) and Tamar by Mal Peet (Dutch resistance and SOE officers). Older teens would enjoy the Book Thief by Markus Zusak and Empire of the Sun by JG Ballard (Japanese prisoner of war). There are some great books out there - thanks for the recommendations. //www.booksteensandmagazines.com

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IndridCold · 21/01/2013 17:20

I loved a book called 'Moondrop to Gascony' by Anne-Marie Walters, it's about her true experiences in SOE. I later worked with her younger sister in RL too.

Also, a book called The Resistance by Matthew Cobb has some amazing stories in it and manages to be insightful and amusing as well as quite harrowing in parts.

At the complete other end of the scale, DS (14) is enjoying the Spike Milligan war memoirs at the moment!

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bruffin · 21/01/2013 17:32

The Exeter Blitz by David Rees is good, but not sure if it is still in print.

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Phineyj · 21/01/2013 18:01

Back Home by Michelle Magoran is very good - realistic about the challenges of returning evacuees.

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Phineyj · 21/01/2013 18:01

Magorian, sorry!

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Roseformeplease · 21/01/2013 18:02

Last Train from Kummersdorf - brilliant

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GinandJag · 21/01/2013 18:04

Young Lions (plus its two sequels) is a great WW2 novel by Andrew Mackay.

The plot is about a successful German landing in the UK, and the subsequent résistance by local teens.

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lljkk · 21/01/2013 18:06

Has no one mentioned Robert Westall books?

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booksteensandmagazines · 21/01/2013 19:37

lljkk - you're right Robert Westall is excellent. His Machine Gunners was derided originally as being unrealistic but in fact he received loads of letters from children who recognised their own experiences in the book and he later used these letters to write another book Children of the Blitz. www.booksteensandmagazines.com/view/the-machine-gunners

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andrewiainmackay · 11/07/2017 22:39

Hi GinandJag, I'm glad that you enjoyed reading some of the Young Lions series. I've now written six books:- Young Lions, Young Lions Roar, Young Lions Hunt, Young Lions Attack, Young Lions Prey and Young Lions Feast. I will also be featuring in the Isle of Wight Literary Festival 2017. If you are interested in alternative history type novels for teenagers then i recommend the Tomorrow when the war began series by an Australian author called John Marsden. I had to teach these books when i taught in Australia and they inspired me to write the YL series.

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