Whether you’re participating in our Decades Reading Challenge or found this post searching for books set in the 1940s, the booklist below provides a wide variety of reading options.
Literary Themes in Books About the 1940s
Our curated list of books about the Forties includes historical fiction books about life in America and around the world. We also included some non-fiction reads about the events and people of the day.
World War II largely consumed the news of the early and mid-1940s. There are some heart-breaking, but important, books from this period in world history. Outside of the war, historic events such as the polio epidemic and the partition of India were taking place. But don’t worry – our 1940s booklist also includes a variety of other topics, including some that have a lighter feel!
WW2 brought many technological advancements, including nuclear fusion and the starting points for both commercial air travel and space exploration. After the war, the 1940s saw the beginning of the Baby Boomer generation.
Major World Events of the 1940s
Before recommending books from each decade, we like to provide historical context with an overview of the significant events of the time. If you’d prefer, feel free to scroll straight to our 1940s booklist.
- Aggression in World War II, which officially began in 1939, continued. Germany expanded their aggression into Denmark, Norway, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Germany also began “The Blitz,” bombing London in an attempt to weaken the British Royal Air Force.
- During 1940, Franklin D. Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term as the U.S. president. The same year, President Roosevelt instituted the first military draft in the United States during peacetime.
- In the early 1940s, the Tuskegee Institute was at the forefront of preparing young African-American pilots to fight for freedom in the skies.
- During 1941, Soviet Russia and Japan signed a non-aggression pact, becoming allies with Germany. The Siege of Leningrad began as German troops entered the Soviet Union and lasted until 1944.
- On December 7, 1941, Japan launched a surprise attack on the U.S. naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This act of war finally brought the United States to the front lines. Italy and Germany also declared war on the U.S.
- The Battle of Midway between Japan and the U.S. began in 1942. Fearing they would become a security threat during wartime, the US government began the internment of Japanese-Americans.
- The same year, the U.S. Congress created several branches of the armed forces for women to join the war effort.
- On June 6, 1944, famously known as D-Day, more than 150,000 Allied troops successfully stormed the beaches of Normandy in France. Shortly thereafter, the Allies liberated Paris.
- FDR began his fourth term as President of the United States. However, he unexpectedly died in April of 1945, moving VP Harry Truman to the Oval Office.
- 1945 brought the end of WWII, as Allied and Soviet forces liberated concentration camps on their way toward Germany.
- In August 1945, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, ending the war in the Pacific Theatre. In the aftermath of the war, fifty nations signed the charter to create the United Nations.
- In 1945, Vietnam declared its independence from France under Ho Chi Minh.
- During 1947, India became independent from the United Kingdom. The same year, the country instituted the tragic policy of partition. Leaders carved out Pakistan for Muslim citizens, with Hindu citizens assigned to reside in India.
- In 1947, Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, becoming the first African-American to play Major League Baseball in the modern era. Robinson and other black athletes during the 1940s, including boxer Joe Louis and Olympian Jesse Owens. These athletes became popular heroes and paved the way for future generations.
- In 1948, Indian independence leader and pacifist Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated on his way to a prayer meeting, after achieving independence for India.
- Following the continued growth of Jewish refugees and settlers to Israel during WWII, Israel was created as an independent Jewish state in 1948.
- Following the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong’s Communist forces declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.
Highly Rated Books About the 1940s
This list includes a wide range of topics beyond WW2. However, if you enjoy reading about the war years, you’ll also want to check out our list of historical fiction about WW2 resistance workers.
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The Tobacco Wives
by Adele Myers
Setting: 1946, North Carolina
First published 2022
On the surface, Bright Leaf North Carolina seems like a technicolor paradise. When Maddie Sykes arrives in this tobacco capital to assist in her aunt’s sewing business, she’s overwhelmed by the beauty and wealth of the region. Ratios and shortages are clearly behind them.
However, when Maddie unexpectedly becomes the lead dressmaker, she’s soon spending time with the town’s most influential women. Although she assumes these wealthy ladies have it all, the truth is bleaker. Many are hiding struggles with their health. Could those struggles be related?
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Independence
by Chitra Banerjee Divakarun
Setting: 1947, India & Pakistan
First published 2023
This new 2023 release takes you into the lives of three sisters during a traumatic period of history - the partition in which India became only for Hindus and a carved-out area became Pakistan, which was assigned to Muslims. It was one of the largest human displacements in history.
Sister Priya is intelligent and determined to follow in her father’s footsteps to become a doctor, even though that isn’t a normal path for a woman. Deepa is considered the beautiful one, and dreams of a marriage that will increase her family’s status AND bring her joy. Jamini is a talented quiltmaker with deep passions she doesn’t reveal to her family.
When Deepa falls in love with a Muslim and partition is declared, the sisters are separated and propelled onto different paths. They fear for themselves, but also for what could happen to each other.
Until We Meet
by Camille Di Maio
Setting: 1943, New York City
First published 2022
This story of friendship introduces us to three young women in 1943 New York. Although their struggles are different than those who had the war on their doorstep in Europe & around the world, they were each impacted in different ways.
Margaret works at the Navy Yard by day but at night knits socks for soldiers. When she sticks a note inside a pair of socks, she ends up with an unexpected pen pal.
Gladys is a feminist before the rise of feminism, but when she meets someone who respects her, she wonders if she can have it all.
Dottie’s fiance has been deployed to fight. However, she became pregnant before he shipped out. She’s terrified her parents will make her give up the baby if she tells them, so her friends are even more important than ever.
The Book Girls Say…You can see our interview with author Camille Di Maio here. This book is her newest historical fiction, and we can’t wait to read it!
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Go as a River
by Shelley Read
Setting: 1940s, Colorado
First published 2023
This novel transports you to 1940s rural Colorado, the home of teenager Victoria Nash. Despite her young age, she runs the household as the sole female in a family of troubled men. One day, she meets Wil, a mysterious young drifter who has been displaced from his tribal land. Their sudden and passionate connection is full of danger and secrets.
Victoria ends up fleeing to the harsh mountain wilderness in a small hut, where she struggles against impossible conditions. As the Gunnison River rises and threatens her homeland, she begins a quest to fight for all she has lost.
The Book Girls Say… If you loved Where the Crawdads Sing, this book provides a similar descriptive style and reliance on nature as a character. While Victoria and Kya are very different, they’re both tough and resilient young women whom we learn about in a coming-of-age style.
The Golden Hour
by Beatriz Williams
Setting: 1941, Bahamas
First published 2019
WWII-era Nassau was a hotbed of spies, traitors, and the most infamous couple of the age, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Five years after their love affair rocked the British monarchy, Lulu arrives in the Bahamas to investigate them for a New York society magazine. As she works her way into their social circle, Lulu uncovers evidence of an uglier reality.
Along the way, Lulu falls in love with a British scientist. When he suddenly goes missing, Lulu travels to London to search for him and winds up uncovering the family's complicated past stretching from the early 20th century to the first World War.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Woman with the Cure
by Lynn Cullen
Setting: 1940s & 50s, US
First published 2023
In the 1940s, polio became a feared pandemic across the work. The disease was cruel - killing or paralyzing those who contract it, with children particularly impacted. This historical fiction tells the story of a real scientist, Dorothy Horstmann, who worked desperately for a cure.
While many male scientists raced to beat each other to a polio vaccine so they could achieve notoriety, Dorothy’s eye remained on the goal of saving lives. Her name was commonly left off of the scientific discoveries she made in favor of her male co-workers, but she still forged diligently ahead.
The Book Girls Say…Because polio was such a major issue and affected so many families in the 1940s, we think this is a perfect pick for the decade even though the book also crosses into the 1950s.
The Stolen Marriage
by Diane Chamberlain
Setting: 1944, North Carolina
First published 2017
Twenty-three-year-old nurse Tess is engaged to the love of her life; however she finds out she is pregnant, and he is not the father. While staying with him would make her happy, she doesn't want to trap him in a lie. So instead, she marries the baby's father, Henry, and moves to small Hickory, North Carolina.
Henry isn't the best to Tess, and neither are the neighbors in her new home. When a polio outbreak begins and the town builds a polio hospital, Tess knows this is her opportunity to get back to work and create a life outside her unhappy home. However, Henry isn't happy about her revitalized career, and his mysterious actions escalate.
The Book Girls Say… While this is a fictional drama, it also provides insight into another defining feature of the 40s that you may not have read about as much - the explosive growth of polio cases in the mid to late 1940s.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Accidental President
by AJ Baime
Setting: 1945, Washington DC & beyond
First published 2017
No one expected obscure Missouri politician Harry Truman to become a US President. He was selected as VP to Franklin Roosevelt because of his good judgment and lack of enemies, and luckily, he was also known for his good work ethic. In 1945, Roosevelt suddenly died in office amidst a world at war.
This well-researched biography covers Truman’s first 120 days in office, in which he faced constant challenges. In those four months alone, he was heavily involved in the founding of the United Nations, the Potsdam Conference, the Manhattan Project, the Nazi surrender, the liberation of concentration camps, and the decision to drop the bomb and end World War II.
This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 4/14/23.
The Peach Rebellion
by Wendelin Van Draanen
Setting: 1947, Southern California
First Published 2022
Ginny’s family migrated to California from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, and now they work as peach pickers. She’s only 7, the same age as Peggy, whose parents own the farm. Ginny & Peggy become close friends, despite the differences in their financial situations.
Ten years later, the girls are now teenagers when Ginny’s family returns to the farm. There have been hard times in between, and the differences between them are now more palpable. Peggy’s new best friend is Lisette, the banker’s daughter. All three girls have one unfortunate aspect of life in common - their families are on the verge of falling apart.
Ginny has a plan, but she needs the other girls to help her make it happen. Can they build a better future for themselves in a changing world?
The Book Girls Say…This YA historical fiction is said to be beautifully written, but keep in mind that the story unfolds slowly. The author explores not only family dynamics but digs into the culture at the beginning of the post-war boom era.
The Beantown Girls
by Jane Healey
Setting: 1944, Western Europe
First published 2019
Fiona had plans to marry her fiance when he returned from WWII and settle down in the Boston suburbs. But when he is reported missing after being shot down in Germany, her plans are shattered.
Determined to learn his fate, Fiona volunteers as a Red Cross Clubmobile Girl in Europe and convinces her two best friends to join her. The trio isn't prepared for the challenges of war, but their courage and friendship will carry them through. However, reviewers warn to keep the tissues close by!
The Book Girls Say...Melissa appreciated that this book taught her about another way brave women risked their lives to contribute to the war effort in the 1940s. You can see a few photos of the real-life Clubmobile girls and read more about them online here.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 4/19/2023.
The Rose Code
by Kate Quinn
Setting: 1940 & 1947 England
First published 2021
Bletchley Park is a real English estate and was an elegant country home before becoming the secret location of WW2 codebreakers. The Rose Code imagines the life of three women from different backgrounds who all qualified for this challenging and vital task. While the three become friends, the war and secrecy required for their jobs prove too much to keep them close.
Seven years later, in 1947, the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip is on everyone’s minds. But, when an encrypted letter is received, the former friends must reunite to crack the code and figure out which former Bletchley Park worker is now a traitor.
The Book Girls Say…This book is long at 624 pages, but our readers say it's engaging throughout! If you enjoyed The Alice Network or The Huntress, you know Kate Quinn’s books are worth the extra time.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
Setting: 1940s and 1980s, Seattle
First published 2009
Henry Lee's father desperately wants his son to be an American. But, at his school, he is ignored by all of the white kids. The one friend he makes is a young Japanese girl named Keiko. Soon, Keiko and her family are rounded up into a Japanese internment camp. Forty years later, Henry finds himself searching to reconnect.
In addition to giving readers a closer look at the Japanese internment camps in America that often get glossed over in our history lessons, this book also peeks into the 1940s Seattle jazz scene.
The Book Girls Say... Melissa really enjoyed learning about a part of WWII that she knew very little about. This one will make you think, but it's NOT a graphic look into the horrors of war.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
97% Would Recommend to a Friend
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
by Laura Hillenbrand
Setting: WWII, Pacific Theatre
First published 2010
We are introduced to Louis Zamperini in his childhood and see his talent for running take him all the way to the Berlin Olympics. But when WWII begins, Louis goes from athlete to airman.
In May 1943, Louis' bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean. His unlikely survival aboard a tiny raft surrounded by sharks, and on the verge of starvation, landed him in an even more perilous trial.
The Book Girls Say... Prior to reading this book many years ago, most of Angela's knowledge of WWII centered around the wrongs of the Third Reich party and the devastating impacts of the atomic bomb we dropped on Japan. But outside of Pearl Harbor, she didn't know much about Japan's role in the war. Before reading this book, she also didn't think she had much interest in WWII non-fiction - Unbroken changed all that!
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
98% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Only Woman in the Room
by Maria Benedict
Setting: 1940s Hollywood
First published 2019
This novel opens in 1930s Austria, where Hedwig Kiesler's beauty saves her from the rising Nazi party and leads her to marry an Austrian arms dealer. Always underestimated, she overhears the Third Reich's plans and understands more than anyone would have guessed.
After devising a plan to flee her husband's castle in disguise, she escapes. The book then jumps forward to her arrival in Hollywood, where she changes her name to Hedy Lamarr, signs with MGM, and becomes a major film star of the 1940s.
Beyond being a bombshell, Hedy was also a scientist whose groundbreaking invention revolutionized modern communication.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Things We Cannot Say
by Kelly Rimmer
Setting: 1942 and 2019, Poland
First published 2019
Inspired by the author's own family history, this novel is a tragic love story. Alina and Tomasz were best friends who planned to marry. But when their village falls to the Nazis, Alina doesn't know if Tomasz is alive or dead.
Decades later, Alice has is struggling to support her son, who was born with an autism spectrum disorder. When her grandmother is hospitalized, she begs Alice to return to Poland to see what became of those she loved. Alice travels to Poland and begins to uncover her grandmother's story.
The Book Girls Say... We both really enjoyed this unique look into WW2. It's not a light read, but it's still a great escape to look at what generations before us endured on a personal level. The split storyline between current times and the war is a nice reprieve from the harder 1940s scenes.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Sarah's Key
by Tatiana de Rosnay
Setting: 1942 and 2002, Paris
First published 2006
Ten-year-old Sarah is arrested with her family in the Vel' d'Hiv' round-up - the most notorious act of French collaboration with the Nazis. But before the police come to take them, Sarah locks her younger brother in their favorite hiding spot - a cupboard in the family's apartment and holds onto the key, thinking she'll be back soon.
On the 60th anniversary of the Vel' d'Hiv', an American journalist is asked by her Paris-based magazine to write an article about that day in France's past. Having lived in Paris for 25 years, she realizes her ignorance about the event and is shocked by the silence still surrounding it. She begins to follow a trail that connects her to Sarah and forces her to question everything.
The Book Girls Say... Keep the tissues handy because this book will bring you to tears.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
City of Girls
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Setting: 1940s, New York City
First published 2019
Told from the perspective of an older woman looking back on her youth, City of Girls is a fictional life story set in the New York theater world during the 1940s.
Nineteen-year-old Vivian has been kicked out of Vassar College due to poor performance, and her affluent parents send her to live with her aunt, who owns a flamboyant but crumbling midtown theater.
Other charismatic theater employees, from showgirls to Olive, the no-nonsense secretary that keeps everyone in line, have their own spaces on the 3rd and 4th floors. Vivian loves fashion and is a talented seamstress, which is perfect for making clothes for the Lily dancers on and off the stage.
The main setting of the book is 1940s New York City, spanning the years before the US entered WW2, along with the war years. Vivian reflects on the events of those years, including a personal mistake that almost ruined the course of her life in a moment.
Many years later, at the age of 95, she tells her story, musing that "at some point in a woman's life, she just gets tired of being ashamed all the time."
The Book Girls Say... We loved this book so much that we curated an entire list of books with similar themes. Some have very obvious connections - others on the list may surprise you!
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
92% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Kennedy Debutante
by Kerri Maher
Setting: WWII London
First published 2018
Kathleen "Kick" was the daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy and the younger sister of Jack and Joe. In the late 1930s, Kick was the "It Girl" of London society, where her father was the US Ambassador. She is swept off her feet by Billy Hartington, the future Duke of Devonshire, but the devoutly Catholic Kennedy family doesn't approve.
When WWII began, the Kennedys were forced to return to the United States, tearing Kick and Billy apart. Looking to find her way back to England, Kick joined the Red Cross in 1940. Unfortunately, she will be forced to choose between family and love.
Fans of Downton Abbey will enjoy this novel as it explores the grandeur of Britain's upper crust.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
90% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer
Setting: 1946, England & The Channel Islands
First published 2008
It's 1946, and author Juliet Ashton is looking for the subject of her next book. She begins exchanging letters with a man she's never met - a native of the island of Guernsey. Through their letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of the man and his eccentric friends - from pig farmers to phrenologists.
As Juliet learns about their tastes in books, she also comes to understand the impact that the German occupation had on their lives. In turn, each of the Guernsey islanders begins to impact Juliet's life.
The Book Girls Say...If you haven't read this yet, we think you'll fall in love with Juliet and the island of Guernsey. It's a quick read and written entirely in the form of letters.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
The Gown
by Jennifer Robson
Setting: 1947, London; 2016, Toronto
First published 2018
The Gown takes us inside the workrooms of the famed fashion house of Norman Harnell, where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created for Princess Elizabeth.
Here we meet Ann and Miriam, two embroiderers.
Seventy years later, Heather seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers left behind by her late grandmother, who never spoke of her life in Britain.
The Book Girls Say... This is the first book Melissa read that focused on the years right AFTER the war. While making the gown is important to the story and fascinating, it's not what you'll remember. The story is much broader, and we think you'll love this step back into the post-war years.
This Gown is also included on our list of Books for Fans of The Crown.
HEADS UP: There is a sexual assault scene in the book that some readers may find difficult.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Clark and Division
by Naomi Hirahara
Setting: 1944, Chicago
First published 2021
This historical mystery digs into what looked like for Japanese American families after time in internment camps. In this case, it follows twenty-year-old Aki Ito and her parents after their release from Manzanar. They’ve been in the California camp since shortly after Pearl Harbor.
Everything they had before is gone, and the family is relocated to Chicago, where Aki’s sister Rose has been living for eight months. However, right before the family arrives, Rose is killed by a train. While her death is considered suicide, Aki doesn’t believe it and sets out to find the truth.
The Book Girls Say... One of our readers specifically noted not enjoying the narration on the audiobook, so be sure to listen to a sample before deciding to read the book in this format.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
Code Girls
by Liza Mundy
Time Setting: WWII
First published 2017
Non-fiction readers who enjoyed Hidden Figures and The Girls of Atomic City will love this astonishing, untold story of the American women who cracked Axis codes to help secure the Allied victory.
Recruited by the US Army and Navy, more than ten thousand women from small towns and elite colleges served as codebreakers during WWII. Their efforts were largely erased from history due to their strict vow of secrecy.
The Book Girls Say... This non-fiction read is long at more than 640 pages, so don't pick it up if you're looking for a quick read.
This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 4/19/2023.
A Lesson Before Dying
by Ernest J. Gaines
Setting: Late 1940s, Louisianna
First published 1993
Set in a small Cajun community, a young black man - Jefferson - is in the wrong place at the wrong time when a liquor store shooting leaves three men dead. As the only survivor, he is convicted of murder and sentenced to death.
Grant Wiggins left his hometown to attend university but returned to teach at the plantation school. His aunt persuades him to visit Jefferson in jail to share some of his learning so that Jefferson can "die a man."
Lilac Girls
by Martha Hall Kelly
Setting: WWII, New York, Paris, Germany, Poland
First published 2016
This story crosses three continents and follows three women whose lives are on a collision course.
Caroline is a New York socialite working at the French consulate, Kasia is a Polish teenager and a courier for the underground resistance movement, and Herta is an ambitious young German doctor who finds herself trapped in a male-dominated world of Nazi secrets and power.
The Book Girls Say... Melissa loved Lilac Girls, although it has scenes that are very tragic and tough to read.
She was DEVASTED when she realized this historical fiction is based on the true experiences of the 'Ravensbrück Rabbits.' Get your tissues ready; this story is part of history that we shouldn't ignore.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
All the Light We Cannot See
by Anthony Doerr
Setting: WWII France & Germany
First published 2014
This breathtaking novel interweaves the stories of Marie-Laure and Werner Pfennig.
Marie-Laure is a young, blind girl who lives near the Paris Museum of Natural History with her father, who works at the museum. Father and daughter flee Paris when Nazis occupy the city, traveling to Saint-Malo to stay with Marie-Laure's reclusive great uncle near the sea. In addition to seeking safety for themselves, they also carry with them what might be the museum's most valuable jewel.
Werner is an orphan with his sister in a German mining town. He finds a crude radio that brings the siblings news stories from places they can only imagine. As he grows, Werner becomes an expert and building and fixing radio instruments. Drafted into the academy for Hitler Youth, his skill has him enlisted to track down the resistance.
The Book Girls Say... Angela initially found this book a little slow, but the beautiful prose and vivid imagery drew her in. Soon she felt very connected to both characters and didn't want the story to end.
A series adaptation of the book will premiere on Netflix on November 2, 2023.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
91% Would Recommend to a Friend
Soaring to Glory: A Tuskegee Airman's Firsthand Account of World War II
by Philip Handleman with Harry T. Stewart
Setting: WWII, home and abroad
First published 2019
This is the remarkable true story of Lt. Col. Harry Stewart Jr., one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airmen pilots who experienced air combat during World War II.
Soaring to Glory recounts the bravery and heroics of Stewart's combat missions, as well as the cruel injustices that Stewart and his fellow Tuskegee Airmen faced during their wartime service and when they returned home after the war.
The Book Girls Say... This memoir is a quick read at under 300 pages, but it tells such an important and often overlooked story of WWII.
Summer at Tiffany
by Marjorie Hart
Setting: 1945, NYC
First published 2007
Fresh from their sorority house at the University of Iowa, Marjorie and her best friend Marty arrive in New York City hoping for summer jobs as shopgirls. After being turned away from numerous department stores, they find jobs at Tiffany & Co., becoming the first women to work on the sales floor and making them the envy of all of their friends.
Telling of the magical summer that the author spent in NYC with her best friend, Hart's short memoir allows us to see snippets of history through their eyes. As she reflects back on it many decades later, she recalls it as the best summer of her life, spent rubbing elbows with the rich and famous.
The Book Girls Say... This is a must-read for all fans of vintage New York glamour.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐
95% Would Recommend to a Friend
Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
Setting: 1943, Denmark
First published 1989
Awarded the Newbery Medal in 1990, you may remember this YA book from your youth. Set in 1943, 10-year-old Annemarie and her best friend, Ellen, live in Copenhagen, where life is filled with school, food shortages, and Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with Annemarie's family and pretends to be one of them to survive.
Unlike many WWII books, this story is more subtle in its descriptions of the horrendous acts of war while still allowing the reader to understand exactly what atrocities are happening. As a result, this is a perfect book for adults and children to share together.
Book Girls' Readers Rate This Book ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
100% Would Recommend to a Friend
This book is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 4/19/2023.
You are welcome to choose any book that you’d like to read for the Decades Challenge, but we hope that this list of books has given you a good starting point.
Members of our email list and Facebook group, Read with the Book Girls can log ratings for their monthly challenge reads. The log’s data is used for the “BGG Reader Ratings” that are added to descriptions for future years. We’d love you to contribute your rating after you’ve finished your read this month.
Join the Decades Reading Challenge
Book Recommendations for Other Decades
If you love learning about different time periods through books, use the index below to fill your TBR!
- Books Set in the 1950s
- Books Set in the 1940s
- Books Set in the 1930s
- Books Set in the 1920s
- Books Set in the 1900s-1910s: The Turn of the Century
- Books Set in the 1880s and 1890s: The Gilded Age
- Books that Span Multiple Decades
- Books Set in the 2010s
- Books Set in the 2000s
- Books Set in the 1990s
- Books Set in the 1980s
- Books Set in the 1970s
- Books Set in the 1960s
Can you send me a printable list with the book titles but not descriptions?
This was a big request last year that we weren’t able to add to our plates in 2022. New for 2023, readers who support Book Girls Guide through our Buy Me a Coffee membership site will receive special monthly printable journal pages as a thank you bonus. The voluntary members (we call them our BFFs) help cover the cost of running the challenges so we can keep them free for everyone.
We’re so excited to be able to offer this fun perk this year!
Every book title is pre-filled on the printable book tracker for the month. The tracker also includes space for you to mark your interest level, make notes about whether you’ve requested the book from the library (or any other notes you’d like), and then fill in your rating. We’ll also include blank lines in case you have other books on your TBR (to be read) list that meet the prompt. We’d love you to sign up here!
That said, you’ll always find the most updated version of our recommendations with descriptions each month at no cost on our website. We do update the list and descriptions regularly based on reader feedback. But, we know some of you wanted to print the list to take to the library or bookstore, and we hope this helps.
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Miranda Millin
Thursday 20th of April 2023
I recently read The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis (just came out the beginning of this month), and while a good chunk of the story takes place in the eighties, the story is centered around a pair of lovers in 1941. It was beautifully written in my opinion, you guys should check it out!
Christine Penn
Thursday 20th of April 2023
I have read eight books on this list! They are all wonderful choices making it difficult to decide. But, I do look for books available on Kindle unlimited or my library app, Libby. Thanks for all you do!
Books Like City of Girls - Book Girls' Guide
Monday 10th of October 2022
[…] After we read this book, we could see why other readers begin to search for more books like City of Girls. We put together some great suggestions, along with explanations of how we think the book recommendations will work for fans of City of Girls. Some are very similar, including another connected to the New York City theater scene in the 1940s. Others on the list may surprise you! PS: If you’re doing our Decades Challenge and haven’t yet read this book, it’s a great pick for April / 1940s month! […]
Elisa Speranza
Friday 17th of June 2022
Such a great list! Your readers might also be interested in my debut novel The Italian Prisoner, published in April 2022 and set in New Orleans during WW2. More at: www.elisamariesperanza.com. Thanks for all your hard work bringing readers together with great stories.
Stephanie
Friday 8th of April 2022
Another great read about the polio epidemic in Hickory, NC is Blue by Joyce Moyer Hostetter. The author has 2 other books that continue the main character’s story and are also good.