Margot & Me, while set in contemporary times also grapples with the past set during World War II through a diary. What I loved about this book was how the stories of three generations knitted together. Fliss and her grandmother, Margot, were so at odds that Fliss’s mother was the only reason they put up with one another. Watching that relationship develop throughout the pages was immensely touching. Although, how Fliss came to read Margot’s diary didn’t entirely sit well with me. But you know, curiosity and what not…
THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak
As many children left their families for foster parents during World War II, so did Liesel and her brother, except he did not survive. He never did reach the doorstep of Hans and Rosa Hubermann. The loss of her brother was Liesel’s first encounter with death. It was then too that Death started taking an interest in her. In fact, Death narrates her story.