I really like books that are historical fiction and feature protagonists similar to my age, so my top 3 books are:
1. Refugee by Alan Gratz - 3 teens, one goal: Escape. Joseph must escape from the grip of Nazi Germany, Isabel must escape Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and Mahmoud needs to get out of war-torn Syria. I love this one so much because all three stories are told at once, chapters alternating, and they are all connected.
2. Projekt 1065 by Alan Gratz - 13 year old Michael O’Shaunessey joins the Hitler Youth as a goodwill gesture when his parents, ambassadors of Ireland, develop diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, but he has a secret. He’s a spy for the Allies, and so are his parents.
3. Someone Named Eva by Joan Wolf - Young Milada enjoys her simple life in her village in Lidice, Czechoslovakia. But when the Nazis come and force everyone out of her village, she’s separated as she’s identified as an Aryan, “children sent by God to serve Hitler”. She’s taken to a special school to become a young Nazi woman, one who is supposedly destined a new life in Nazi Germany serving the Führer, all while she desperately tries to remember her true identity.