AustLit

'In 1939, 12-year-old Sasha, inspired by the words of her father, feels she must find a way to stand up to Nazi terror. Hitler’s blitzkrieg results in the surrender of France and Sasha and her family flee Paris—learning first hand the brutality of war and how acts of resistance can make a difference. In their occupied country, fraternising with the enemy is frowned on, but necessary. It only gets more complicated when she meets Dieter, a member of the Hitler Youth and the son of her father’s best friend. How can Sasha know who to trust when the enemy becomes a friend?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Life in Germany in 1939 is not safe for 13 year old Max Gruber so he is sent to his Uncle Ferdy in London, only to find himself sent to Australia aboard the famous ship Dunera. Arriving in rural Hay, and housed in an internment camp, he meets local boy Tom. The two new friends become allies, as their lives are affected by the growing conflict in far away Europe.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In 1942, 12-year-old Nick lives in Rose Bay, Sydney, with his mum, dad and sister, and dreams of becoming a writer like his dad. But with the world at war, Nick is constantly on alert for anything that seems out of the ordinary and then late one night he sees it!  A plane! But no-one believes him! Then, the unimaginable happens. Sydney is attacked! And Nick starts noticing people behaving strangely. Is it just his imagination or something more sinister?' (Publication summary)

''You could see the pilot as he came past, immobile, seconds to eternity.' As a teenager, Cliff dreams that one day he will play cricket for Australia, but when war comes he changes cricket whites for a navy uniform. Leaving everything he knows behind he faces new horrors every day, from exploding mines and submarine attacks to deliberate suicide attacks by kamikaze pilots, never knowing if he will see his sweetheart, Marie, again. But amongst all the tragedy of war, Cliff finds something he never thought possible amidst all the fear and devastation ... hope.' (Publication summary)