Welcome! We’re so glad to have you here to join our 2022 Reading Challenge. We have some really exciting stuff in store for this year. Follow along in our Better World Books 2022 Reading Challenge Facebook Group, subscribe to our text messages, or email list to stay up-to-date. This month, our category is History Retold. Choose from historical fiction, memoirs, or any retelling of a historical event or time in history.
You’re welcome to choose any of your historical favorites to fulfill January’s theme but if you need a little bit of help, we’ve worked with our BWB Reading Challenge Partner, Kelly, over on Instagram to put some suggested titles together.
A Woman of No Importance
By Sonia Purnell
Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall–an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity. A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman’s fierce persistence helped win the war.
The Giver of Stars
By Jojo Moyes
Set in Depression-era America, a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond. Alice Wright marries handsome American Bennett Van Cleve hoping to escape her stifling life in England. But small-town Kentucky quickly proves equally claustrophobic, especially living alongside her overbearing father-in-law.
The Keeper of Lost Things
By Ruth Hogan
A charming, clever, and quietly moving debut novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us.
When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains
By Ariana Neumann
Of thirty-four Neumann family members, twenty-five were murdered by the Nazis. One of the survivors was Hans Neumann, who, to escape the German death net, traveled to Berlin and hid in plain sight under the Gestapo’s eyes. All his daughter Ariana knew was that something terrible had happened. When Hans died, he left Ariana a small box filled with letters, diary entries, and other memorabilia. Ten years later Ariana finally summoned the courage to have the letters translated, and she began reading.
Sisters in Arms
By Kaia Anderson
Kaia Alderson’s debut historical fiction novel reveals the untold, true story of the Six Triple Eight, the only all-Black battalion of the Women’s Army Corps, who made the dangerous voyage to Europe to ensure American servicemen received word from their loved ones during World War II.
None of these titles speaking to you? That’s okay! We’ve put together an entire category on our website highlighting this month’s category. Head over there for more options!
