Till Morning Is Nigh by Leisha Kelly

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1932 – Illinois

It is December of 1932, just one year after the Worthams and the Hammonds lost Wilametta Hammond and Emma Graham in one terrible night. The Christmas spirit seems largely absent again this year. George Hammond has disappeared, and Julia Wortham’s house is filled to overflowing with the Hammond children, several of whom are coming down with a mysterious illness. As Christmas nears, the children’s homemade nativity scene takes on a life of its own, bringing comfort in the midst of uncertainty and hard times.

Had to Be You by Lyn Cote

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hadtobeyouHad to Be You (Formerly titled Bette)

1930s/40s – Maryland

Coming of age in the deep Depression, Chloe’s daughter, Bette faces a troubled world. Her mother and father have taken in Gretel, a Jewish girl her same age sent by her family from Nazi Germany. In the KKK South this is met with animosity. As she finishes high school, Bette falls in love with a young man who applauds her family’s decision. The two become informally engaged and Bette dreams of a future as a wife and mother with him, clipping recipes and living the quiet life.

But Hitler and others who seek world domination interfere with her plans. As her fiance attends college in Georgetown, she works as a secretary in the War Department. And that job leads her into the murky world of espionage. The US, Canada and England have banded together to foil German spies working to gain American military secrets. Bette never considered being a spy even in her wildest dreams. But she will do anything to stop these enemies, those who are persecuting Gretel’s family. But after swearing an oath, she can tell no on–not even the man she loves.

The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. War crashes over them all and again Bette and her love are separated. Another man has entered her life, one who works with her to foil Hitler. A man she resists but who won’t take no for an answer. When the war ends, which will she choose–the young man she fell in love with as a girl or the man who taught her how to be a spy?
The Carlyle Women-four generations, 
each facing the challenges of her time 
and each harboring her own painful secret~

Maggie’s Treasure by Sandra Waggoner

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1930s – Kansas

Maggie Daniels is haunted by the accident. She sees it when she closes her eyes, and she hears it in her father’s words: “Maggie should’ve come and gotten me.” They are constant reminders of the tragic event. Her mama is gone and Maggie is to blame.

When her daddy marries another woman, it’s a chance for a fresh start. But Maggie can’t let go of the past. She clings to a few precious mementos—all she has left of her mother. They become secret treasures, her only link to a past filled with tenderness and joy. She focuses on these items, closing herself off to everyone who cares for her.

But when a second tragedy threatens to tear her world apart, will Maggie’s treasure be enough to sustain her? Or will she finally turn to God, and to the people who have tried so hard to love her?

Shadow of His Hand by Wendy Lawton

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1938 – Germany

Young Anita Dittman’s world crumbles as Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, but because she’s a Christian and only half-Jewish, Anita feels sure she and her family are safe from “the Final Solution”. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Shadow of His Hand is an inspirational young adult historical fiction book based on the real-life story of Anita Dittman, a Holocaust survivor. It follows her struggle against Nazi persecution and her growth in her relationship with God through the worst of times.

There is a Wideness by Mark McAllister

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1937 – Texas

History and fiction merge seamlessly in the 1937 oil-town setting of New London, Texas. When a gas-leak explosion kills more than 300 school children, teachers, and visitors, young Luke Robertson loses his little sister, and Russ Smith loses his mind—at least for a while.

Years later, fate mysteriously brings these two men together again, provoking them to seek answers to the questions that have haunted them. Join them on the dusty back roads of Texas as they discover the wideness of God’s mercy. Based on a true story!

Beneath a Harvest Sky by Tracie Peterson

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1931 – New Mexico

As a Harvey tour guide, Rainy Gordon spends her days in the magnificent landscape of New Mexico. Having already fled a tainted past, Rainy is alarmed when she becomes a suspect in an investigation of stolen Hopi Indian artifacts. The man she loves has been secretly asked to assist the law enforcement groups in finding the thief. When all evidence points in her direction, will the truth be revealed in time?

All the Way Home by Ann Tatlock

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1930s/1960s – California/Mississippi

From a rough section of Los Angeles during the late Depression years, to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s in the South, this novel is a searing portrayal of one family trapped by alcoholism and another living the typical middle class life. A true American story told through the eyes of two girls, best friends, separated by the internment camps of World War II.

Hidden Places by Lynn Austin

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1931 – US

A deep yearning for home had led Eliza to Wyatt Orchards ten years ago. Now widowed with three young children, she faces mounting debts and the realization it is all up to her. But she has no idea how to run an orchard alone. When a stranger appears at her doorstep, Eliza guesses he is no different than the other out-of-luck characters searching for work during the Depression. But the familiarity with which Gabe tends to the farm raises unanswered questions. With a vulnerable heart, she is unwittingly drawn to his gentle ways. But Eliza also fears that Gabe hides a past and motives that could jeopardize all she has fought to attain for herself and her children….This Christy-Award winning novel is now a Hallmark Channel Original Movie!

While Mortals Sleep by Jack Cavanaugh

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1939 – Germany

Enter the world of Nazi Germany. The story begins with a soul-searching pastor who sees the youth of his church abandoning everything they’ve been taught, swayed by Hitler’s youth movement. Some pastors have preached against Hitler, only to be arrested and shipped to labor camps. It’s one thing to speak up if it means his own personal suffering, but to take a stand against the Nazis now will endanger not only him, but his wife and unborn child.

But when Hitler begins testing gas chambers using the disabled infants of his own country, and when the pastor’s newborn daughter is taken from him for having a hearing defect, the dye is cast. Pastor Josef Schumacher can no longer stand idly by. He undertakes a daring rescue mission on a gassing facility in Hadamar and enters the underground world of resistance to the Third Reich. This thrilling story of faith and courage is based on true events.

Paris Encore by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1939 – France

Hitler’s chilling secret is revealed, but will anyone believe it in time to save the sleeping neutral nations?

American Journalist Josephine Marlow knows firsthand the horrors of war – the bombs, the senseless slaughter when Warsaw fell to the Nazis. Now assigned to the Paris AP office, Josie sees the impending danger. Spies have already infiltrated the countries of Beligium and Holland and stand ready to assist with the invasion.

As French civilians are evacuated from the countryside to Paris and the cadets at the Ecole de Calverie prepare for war, French colonel Andre Chardon heads a top-secret project. It could turn the tide of the war…but will the discovery be too late?

London Refrain by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1939 – Poland

England teeters on the brink of war.
It’s no longer a question of if. It’s a matter of when.

In the dark fall of 1939, the hopes of the Polish people fade as Nazi bombers strafe the beloved city of Warsaw. Politicians debate while hundreds stand in lines at the British Embassy, desperate to flee the country before Hitler’s ground forces arrive.

Mac McGrath, a veteran American photographer, recorded the landslide toward war with dedication, believing that if he told the truth, the world would rise up and put a stop to Hitler’s evil plans. Now his foolish idealism embarrasses him.

Outside the embassy gates, Jewish schoolteacher Eva Weitzman prays for a miracle. Without a British passport, she will fall into the Nazis’ clutches.

Who will live and who will die? Will anyone dare to stand against the apathy of nations?

Jerusalem Interlude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Israel

In August 1938 Hitler’s Brownshirts conquer Czechoslovakia. German Jews are deported in cattle cars to Poland, the country of earlier pogroms. Other Jews flee to Palestine, the Promised Land of their dreams . . . only to be imprisoned behind barbed wire upon their arrival. Musicians Shimon and Leah Feldstein, two of the “lucky ones,” are allowed to disembark from their rusting ship. Yet even in the Holy City, darkness lurks. The Muslim Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and Adolf Hitler secretly join forces to eradicate the Jews from the earth. Is there no place that’s safe for Shimon and Leah? for the esteemed Rabbi Lebowitz and his family? for the Jew Eli Sachar and Muslim Victoria Hassan—in love but separated by the highest walls of religion and tradition?

Prague Counterpoint by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Austria

There is no middle ground. . . .

March 12, 1938, is a dark day. Hitler’s evil sweeps across Austria, destroying all in its path. Although violinist Elisa Lindheim is safe in Czechoslovakia—for the moment—she grieves over her beloved Vienna. Swastika flags now wave from every window. Jewish shops are destroyed. Neighbors’ houses stand empty. The Jews and those who try to defend them are arrested or killed.

The clock is running out for those the Nazis consider enemies of the state, such as journalist Walter Kronenberger and his five-year-old son, Charles. If Elisa agrees to help Charles and his twin brother, Louis, she could become useless to the Jewish Underground. Yet how can she stand by and watch two children fall into the clutches of the Nazis?

Vienna Prelude by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1936 – Austria

No one is safe. . . .

In 1936 Nazi darkness descends upon Europe. Every person is only one step away from being swept into the nightmarish tide of evil. Blond Elisa Lindheim, a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, adopts an Aryan stage name for protection. But her closest friend, Leah, a talented Jewish cellist, is in a perilous position.

There are those who choose to fight Hitler’s madness. Elisa’s father, Theo. A courageous American reporter, John Murphy. Winston Churchill, the British statesman. A farm family in the Tyrolean Alps. The Jewish Underground. But will all their efforts be enough to stop the coming Holocaust?

And now Elisa must decide. If she becomes part of the Underground, she will risk everything . . . and put everyone she loves in danger.

The Shepherd’s Voice by Robin Lee Hatcher

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1934 – Idaho

Gabe Talmadge languished in prison for ten years, convicted of a horrible crime. Now free, he’s unable to find work in the midst of the Great Depression. In desperation, he returns home to Ransom, Idaho, hoping his uncaring father will give him food and shelter, if not love. But the prodigal isn’t welcomed home. Hudson Talmadge, who virtually owns the town, despises his son as much as ever, and Gabe is as powerless as an adult as he was as a child to win his father’s approval.

Hungry and hopeless, Gabe is rescued by the owner of a sheep ranch south of Ransom. Incredibly, Akira Macauley gives him a place to live and work to do. More than that, she gives him hope that he can receive forgiveness of his past – and perhaps even love. But when tragedy strikes Ransom once again and Gabe’s life begins to unravel, he must either sink into an abyss of hopelessness or cling to a faith, hope, and love stronger than any he has ever known.