Like most avid readers, I’ve read my fair share of World War II and Holocaust stories. I do have to limit the number I read because the stories are so painful and heart wrenching, but I appreciate exploring the wide range of stories born from this horrific tragedy.

My sister-in-law devoured this book while we were on vacation together and then insisted I read it immediately. I can see why—this is a truly special book. Told from the point of view of Bruno, the nine-year-old son of a Nazi commandant at Auschwitz, this beautiful and sad story explores the horrors of concentration camp through a different lens. Bruno only knows that his family must leave their lovely Berlin home because of his father’s job but he knows nothing of his father’s work. Looking out the window of his new home, he wonders why there are so many people behind a barbed wire fence and why they all wear the same striped pajamas. When Bruno decides to venture outside and befriends a boy on the other side of the fence, his world will never be the same. This masterfully written story is honest, heart breaking and incredibly sad.

We Share the Same Sky is a podcast about a Holocaust story. Rachael Cerotti knew her grandmother, Hanna, survived the Holocaust, but she didn’t know the details of the story until the last few years of her grandmother’s life. After Hanna’s death, Rachael inherited her photos and documents and became so obsessed that she decided to retrace Hanna’s journey across Europe in attempt to understand what happened. In the process, she learned not only about her grandmother and history, but about herself and the wonders of human nature. Though often sad and difficult to listen to, there is hope and inspiration in each episode. The story is well researched and lovingly told.

Other Holocaust stories which will live in my heart forever include All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter, and Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. I’ve recommended these books more times than I can count.