THE DARKEST HOUR, by Caroline Tung Richmond

The story: After her brother is killed in World War 2, Lucie Blaise wants revenge on the Nazis for his death. She joins covert ops, which sends her out to do intelligence gathering with nothing more than a switchblade knife and a sweet smile. Can she and her fellow agents foil a plot to infect the Allies with the most dangerous disease ever known to man?

June Cleaver's ratings: Language PG; Violence R; Sexual content PG; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (death in war; biological warfare, graphic violence: main character is an assassin) PG-13; overall rating PG-13.

Liz's comments: Based on real-life women operatives in WW2, this is a good suggestion for girls looking for stories about war and how it affects women. It really was quite violent, though, with Lucie essentially equating her worth as an agent with her ability to kill without regret or guilt--probably necessary in war, but pretty grim nonetheless. Give it to older readers with strong stomachs who like historical fiction.