Lines of Courage

Lines of Courage by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The book starts with a Jewish family in Austria-Hungary. They see the events of the assassination of the archduke and the outbreak of the war. In the book it appears as a series of unfortunate events. The car ended up inadvertently back in a dangerous place. Then some warmongers helped encourage the start of war, in spite of the desire for peace. For the characters, the city they are in is one of the first to fall to Russians. They had tried to leave, but were not able to make it on time.

The book is told from the perspective of various parties from Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and Russia. This puts a human touch on the war. There were many struggles going on with the different people involved. There were also some interactions among the people. The book seems to have a bit of "historical revisionism". The atrocities of the Communists in Russia and Nazis in Germany are heavily foreshadowed.