Read It and Reap: Historical fiction gems, from Anne Frank to 'Zorrie' By Ann Connery Frantz Historical fiction is often the genre readers discover in junior high or high school, where they may begin to devour favorite authors of the period they enjoy. There is plenty of good literature from which to choose. Historical fiction is a great lead-in to biographies and period histories. World War II and the Jewish extermination remain topics of huge interest across several genres. There are the classics, like Anne Frank’s “Diary of a Young Girl,” and psychotherapist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning,” prominent among them. Books like John Hersey’s “Hiroshima,” Corrie Ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place” and Joseph Heller’s “Catch 22” also stirred readers.