Nineteen Steps — Millie Bobby Brown

The novel is set in 1943 in the London neighborhood of Bethnal Green. At the center of the story is 18-year-old Nelly Morris, who lives with her family under the constant threat of German air raids, works at City Hall, and tries to cling to the little bits of a normal teenage life.

Nelly’s life changes when she meets Ray, an American pilot stationed nearby. Genuine feelings blossom between them, and Nelly begins to see a bright future even through the darkness of war.

However, everything comes crashing down in a single evening—March 3, 1943. During yet another air raid, thousands of people rushed to the unfinished Bethnal Green subway station, which was being used as a bomb shelter. On the rain-soaked stairs leading underground, someone stumbled. There were exactly 19 steps. Amid the panic and stampede, a horrific disaster unfolded, claiming the lives of 173 people (mostly women and children)—without a single bomb even hitting the station. Nelly finds herself at the very epicenter of this tragedy, and her world shatters into pieces.