The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck

Many secrets are kept during World War II.  Marianne is the widow of a resistor. Before her husband left he asked that she take care of other widows in the same position.  She finds some of the women and their children and creates a make shift family.  They all come from different backgrounds and deal with the situation differently, but they all survive.  This novel opens up a little bit of the underground that occurred during the war and it's long term consequences.  Shattuck gave the characters very distinct personalities that played against each other well that made everything come together.