Historical Fiction for Teens

Looking for Historical Fiction for back-to-school reading? Check out these titles at your local branch!

Updated August 27, 2024
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All you have to do /
Allen, Autumn,
Paper Book
Powerful, thought-provoking, and heartfelt, this debut YA novel by author Autumn Allen is a gripping look at what it takes (and takes and takes) for two Black students to succeed in prestigious academic institutions in America. In ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, two Black young men attend...
The blood years /
Arnold, Elana K.
Paper Book
Winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award Named a best book of the year by the Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, SLJ, ALA Booklist, the Horn Book, and more Recipient of five starred reviews From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K....
The house of one thousand eyes /
Barker, Michelle,
Paper Book
Who can Lena trust to help her find out the truth?Life in East Germany in the early 1980s is not easy for most people, but for Lena, it's particularly hard. After the death of her parents in a factory explosion and time spent in a psychiatric hospital recovering from the trauma, she is sent to live...
The passion of Dolssa :
Berry, Julie,
Paper Book
The Printz Honor winner that garnered five starred reviews and was hailed by the New York Times as "magnificent"!  Dolssa is an upper-crust city girl who's been branded a heretic, on the run from the friar who condemned her mother to death by fire and wants Dolssa...
The prince & the coyote /
Bowles, David
Paper Book
PURA BELPRÉ HONOR WINNER BOOKPAGE TOP 10 BEST BOOK OF 2023 KIRKUS BEST OF THE YEAR Mexico. 1418. Meet Prince Acolmiztli. Puma of the Acolhua People. Heir to his father's...
The incredible true story of the making of the Eve of destruction /
Brashear, Amy,
Paper Book
Arkansas, 1984: The town of Griffin Flat is known for almost nothing other than its nuclear missile silos. MAD - Mutually Assured Destruction - is a fear every local lives with and tries to ignore. Unfortunately that's impossible now that film moguls have picked Griffin Flat as the location for a...
The light in hidden places
Cameron, Sharon
Paper Book
A Reese's Book Club YA Pick! The extraordinary story of Stefania Podgórska, a Polish teenager who chose bravery and humanity by hiding thirteen Jews in her attic during WWII -- from #1 New York Times bestselling author Sharon Cameron. One knock at the door, and Stefania has a choice...
We are not free /
Chee, Traci,
Paper Book
* NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST * PRINTZ HONOR BOOK * WALTER HONOR BOOK * ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR LITERATURE HONOR BOOK * From New York Times best-selling and acclaimed author Traci Chee comes We Are Not Free, the collective account of a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second...
My fine fellow /
Cohen, Jennieke,
Paper Book
A 2023 Sydney Taylor Honor Book! * A Bustle Best YA Books Out in 2022 title! Culinary delights abound, romance lingers in the air, and plans go terribly, wonderfully astray in this gender-bent take on My Fair Lady from Jennieke Cohen, author of Dangerous Alliance-...
Mazie
Crowder, Melanie
Paper Book
*"Deserves a standing ovation." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) *" This is a terrific and realistic piece of historical fiction that is perfect for theater lovers and historical fiction fans." --SLC (starred review) *"The peppy first-person...
Lady of disguise /
Dickerson, Melanie,
Paper Book
Readers who love the fairytale charm of Melanie Dickerson, and the historical richness of Philippa Gregory and Bernard Cornwell, will be drawn into this riveting tale of courage, romance, and hidden treasures. Feel the tension and intrigue as a brave and determined young woman...
Walls : a novel
Elliott, Laura
Paper Book
This powerful Cold War novel tells the story of two cousins, one German and the other an American Army brat, as they navigate the political and social turmoil that threatens their friendship and ends in the abrupt rise of the Berlin Wall-which may separate them forever. ...
Foul Lady Fortune /
Gong, Chloe,
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends comes the "equal parts intoxicating and dazzling" (Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves) first book in a captivating new duology...
Trajectory /
Gordon, Cambria.
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Sharon Cameron, this is the stirring and dramatic story of one young woman who must find a way to overcome her deepest fears in order to unlock the secret that will help America and the Allies to victory as World War II rages on. Seventeen-year...
Wicked girls : a novel of the Salem witch trials
Hemphill, Stephanie
Paper Book
From the acclaimed Printz Honor winner author Stephanie Hemphill comes this powerful fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials from the point of view of three of the real young women living in Salem in 1692. Ann Putnam Jr. is the queen bee. When her father suggests a spate of...
The red palace
Hur, June
Paper Book
June Hur, critically acclaimed author of The Silence of Bones and The Forest of Stolen Girls, returns with The Red Palace--a third evocative, atmospheric historical mystery perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Kerri Maniscalco. To enter the palace...
The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio,
CD
*Recommended by Parents' Choice* This program features an author's note read by Dita Kraus. Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, The Librarian of Auschwitz is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to...
As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow
Katouh, Zoulfa
Paper Book
A love letter to Syria and its people, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a speculative novel set amid the Syrian Revolution, burning with the fires of hope, love, and possibility. Perfect for fans of The Book Thief and Salt to the Sea.
The perfect place to die /
Moore, Bryce,
Paper Book
Stalking Jack the Ripper meets Devil in the White City in this terrifying historical fiction debut about one of the world's most notorious serial killers. In order to save her sister, Zuretta takes a job at an infamous house of horrors-but she might never escape. ...
Daughters of a dead empire /
O'Neil, Carolyn Tara,
Paper Book
"This fresh, thrilling take on Anastasia establishes that O'Neil is a debut author to watch." --Buzzfeed From debut author Carolyn Tara O'Neil comes a thrilling alternate history set during the Russian Revolution. Russia, 1918: With the execution of...
Out of darkness
Pérez, Ashley Hope
Paper Book
A Michael L. Printz Honor Book "This is East Texas, and there's lines. Lines you cross, lines you don't cross. That clear?" New London, Texas. 1937. Naomi Vargas and Wash Fuller know about the lines in East Texas as well as anyone. They know the signs that mark them. They know the people...
Woods runner
Paulsen, Gary.
Paper Book
Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. But the war comes to them. British soldiers and...
The redheaded princess : a novel
Rinaldi, Ann.
Paper Book
Growing up, Elizabeth fears she can never be Queen. Although she is the King's daughter, no woman can ever hope to rule over men in England, especially when her mother has been executed for treason. For all her royal blood, Elizabeth's life is fraught with danger and uncertainty. Sometimes...
28 jours : roman
Safier, David
Paper Book
Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
An international bestseller, a #1 New York Times bestseller, and now a major motion picture! Ruta Sepetys's Between Shades of Gray is now the film Ashes in the Snow! "Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this...
The fountains of silence :
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray comes a gripping, extraordinary portrait of love, silence, and secrets under a Spanish dictatorship. Madrid, 1957. Under the fascist dictatorship of General Francisco...
The private thoughts of Amelia E. Rye
Shimko, Bonnie.
Paper Book
"All a person needs in life is one true friend." So says Grandpa Thomas, the only member of Amelia's family who cares about her one bit. That true friend finally arrives when Fancy Nelson, the first Negro kid Amelia has ever seen in person, walks into her fourth grade classroom. As...
The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * ONE OF TIME MAGAZINE'S 100 BEST YA BOOKS OF ALL TIME * A NEW YORK TIMES READER TOP 100 PICK FOR BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times...

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