Historical and War (YA)

If you like reading novels set in times gone by you might find something interesting on this list. Also included are some war books (many and varied wars! Including the American Revolution, World War II, the Iraq War). Some are more 'historical' than others!

Updated June 19, 2024
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
Nominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's The Great American Read A popular bestseller since its publication in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great page-turning thrillers of all time. Set against the tumultuous years of...

Historical setting: 1800s France

These violent delights
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
An Instant New York Times Bestseller! A BuzzFeed Best Young Adult Book of 2020 Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Serpent & Dove, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai...

Historical setting: 1920s Shanghai, China

The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio
Paper Book
Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, this is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. Fourteen-year-old Dita is one of the many imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken, along...

Historical setting: World War II

Alex & Eliza : a love story
De la Cruz, Melissa
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the author of Queen's Assassin and the Descendants series comes the love story of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler. 1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance,...
Historical setting: American Revolution, 1770s USA
Butterfly yellow
Lai, Thanhha
Paper Book
Winner of the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction! Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Erika L. Sánchez, this gorgeously written and deeply moving novel is the YA debut from the award-winning author of Inside Out & Back Again. 4 starred reviews! In the...

Historical setting: Vietnam War, 1950s - 1970s

Luck of the Titanic
Lee, Stacey
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Downstairs Girl comes the richly imagined story of Valora and Jamie Luck, twin British-Chinese acrobats traveling aboard the Titanic on its ill-fated maiden voyage. Valora Luck has two things: a ticket...

Historical setting: 1912 North Atlantic

Last night at the Telegraph Club
Lo, Malinda
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD AND STONEWALL BOOK AWARD * From acclaimed author Malinda Lo comes a gripping, tender coming-of-age novel exploring identity, queerness, and historical upheaval set in San Francisco's Chinatown during the 1950s. ...

Historical setting: 1950s USA

The fountains of silence : a novel
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray comes a gripping, extraordinary novel of love, silence, and secrets under a dictatorship in 1950s Spain. "Suspenseful, romantic and timely . . . speaks truth...

Historical setting: 1950s Spain

Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * From the award-winning author of Salt to the Sea comes a "superb" (The Wall Street Journal), "eye-opening" (Los Angeles Times) novel of survival and hope in the darkest of places--the inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the...

Historical setting: World War II Lithuania

Black Dove White Raven
Wein, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless Emilia and Teo's lives changed in a fiery, terrifying instant when a bird strike brought down the plane their stunt pilot mothers were flying. Teo's mother died immediately, but Em's...

Historical setting: World War II Ethiopia

White Rose
Wilson, Kip
Paper Book
"In a searing indictment of silent complicity, White Rose shines a light on one remarkable young woman's insistence on the power of truth, no matter the cost. A timely call to resistance." - Joy McCullough, author of Blood Water Paint "White Rose is a resonant...

Historical setting: World War II Germany

The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Other
#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 * A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST YOUNG ADULT BOOK OF THE CENTURY The extraordinary, beloved novel about the...

Historical setting: World War II Germany


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