Historical Fiction for Middle Schoolers

Looking for Historical Fiction to read before it's back-to-school? Check out these titles at your local branch!

Updated August 13, 2024
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All the greys on Greene Street /
Tucker, Laura,
Paper Book
"A dazzling debut novel about resilience, courage, home and family."--Rebecca Stead, Newbery Award-winning author of When You Reach Me SoHo, 1981. Twelve-year-old Olympia is an artist--and in her neighborhood, that's normal. Her dad and his business partner Apollo bring...
Allies /
Gratz, Alan,
Paper Book
A New York Times bestseller!Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee, weaves a stunning array of voices and stories into an epic tale of teamwork in the face of tyranny -- and how just one day can change the world.June 6, 1944: The Nazis are terrorizing Europe, on their evil quest to...
Arch of bone /
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
Continuing the story from where Moby Dick left off, this compelling boyhood adventure, penned by beloved author Jane Yolen (Owl Moon), hearkens to timeless coming of age tales of yore. Lovingly illustrated by Ruth Sanderson, the journey of a boy and his dog comes to life on the page, renewing the...
Barefoot dreams of Petra Luna /
Dobbs, Alda P.,
Paper Book
2022 Pura Belpré Honor Book NYPL Best Book of 2021 Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection NPR Best Book of 2021 Based on a true story, the tale of one girl's perilous journey to cross the U.S. border and lead her family to safety during the Mexican...
Bright Island /
Robinson, Mabel Louise,
Paper Book
Mabel Robinson's delightful coming-of-age story won a Newbery Honor in 1938 and garnered extraordinary praise from critics and readers alike. Born and raised on Bright Island off the Maine coast, Thankful Curtis is more like her sea captain grandfather than any of her older brothers...
The button war :
Avi,
Paper Book
Renowned, award-winning author Avi pens a stark, unflinching tale of ordinary boys living in wartime as tensions -- and desperations -- mount among them. Twelve-year-old Patryk knows little of the world beyond his tiny Polish village; the Russians have occupied the land for as...
The door of no return /
Alexander, Kwame.
Paper Book
From the Newbery Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winning author Kwame Alexander, comes the first book in a searing, breathtaking trilogy that tells the story of a boy, a village, and the epic odyssey of an African family. In his village in Upper...
Dragonfly eyes /
Cao, Wenxuan,
Paper Book
A 2023 Batchelder Honor Book From acclaimed Chinese author Cao Wenxuan, recipient of the Hans Christian Andersen Award, comes a compelling family saga spanning fifty years and three generations. Ah-Mei and her French grandmother, Nainai, share a rare bond. Maybe it's...
Forge
Anderson, Laurie Halse.
Paper Book
"One of the best novels they have ever read." --Kirkus Reviews Curzon navigates the dangers of being a runaway slave in this keenly felt second novel in in the historical middle grade The Seeds of America trilogy from acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson. ...
Ground Zero /
Gratz, Alan,
Paper Book
The instant #1 New York Times bestseller. Acclaimed storyteller Alan Gratz (Refugee) delivers a pulse-pounding and unforgettable take on history and hope, revenge and fear -- and the stunning links between the past and present. September 11, 2001, New...
How high the moon /
Parsons, Karyn,
Paper Book
To Kill a Mockingbird meets One Crazy Summer in this powerful, bittersweet novel about one girl's journey to reconnect with her mother and learn the truth about her father in the tumultuous times of the Jim Crow South. "Timely, captivating, and lovely. So glad...
Iceberg /
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
Paper Book
As disaster looms on the horizon, a young stowaway onboard the Titanic will need all her courage and wits to stay alive. A thrilling tale from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen! Hazel Rothbury is traveling all alone from her home in England aboard...
In the tunnel /
Lee, Julie
Paper Book
Trapped in an enemy tunnel, a young refugee experiences the Korean War firsthand in this searing story of survival, loss, and hope, a companion to the Freeman Award-winning novel Brother's Keeper. Myung-gi knows war is coming- War between North and South Korea. Life in...
Inside out & back again /
Lai, Thanhha.
Paper Book
Inside Out and Back Again is a #1 New York Times bestseller, a Newbery Honor Book, and a winner of the National Book Award! Inspired by the author's childhood experience as a refugee--fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama--this coming-of-age debut novel told...
Johnny Tremain
Forbes, Esther.
Paper Book
This thrilling Newbery Medal-winning novel about the Revolutionary War is a classic of children's historical fiction. Fourteen-year-old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith with a bright future ahead of him, injures his hand in a tragic accident, forcing him to look for other work. In...
Lenny's book of everything /
Foxlee, Karen,
Paper Book
"Holy Batman, this is a gorgeous, heartbreaking, heartwarming book." --R.J. Palacio, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wonder Perfect for readers who love Liar and Spy, Counting by 7s, and Bridge to Terabithia, a heartwarming and...
Light and air /
Wendell, Mindy Nichols
Paper Book
It's 1935, and tuberculosis is ravaging the nation. Everyone is afraid of this deadly respiratory illness. But what happens when you actually have it? When Halle and her mother both come down with TB, they are shunned-and then they are sent to the J.N. Adam Tuberculosis...
Light comes to shadow mountain /
Buzzeo, Toni.
Paper Book
Cora Mae Tipton is determined to light up her Appalachian community in this historical fiction novel from an award-winning author and former librarian. It's 1937 and the government is pushing to bring electricity to the mountains of southeastern Kentucky. It's all Cora can think...
A long walk to water
Park, Linda Sue.
Audiobook
In 2008 Sudan, young Nya is walking the two hours from her home to the pond where she draws water routinely. Back in 1985, Salva becomes a 'lost boy' as he wanders the country in search of his family. During his journey, he crosses lions, crocodiles, and armed rebels. Alternating over two decades,...
The lost year /
Marsh, Katherine.
Paper Book
*A National Book Award Finalist* From the author of Nowhere Boy - called "a resistance novel for our times" by The New York Times - comes a brilliant middle-grade survival story that traces a harrowing family secret back to the Holodomor, a terrible famine that...
The lucky ones /
Jackson, Linda Williams
Paper Book
Award-winning author Linda Williams Jackson pulls from her own childhood in the Mississippi Delta to tell the story of Ellis Earl, who dreams of a real house, food enough for the whole family--and to be someone. It's 1967, and eleven-year-old Ellis Earl Brown has big dreams. He's...
Miracles on Maple Hill
Sorensen, Virginia
Paper Book
1957 Newbery Medal Winner Marly and her family share many adventures when they move from the city to a farmhouse on Maple Hill.
A night divided /
Nielsen, Jennifer A.
Paper Book
From NYT bestselling author Jennifer A. Nielsen comes a stunning thriller about a girl who must escape to freedom after the Berlin Wall divides her family between east and west.With the rise of the Berlin Wall, twelve-year-old Gerta finds her family suddenly divided. She, her mother, and her brother...
Snow treasure /
McSwigan, Marie,
Audiobook
In the bleak winter of 1940, Nazi troops parachuted into Peter Lundstrom's tiny Norwegian village and held it captive. Nobody thought the Nazis could be defeated--until Uncle Victor told Peter how the children could fool the enemy. It was a dangerous plan. They had to slip past Nazi...
The songbird and the Rambutan tree /
Abendanon, Lucille,
Paper Book
Batavia, Dutch East Indies, 1942.Emmy has the voice of an angel but hasn't sung a note since a family tragedy. With war looming, her father plans to ship her off to a singing school in England for safety. But all Emmy wants to do is stay in Batavia with her best friend, Bakti, even if it means...
The trumpeter of Krakow
Kelly, Eric Philbrook,
Ebook
For well over thirty years, Eric P. Kelly's Newbery Award winner has brought the color and romance of ancient times to young readers. Today, The Trumpeter of Krakow is an absorbing and dramatic as when it was first published in 1928. There was something about the Great...
The war that saved my life /
Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker.
Paper Book
*Newbery Honor book *Winner of the Schneider Family Book Award  *Forbes 25 Top Historical Fiction Books Of All Time selection This #1 New York Times bestseller is an exceptionally moving story of triumph against all odds set during World War II,...
When you reach me /
Stead, Rebecca.
Paper Book
"Like A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book), When You Reach Me far surpasses the usual whodunit or sci-fi adventure to become an incandescent exploration of 'life, death, and the beauty of it all.'" --The Washington Post   This...
The Windeby puzzle :
Lowry, Lois
Paper Book
Newbery Medalist and New York Times bestselling author Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one-of-a-kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the...

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