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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Wellington City LibrariesYouth team at Wellington City Libraries
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The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
A beautiful new clothbound edition of Alexandre Dumas' classic novel of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge. Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of the Château d'If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle...

Historical setting: 1800s France

The secret life of Kitty Granger
Falksen, G. D.
Paper Book
Sixteen-year-old Kitty Granger has always known that others consider her peculiar. She hates noise and crowds, tends to fixate on patterns, and often feels acutely aware of her surroundings even as she struggles to interpret the behavior of people around her. As a working-class girl in London's...

Historical setting: 1960s London

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 forest of stolen girls
Hur, June
Paper Book
Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep readers guessing until the last page. 1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing...

Historical setting: 1420s Korea

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
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Witches of East End 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...
Historical setting: American Revolution, 1770s USA
The gentleman's guide to vice and virtue
Lee, Mackenzi
Paper Book
Henry "Monty" Montague was born to be a gentleman, but even the finest boarding schools in England haven't been able to tame his roguish passions--not for gambling halls, late nights spent with a bottle of spirits, or waking up in the arms of women or men. But as Monty...

Historical setting: Victorian England

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
Winner of the National Book Award A New York Times Bestseller "The queer romance we've been waiting for."--Ms. Magazine Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root--that desire to look, to move closer, to touch....

Historical setting: 1950s USA

This rebel heart
Locke, Katherine
Paper Book
A tumultuous tale of the student-led 1956 Hungarian revolution--and an all too timely look at the impact of Communism and the USSR in Eastern Europe--set in a fabulist, colorless post-WWII Budapest from Sydney Taylor Honor winner Katherine Locke.   "A haunting, beautiful...

Historical setting: Hungarian Revolution of 1956

An emotion of great delight
Mafi, Tahereh
Paper Book
From bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi comes a stunning novel about love and loneliness, navigating the hyphen of dual identity, and reclaiming your right to joy--even when you're trapped in the amber of sorrow. It's 2003, several months since the US...

Historical setting: Iraq War (2003-)

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...

Historical setting: 1918 Russia

The fountains of silence : a novel
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...

Historical setting: 1950s Spain

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...

Historical setting: World War II Lithuania

Milkweed
Spinelli, Jerry.
Paper Book
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham. He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who...

Historical setting: World War II Poland

Code name Verity
Wein, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
Don't miss Elizabeth Wein's stunning new novel, Stateless! The beloved #1 New York Times bestseller, a "fiendishly plotted" (New York Times) "heart-in-your mouth adventure" (Washington Post) that...

Historical setting: World War II England

The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
This anniversary edition of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller features pages of bonus content, including marked-up manuscript pages, original sketches, and pages from the author's writing notebook. "Life-changing." --The New York Times  

Historical setting: World War II Germany


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