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
From Michael L. Printz honoree & National Book Award finalist Elana K. Arnold comes the harrowing story of a young girl's struggle to survive the Holocaust in Romania. Frederieke Teitler and her older sister, Astra, live in a house, in a city, in a world divided. Their father...
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...
Becoming Beatriz
Charles, Tami,
Paper Book
"A compelling read about the quest for fame!" -Debbie Allen, star of Fame "Redemption is a heartbeat away." -Guadalupe Garcia McCall, author of the Pura Belpre Award winner Under the Mesquite Beatriz dreams of a life spent dancing-...
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...
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 /
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...
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,
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...
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.
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 /
Paerez, 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
From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from a band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community.
28 days :
Safier, David,
Paper Book
Inspired by true events, David Safier's 28 Days: A Novel of Resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto is a harrowing historical YA that chronicles the brutality of the Holocaust. Warsaw, 1942. Sixteen-year old Mira smuggles food into the Ghetto to keep herself and her...
Between shades of gray /
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
The inspiration for the major motion picture Ashes in the Snow! "Few books are beautifully written, fewer still are important; this novel is both." --The Washington Post From New York Times and international bestseller and Carnegie...
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 book thief /
Zusak, Markus.
Ebook
#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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