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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A northern light
Donnelly, Jennifer.
Paper Book
When Mattie Gokey is given a bundle of letters to burn she fully intends to execute the wishes of the giver, Grace Brown. But when Grace is found drowned in Big Moose Lake the next day, Mattie finds that it is not as easy to burn those letters as she had thought. And, as she reads, a riveting story...
Historical setting: 1900s USA
The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas, Alexandre
Paper Book
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and becomes determined not only to escape but to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the...

Historical setting: 1800s France

These violent delights
Gong, Chloe
Paper Book
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! 'Deliciously dark' NATASHA NGAN 'Heady, smart and vicious' TESSA GRATTON This heart-pounding fantasy romance retelling of Romeo and Juliet is set in jazz-age Singapore and filled with intrigue,...

Historical setting: 1920s Shanghai, China

The librarian of Auschwitz
Iturbe, Antonio
Paper Book
For readers of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The Choice: this is the story of the smallest library in the world - and the most dangerous. 'It wasn't an extensive library. In fact, it consisted of eight books and some of them were in poor condition. But they...

Historical setting: World War II

Alex & Eliza : a love story
De la Cruz, Melissa
Paper Book
The love story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler - based on the story that inspired the bestselling musical Hamilton. 1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of...
Historical setting: American Revolution, 1770s USA
Dodger
Pratchett, Terry
Paper Book
A storm. Rain-lashed city streets. A flash of lightning. A scruffy lad sees a girl leap desperately from a horse-drawn carriage, in a vain attempt to escape her captors. Can the lad stand by and let her be caught again? Of course not, because he's... Dodger!

Historical setting: Victorian London

The ruby in the smoke : a Sally Lockhart mystery
Pullman, Philip
Paper Book
The first book in Philip Pullman's classic SALLY LOCKHART quartet in a beautiful new edition to celebrate the 30 year anniversary. Soon after Sally Lockhart's father drowns at sea, she receives an anonymous letter. The dire warning it contains makes a man die of fear at her feet. Determined to...

Historical setting: 1800s England

The fountains of silence : a novel
Sepetys, Ruta
Paper Book
Madrid, 1957. Daniel, young, wealthy and unsure of his place in the world, views the city through the lens of his camera. Ana, a hotel maid whose family is suffering under the fascist dictatorship of General Franco. Lives and hearts collide as they unite to uncover the hidden darkness within the...

Historical setting: 1950s Spain

Between shades of gray
Sepetys, Ruta.
Paper Book
The haunting and powerful Second World War novel by Ruta Sepetys that inspired the feature film, ASHES IN THE SNOW, OUT NOW. One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away....

Historical setting: World War II Lithuania

Black dove, white raven
Wein, Elizabeth
Paper Book
A story of survival, subterfuge, espionage and identity. Rhoda and Delia are American stunt pilots who perform daring aerobatics to appreciative audiences. But while the sight of two girls wingwalking - one white, one black - is a welcome novelty in some parts of the USA, it's an anathema in...

Historical setting: World War II Ethiopia

Code name Verity
Wein, Elizabeth.
Paper Book
Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat; one a pilot, the other a special operations executive. But when a vital mission goes wrong, one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and...

Historical setting: World War II England

Kemosha of the Caribbean
Wheatle, Alex
Paper Book

Historical setting: 1600s Jamaica

The book thief
Zusak, Markus
Paper Book
HERE IS A SMALL FACT - YOU ARE GOING TO DIE 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier. Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with a foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books...

Historical setting: World War II Germany


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