Historical Fiction for Teens

Anderson, M.T.-The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation

    Book 1 Pox Party
    Book 2 The Kingdom of the Waves
         Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the experiences of Octavian, 
         a young African American, from birth to age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a 
         science experiment in the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War.

Cushman, Karen-Loud Silence of Francine Green

         In 1949, thirteen-year-old Francine goes to Catholic school in Los Angeles where she becomes
         best friends with a girl who questions authority and is frequently punished by the nuns, 
         causing Francine to question her own values.

Donnelly, Jennifer-Revolution

         Two girls, two centuries apart, one never knowing the other. When Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, 
         she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and 
         distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the 
         catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, 
         terrifyingly present.

Draper, Sharon-Copper Sun

         Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their
         Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony 
         that gives sanctuary to slaves.

Edwardson, Debby Dahl-My Name is Not Easy

         Set in 1960s Alaska, 12-year-old Luke and his brothers are sent to a punitive Catholic 
         boarding school, he knows that he will have to sacrifice his Iñupiaq name. But he isn't 
         prepared to lose his youngest brother, Isaac, who is too young to enroll and is sent to 
         live with a family in Texas.
  

Godbersen, Anna-The Luxe

    Book 1 The Luxe
    Book 2 Rumours
    Book 3 Envy
    Book 4 Splendor
         In Manhattan in 1899, five teens of different social classes lead dangerously scandalous lives, 
         despite the strict rules of society and the best-laid plans of parents and others.

Grant, K.M.-DeGranville Trilogy

    Book 1 Blood Red Horses
    Book 2 Green Jasper
    Book 3 Blaze of Silver
         A special horse named Hosanna changes the lives of two English brothers and those around them 
         as they fight with King Richard I against Saladin's armies during the Third Crusades.

Gray, Claudia-Fateful

         It is 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful 
         memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. 
         Once the ship they are sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to 
         strike out and create a new life for herself.

Paulsen, Gary-Woods Runner

         Samuel, 13, spends his days in the forest, hunting for food for his family. He has grown up 
         on the frontier of a British colony, America. Far from any town, or news of the war against 
         the King that American patriots have begun near Boston. 

Sepetys, Ruta-Between Shades of Gray

         Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. Until one night when 
         Soviet officers barge into her home forcing her, her mother and brother onto a crowded and 
         dirty train car. They slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp 
         in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for 
         beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Zusak, Markus-The Book Thief

         Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel,
         a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family
         and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.