Young Adult Historical Fiction Book List

Denotes new titles recently added to the listdesperately to help her brother Armandescape from death, but soon must flee to saveher own life. Who will find her first: the mob,the revolutionary guards, or, most terrifying ofall, the sinister pale assassin himself?(Summary fromwww.patriciaelliott.co.uk/paleassassin.php,Oct 2009)19TH CENTURYAviThe Traitors’ GateWhen his father is arrested as adebtor in 1849 London, fourteenyear-old John Huffman must takeon unexpected responsibilities,from asking a distant relative for help todetermining why people are spying on himand his family. (Summary from HennepinCounty Library, January 2008)Bradley, Kimberly BrubakerJefferson’s Sons: a FoundingFathers Secret ChildrenA fictionalized look at the lasttwenty years of ThomasJefferson's life at Monticellothrough the eyes of three of his slaves, two ofwhom were his sons by his slave, SallyHemings. (Summary from Follett Destiny,November 2011).Cushman, KarenRodzinaA twelve-year-old PolishAmerican girl is boardedonto an orphan train inChicago with fears abouttraveling to the West and alife of unpaid slavery. (Summary from Library ofCongress 2004)Giff, Patricia ReillyWater StreetIn the shadow of the constructionof the Brooklyn Bridge, eighthgraders and new neighbors BirdMallon and Thomas Neary makesome decisions about what they want to dowith their lives. (Summary from HennepinCounty Library at hclib.org, 2007)Godbersen, AnnaEnvyLuxe Series: Book 3At the dawn of the twentiethcentury, several families inNew York remain stunned bythe antics of mischievoussocialites, including Henry, Penelope, andLina. (Summary from Follett Destiny, Oct2009)Godbersen, AnnaLuxeLuxe Series: Book 1In 1899 Manhattan, the drowningof beautiful Elizabeth Holland,daughter of New York society'sruling family, brings to the surface thescandalous behavior of several teenagers ofvarying social class. (Summary from FollettDestiny, Oct 2009)Godbersen, AnnaRumorsLuxe Series: Book 2After the death of ElizabethHolland, all of New Yorkspeculates about her unfortunatedemise and wonder what role her mischievoussister, Diana, and notorious cad HenrySchoonmaker played in the events leading upto her death. (Summary from Follett Destiny,Oct 2009)Unless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.5

Denotes new titles recently added to the listGodbersen, AnnaSplendorLuxe Series: Book 4In 1900 New York City,fashionable debutante DianaHolland and married soldierHenry Schoonmaker risk their place in societyto be with one another. (Summary fromFollett Destiny, November 2009)Gratz, AlanSamurai ShortstopWhile obtaining a Westerneducation at a prestigiousJapanese boarding school in1890, sixteen-year-old Toyoalso receives traditional samuraitraining which has profound effects on bothhis baseball game and his relationship with hisfather. (Summary from Hennepin CountyLibrary at hclib.org, 2007)Ives, DavidScribIn the lawless West in 1863, 16year-old Scrib makes his living bywriting and delivering letters for"ill-letterates." Comicmisspellings and wordplay abound, but Scribtakes his job seriously, saying his "perfession"as a "letter writer's like a priest under thetrained seals of confession." As Scrib travelsby horseback, he senses that he is beingfollowed, and his customers notify him that astranger has been inquiring about him. Shoot'em-up scenes follow as well as some poignantmoments. (Summary from Mackin.com 2006).Johnson, MaureenThe Name of the StarRory, of Boueuxlieu, Louisiana, isspending a year at a Londonboarding school when shewitnesses a murder by a Jack theRipper copycat and becomes involved withthe very unusual investigation. (Summaryfrom Follett Destiny, 2012).Kelly, JacquelineThe Evolution ofCalpurnia TateIn central Texas in 1899,eleven-year-old Callie VeeTate is instructed to be alady by her mother, learnsabout love from the olderthree of her six brothers, and studies thenatural world with her grandfather, the latterof which leads to an important discovery.(Summary from Follett Destiny, November2010).Lawrence, IainThe ConvictsHis efforts to avenge his father's unjustimprisonment force fourteen-year-old TomTin into the streets of nineteenth-centuryLondon, but after he is convicted of murder,Tom is eventually sent to Australia where hehas a surprise reunion. (Summary fromHennepin County Library, 2006)Lerangis, PeterSmiler’s BonesExplorer Robert Peary brings sixEskimos to a New York Citymuseum to be a living exhibit.Qisuk, known as "Smiler," and hisson Minik are part of the exhibit. Four of theEskimos die, including Smiler, and oneEskimo returns to Greenland. Minik spendstwelve years at the museum amid lies anddeception, in search of the truth and a way tosurvive. (2005)Nuzum, K.A.The Leanin DogEleven-year-old Dessa Dean,mourning the death of hermother, finds an injured dog onUnless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.6

Denotes new titles recently added to the listher porch, which allows both Dessa and thedog to heal together with a friendship thatshapes both of their lives. (Summary fromFollett Destiny, October 2009)Paulson, GaryThe Legend of Bass Reeves:Being the true and fictionalaccount of the most valiantmarshal in the WestAn account of the life of BassReeves. (Summary from Hennepin CountyLibrary at hclib.org, 2007)Preus, MargiHeart of the Samurai: basedon the true story ofNakahama ManjiroIn 1841, rescued by an Americanwhaler after a terrible shipwreckleaves him and his four companions castawayson a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro,who dreams of becoming a samurai learnsnew laws and customs as he becomes the firstJapanese person to set foot in the UnitedStates. (Summary from Follett Destiny,November 2010).Rosoff, MegBrides FarewellA young woman in 1850s ruralEngland runs away from homeon horseback the day she's tomarry her childhood sweetheart.Pell is from a poor preacher's family and she'swatched her mother suffer for years under theburden of caring for an ever-increasingnumber of children. Pell yearns to escape theinevitable repetition of such a life. Sheunderstands horses better than people andsets off for Salisbury Fair. (Summary fromHennepin County, November 2009).Sayres, Meghan NuttallAnahita’s Woven RiddleIn Iran, more than 100 yearsago, a young girl with threesuitors gets permission fromher father and a holy man to weave into herwedding rug a riddle to be solved by herfuture husband, which will ensure that he haswit to match hers. (Summary from HennepinCounty Library, January 2008.)Schultz, Jan NeubertFirestormAfter her family relocates toHinckley, Minnesota, Maggiewants to escape the dustynineteenth-century railroadtown. When the hot weather produces amassive firestorm, Maggie gets her wish buteventually learns that Hinckley has becomeher home. (2002)Wait, LeaFinest KindWhen his father's Boston bankfails in 1838, causing his familyto relocate to a small Mainetown, twelve-year-old JakeWebber works to prepare thefamily for the harsh winterwhile also keeping theexistence of his disabled younger brother asecret. Summary from Mackin.com, January2008.)Civil WarErnst, KathleenHearts of StoneOrphaned when her father diesfighting for the Union and hermother expires from exhaustion,and also estranged from theirConfederate neighbors, fifteen-year-oldHannah struggles to find a way for her familyUnless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.7

Denotes new titles recently added to the listto survive during the Civil War in Tennessee.(Summary from Hennepin County Library,January 2008.)Keehn, Sally M.Anna SundayIn 1863 twelve-year-oldAnna, disguised as a boy andaccompanied by her youngerbrother Jed, leaves their Pennsylvania homeand makes the difficult journey to join theirwounded father in Winchester, Virginia,where they find themselves in danger fromConfederate troops. (Summary fromwww.hclib.org, November 2009)Paulsen, GarySoldier’s HeartThe realism conveyed in thisbrief but powerful novel is rarelyseen in children’s books aboutthe Civil War. It is based on thelife of Charley Goddard, a Minnesota boywho lies about his age and joins the Unionarmy at age fifteen. Paulsen’s extensiveresearch is evident in the richness of details heprovides, but what makes this novel soeffective is the unremitting focus on thetrauma caused by war. (1998)Rinaldi, AnnAmelia’s WarIn an engaging story, Amelia isconfused and frustrated whenher Maryland town divides itsloyalties between the Union andConfederacy. An author’s note describes theactual incident the book is based on, in whicha Confederate general made plans to exact ahuge ransom from the town of Hagerstown,Maryland—or burn down the town. (1999)Rinaldi, AnnGirl in BlueFleeing an abusive father, SarahWheelock disguises herself as a boyand joins the Union Army. Sheassists a physician until her gender isdiscovered, then goes to work undercover forthe Pinkerton Detective Agency as a maid toRose Greenhow, notorious Confederate spy.(2001)1900-1919Haddix, Margaret PetersonUprisingIn 1927, at the urging of atwenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs.Livingston reluctantly recalls herexperiences at the TriangleShirtwaist factory, including miserableworking conditions that led to a strike, thenthe fire that took the lives of her two bestfriends, when Harriet, the boss's daughter,was only five years old. (Summary fromHennepin County Library, January 2008)Hale, MarionDark Water RisingWhile salvaging and rebuilding inthe aftermath of the Galvestonflood of 1900, sixteen-year-oldSeth proves himself in a way thathis previous efforts never could, but he stillmust face his father man-to-man. (Summaryfrom Hennepin County Library, January2008.)Schmidt, GaryLizzy Bright and theBuckminster BoyIn 1911, Turner Buckminsterhates his new home ofPhippsburg, Maine, but thingsimprove when he meets LizzieUnless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.8

Denotes new titles recently added to the listBright Griffin, a girl from a poor, nearbyisland community founded by former slavesthat the town fathers--and Turner's--want tochange into a tourist spot. (Summary fromHennepin County Library, June 2005.)Sedgwick, MarcusForeshadowingHaving always been able toknow when someone is goingto die, Alexandra poses as anurse to go to France during World War I tolocate her brother and to try to save him fromthe fate she has foreseen for him. (Summaryfrom Hennepin County Library, November2007.)Ross, StewartOnly a Matter of Time: AStory from KosovoFirst-person stories place theirprotagonists in the middle ofserious historical conflicts. Ahistorical note is included. (2002)Whelan, GloriaAngel on the SquareWhen her mother becomes alady-in-waiting to RussianEmpress Alexandra, Katyabecomes the playmate ofGrand Duchess Anastasia.Katya and her mother stay with theRomanovs, even following them to Siberia.(2001)Winespear, JacqulineMaisie DobbsAfter Maisie sets up a privateinvestigation firm and deals with acase involving marital infidelity,she encounters a young soldierfrom the Retreat House, and learns that noone comes out of there alive. (Summary fromMackin.com, 2006)Winthrop, ElizabethCounting on GraceIt's 1910 in Pownal, Vermont.At 12 Grace and her bestfriend Arthur must go to workin the mill, helping theirmothers work the looms. Together Grace andArthur write a secret letter to the Child LaborBoard about underage children working in themill. A few weeks later, Lewis Hine, a famousreformer arrives undercover to gatherevidence. Grace meets him and appears insome of his photographs, changing her lifeforever. (2006)Watts, Irene N.No MoonWanting to provide financialsupport for her large family,Louisa, 14, takes the post ofnursemaid for a wealthy family.Then the nanny has an accidentdays before the family is to sail to New York,and Louisa must either go in her place or loseher job. Haunted by the drowning of her babybrother when she was younger and for whichshe feels responsible, Louisa insists that thechildren practice putting on their life vests.When the fateful collision with the icebergoccurs, Watts documents the chaos andemotions realistically. (Summary from SchoolLibrary Journal, November 2010).WORLD WAR IBagdasarian, AdamForgotten FireThis vividly, even horrifically,evoked novel tells of genocidecarried out against Armeniansin Turkey during World War I.Unless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.9

Denotes new titles recently added to the listLike narrator Vahan Kenderian, who is twelvewhen the novel begins, a reader can’t reallyprepare for this relentless tragedy before itunfolds. The book is based on Bagdasarian’sgreat-uncle. (2000)Morpurgo, MichaelPrivate PeacefulMemories of his former peacefullife, letters from home, andobservations of battles make up17-year-old Thomas' narration ashe fights in World War I. The young Englishsoldier lied about his age to fight in Francewith his older brother Charlie, and now findshimself in dire circumstances. As darknesscloses in on him in the trenches, Thomasrecalls the girl that both he and his brotherloved, his brain-damaged brother, Joe, and thepart Thomas played in his father's untimelydeath. This terrific and suspense-filled bookexamines issues of responsibility and mercy.(2004)Spillebeen, GeertKipling’s ChoiceEighteen-year-oldLieutenant John Kipling,wounded in Loos, France,spends his last hour on aWorld War I battlefield reflecting on hisfamous father--writer Rudyard Kipling--andhis heroic expectations. Rudyard had fearedhis son would miss out on the opportunity toexperience glory, so he used his influence toget John enlisted in the Irish Guard. John iseager to please his father but he suffers a neckwound, tries to continue fighting, waits to berescued, then eventually falls into a painlessdeath sleep. (2005)1920-1929AviThe Secret SchoolIn 1925, fourteen-year-oldIda Bidson acts as temporaryteacher—in secret andwithout pay—when she andthe seven other pupils in theirElk Valley, Colorado, school learn theirteacher must leave. A few well-placedincidents nicely develop character. (2001)Libba BrayThe DivinersSeventeen-year-old EvieO'Neill is thrilledwhen she is exiledfrom small-townOhio to New York City in 1926, evenwhen a rash of occult-based murders thrustsEvie and her uncle, curator of The Museumof American Folklore, Superstition, and theOccult, into the thick of the investigation.(Summary from Follett Destiny, January2013).Godberson, AnnaBeautiful DaysBright Young Things, Book 2Letty, Cordelia, and Astrid pursueromance, adventure, and intriguein New York during the RoaringTwenties. (Summary from Follett Destiny,March 2012).Godberson, AnnaBright Young ThingsBright Young Things , Book 1In the spring of 1929, eighteenyear-old Cordelia Grey and herstage-struck friend LettyLarkspur run away from their small Ohiotown to seek their fortunes in New York CityUnless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.10

Denotes new titles recently added to the listand soon find themselves drawn intosituations and relationships, particularly withthe dazzling Astrid Donal, that change theirlives forever.Godberson, AnnaThe Lucky OnesBright Young Things, Book 3In 1929, the BrightYoung Things escapeManhattan's heat forthe lush lawns and sparkling bays of WhiteCove, looking for leisure, love, and luck. Assummer reaches its hottest peak, these sunkissed girls will find out if their luck can lastor if dark surprises are on the horizon. Theriveting conclusion to the one summer theseBright Young Things will never forget.(Summary from Hennepin County, January2013.)Kidd, RonaldMonkey TownWhen her father hatches a planto bring publicity to their smallTennessee town by arresting alocal high school teacher forteaching about evolution, the resulting 1925Scopes trial prompts fifteen-year-old Francesto rethink many of her beliefs about religionand truth, as well as her relationship with herfather. (Summary from Hennepin CountyLibrary at hclib.org, 2007)Lisle, JanetBlack DuckYears afterwards, Ruben Harttells the story of how, in 1929Newport, Rhode Island, hisfamily and his best friend'sfamily were caught up in the violentcompetition among groups trying to controlthe local rum-smuggling trade. (Summaryfrom Hennepin County, January 2008.)1930-1939Divakaruni, Chitra BanerjeeNeela, Victory SongAfter her sister’s wedding, Neela,12, is next in line for an arrangedmarriage. Questioning therestrictions on women in 1939India, Neela finds herself drawn to theincendiary ideas of those fighting forindependence from Britain—and takingaction when her father disappears during aprotest march. (2002)Gruen, SaraWater for ElephantsThough he may not speak ofthem, the memories still dwellinside Jacob Jankowski's ninetysomething-year-old mind.Memories of himself as a young man, tossedby fate onto a rickety train that was home tothe Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show onEarth. Memories of a world filled with freaksand clowns, with wonder and pain and angerand passion; a world with its own narrow,irrational rules, its own way of life, and itsown way of death. The world of the circus: toJacob it was both salvation and a living hell.(2006)Sharenow, RobertThe Berlin Boxing ClubIn 1936 Berlin, fourteen-year-oldKarl Stern, considered Jewishdespite a non-religiousupbringing, learns to box fromthe legendary Max Schmeling while strugglingwith the realities of the Holocaust. (Summaryfrom Follett Destiny, November 2011).Unless otherwise noted, all summaries are from Greenwood Publishing Group, Horn Book Guide Online 1989-2002.11

Denotes new titles recently added to the listWinspear, JacquelineElegy for EddieMaisie Dobbs takeson her most personalcase yet, a twistinginvestigation into the brutalkilling of a street peddler that will take herfrom the working-class neighborhoods of herchildhood into London's highest circles ofpower. Set in London between the two worldwars. (Summary from Follett Destiny,January 2013).WORLD WAR IISusan Campbell BartolettiThe Boy Who DaredIn October, 1942, seventeen-yearold Helmuth Hübener, imprisonedfor distributing anti-Nazi leaflets,recalls his past life and how he came todedicate himself to bring the truth aboutHitler and the war to the German people.(Follett, 2009)Bernstein, Sara TurvelThe SeamstressSara grows up willing to fightanti-Semitism from otherschoolchildren. She defiesher father’s orders to turndown a scholarship that takesher to Bucharest—and getsherself expelled when she responds to ateacher’s vicious diatribe against Jews.Ashamed to return home, she looks for workand discovers a talent for dressmaking. Saraends up in a brutal women’s concentrationcamp deep in Germany. (Summary fromAmazon.com, April 2003.)Boyne, JohnThe Boy in the StripedPajamasBored and lonely after his familymoves from Berlin to a placecalled "Out-With" in 1942,Bruno, the son of a Nazi officer, befriends aboy in striped pajamas who lives behind awire fence. (Summary from Hennepin CountyLibrary at hclib.org, 2007)Bradley, KimberlyBrubakerFor FreedomDespite the horrors of WorldWar II, a French teenagerpursues her dream ofbecoming an opera singer, which takes her toplaces where she gains information aboutwhat the Nazis are doing--information thatthe French Resistance needs.Cassanova, MaryThe Klipfish CodeSent with her younger brother toGodøy Island to live with her auntand grandfather after Germansbomb Norway in 1940, ten-yearold Merit longs to join her parents in theResistance and when her aunt, a teacher, istaken away two years later, she resents evenmore the Nazis' presence and hergrandfather's refusal to oppose them. Includeshistorical facts and glossary. (Summary fromHennepin County Library, 2008)Disher, GarryThe Divine Wind,In northern Australiaduring World War II, HartPenrose grapples with hislove for Mitsy, a JapaneseAustralian, while hatemessages tow

Yolen, Jane Girl in a Cage As English armies invade Scotland in 1306, eleven-year-old Princess Marjorie, daughter of the newly crowned Scottish king, Robert the Bruce, is captured by England's King Edward Longshanks and held in a cage on public display. (2002) Yolen, Jane Queen's Own Fool When the young Queen of France asks eleven-year-old