Historical Fiction for Teens

Historical Fiction

Time travel is possible with books .

Little Women Louisa May Alcott (1868) During the Civil War, 4 Massachusetts sisters become women.

Fever, 1793 Laurie Halse Anderson. (2000) Mattie must survive Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic.

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austin (1813) The first romantic comedy! Elizabeth Bennet can’t stand Mr. Darcy– right?

Crispin: The Cross of Lead Avi (2002)13 year old Crispin must escape bounty hunters in 14th century England.

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte (1847)Cathy and Heathcliff’s love destroys them both, and many around them.

A Northern Light Jennifer Donnelly (2003)Mattie’s life changes when a young woman drowning near the hotel where Mattie works turns out to be murder. Based on a true story, the murder took place in 1906.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Ernest Gaines (1971)This novel covers a hundred years of history, as Miss Jane reminisces about her life from just after the civil war to the beginning of the civil rights movement.

The Summer of My German Soldier. Bette Greene. When a WWII prison camp is built near her home in Arkansas, the last thing that Jewish Patty expects is to fall in love with Anton, an escapee.

Earthquake at Dawn Kristiana Gregory (1992)Edith and her maid Daisy get caught in the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and Edith discovers her passion for journalistic photography. Based on a true story.

Out of the Dust Karen Hesse (1997)A novel in verse, this book tells the story of Billie Jo, trying to overcome family tragedy during the gritty Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.

Soldier Boys Dean Hughes (2001)Dieter and Spence are both eager to join the military during WWII. What they experience in war will change them both.

Fallen Angels Walter Dean Myers (1989)Perry leaves Harlem to head to Vietnam in this excellent book about race, war, honor, and friendship.

Amistad David Pesci (1997)A group of Africans take over their slave ship, but then are captured and put on trial in 1839.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith (1943)Francie Nolan grows up in a family that is struggling to support themselves in pre-WWI New York in this wonderful, must-read classic.

The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath (1963)Pressure to succeed leads Esther into a nervous breakdown in 1950’s America.

An Acquaintance With Darkness Ann Rinaldi (1997)When her mother dies and her best friend’s family is implicated in the assassination of President Lincoln, 14 year old Emily must go live with an uncle she suspects of immoral medical research.