Teen
Captivating Historical Fiction for Teens
by Dena McMurdie
Historical fiction offers interesting peeks into the past that you don’t get from textbooks. One of the best things about the genre is that it can make you interested in learning more about the actual history of the time period. Often, after reading a historical novel, I end up jumping down an endless rabbit hole of information about the time period or characters the book was based on.
In this list of historical novels, you’ll find riveting stories about war, royalty, the quest for freedom, and events that changed history.
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Luck of the Titanic
Also available from:The infamous disaster is as captivating as ever in this historical YA novel. Unable to board the ship as a regular passenger, Val stows away. She dreams of getting a job at a circus in New York City, but she doesn’t expect to fight for survival along the way. If you read and loved The Downstairs Girl, you’ll want to pick this one up.
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I Must Betray You
Also available from:You know Ruta Sepetys from her novels Between Shades of Gray and Salt to the Sea. Now, she takes readers on another riveting historical adventure set in 1989 Romania. A young writer with big dreams collides with a communist regime, blackmail, and betrayal. Sepetys’s newest masterpiece will captivate YA readers.
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Dream Country
Also available from:A compelling look at the connection between Liberia and America, Dream Country explores the lives of five generations of a family searching for freedom. Heartbreaking and honest, this journey through history is about family, dreams, and the hope for a better future.
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Love and War
Also available from:This New York Times bestselling trilogy is a must-read for anyone that loves the musical Hamilton. The three-book series follows the lives of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler as they navigate romance, betrayal, war, and tragedy.
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The Diamond Keeper
Also available from:The Hope Diamond is a legendary stone with a complex history. It’s now on display in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C., but before then, it traveled, changed hands, and went missing. This historical young adult novel takes place during that time. When war forces Claudie from her quiet village, she gets caught up in the French revolution and works for the resistance.
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The Book Thief
Also available from:Keep a box of tissues nearby as you read this heart-wrenching historical novel set in Germany during World War II. Narrated by Death, it captures the beautiful and terrible moments of one of the worst wars in history. It’s utterly impossible to set down.
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The Silver Blonde
Also available from:Step back in time to the glittering days of Hollywood after World War II. When Clara finds the body of a young starlet at the movie studio where she works, her entire world gets turned upside down. She goes from being an aspiring film editor to the center of a murder investigation overnight.
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What the Night Sings
Also available from:What happens after your life is torn apart? This is the story of a teen girl who survived the Holocaust and her struggle to rebuild her life after she is liberated from a concentration camp. This atmospheric book is perfect for YA readers fascinated by World War II.
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And I Darken
Also available from:You'll love this gender-swapped retelling of Vlad the Impaler and the Ottoman Empire. Romance, war, and politics combine into a riveting story of the struggle for power in the 15th century. This series is perfect for readers that love fierce female warriors and new spins on historical events.
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Rebel Spy
Also available from:If you were obsessed with the television series Turn, you’ll love this novel about the Culper Spy Ring during the American Revolutionary War. Inspired by actual events and Agent 355, this novel captures the peril, courage, and passion of the people who risked everything in the fight for freedom.
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Haunting the Deep
Also available from:After receiving a brief visit from a ghost, Sam worries that trouble is brewing — and she's right. She starts having vivid dreams of being aboard the Titanic and needs the help of her friends to break the spell trying to trap her there. This spooky novel is a fantastic follow-up to How to Hang a Witch.
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We Are All That's Left
Also available from:Told in alternating viewpoints between Zara in the modern world and her mother in a war-torn 1990s Bosnia, this novel is at once educational, terrifying, and honest. It deals with heavy themes but also offers hope and healing.
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African Town
Also available from:This stunning novel-in-verse tells the little-known story about a group of people captured in Africa and brought illegally to the United States to be enslaved — long after the importation of enslaved Africans was outlawed. You’ll follow their lives, from the journey and arrival through the Civil War and beyond. Their stories will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
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The Reckless Kind
Also available from:Arranged marriage, an epic horse race, and LGBTQ+ themes combine into a riveting historical YA novel that readers will love. After an attack leaves Asta’s best friend Gunnar severely hurt, they flee to a remote cabin with Gunnar’s boyfriend, Erland. However, the locals’ prejudice and Gunnar’s injuries threaten their newfound freedom and happiness.
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Ashes in the Snow (Movie Tie-In)
Also available from:Fifteen-year-old Lina and her family are snatched from their home in Lithuania by Soviet officers and sent to a labor camp in Siberia. Refusing to give up hope, Lina documents her experiences in coded drawings she hopes will make their way to her father. Keep a box of tissues handy as you read this book!
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The Corpse Queen
Also available from:If you crave historical fiction full of thrills and chills, add this novel to your “to read” list! Grave-robbing became a common way to satisfy the demand for cadavers in the 1850s. And as 17-year-old Molly finds out in this novel, grave-robbers sometimes go to unthinkable lengths to acquire dead bodies.
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Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All
Also available from:Each ill-fated wife of Henry VIII tells her heartbreaking story in this gripping book by a collection of outstanding YA authors. Politics, infidelity, a vicious court, and plain old bad luck play a part in each wife's downfall, making Fatal Throne an utterly spellbinding read.
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Among the Fallen
Also available from:Fans of Charles Dickens will enjoy this historical YA novel about an imprisoned teenager who gets a second chance at life. Set in Victorian England, this story gives readers a glimpse into the hardship suffered by the lower classes — especially women and girls accused of a crime.
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