10 Best Historical Young Adult Books Capturing Fascinating Period Settings
Alright, fellow bookworms and history buffs, have we got a list for you. We've dug deep into the treasure troves of literature and compiled a thrilling assortment of must-read historical young adult novels. These are not your average textbook tales of the past, oh no. We've weeded out the boring stuff and are presenting you with stories that vividly reconstruct the past, while still offering some heart-racing plot twists, unforgettable characters, and storylines that get their hooks into you from page one.
Covering a range of eras from the gilded glamour of the 1920s to the strife-stricken battlegrounds of medieval times, each of these historical young adult books offers a distinctive view of the past. Be it kings and queens, or ordinary folks trying to survive in extraordinary times, these novels allow you to live the adventure, mystery, and romance of bygone eras.
So, buckle up, grab your favorite mug of something warm, and prepare to time travel (sans DeLorean or TARDIS) into the fascinating, colorful, and often brutal lives of those who walked this earth long before us. Be prepared, these books might make you neglect your chores, skip your favorite shows, and lose some serious sleep. But trust us, every minute will be worth it.
『Salt to the Sea』
#1 New York Times bestseller and winner of the Carnegie Medal! "A superlative novel . . . masterfully crafted."--The Wall Street Journal Based on "the forgotten tragedy that was six times deadlier than the Titanic."--Time Winter 1945. WWII. Four refugees. Four stories. Each one born of a different homeland; each one hunted, and haunted, by tragedy, lies, war. As thousands desperately flock to the coast in the midst of a Soviet advance, four paths converge, vying for passage aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a ship that promises safety and freedom. But not all promises can be kept . . . This paperback edition includes book club questions and exclusive interviews with Wilhelm Gustloff survivors and experts.
Author | Ruta Sepetys |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Aug 01, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『Fatal Throne: The Wives of Henry VIII Tell All』
Perfect for anyone playing the Six soundtrack on repeat who wants to discover more about the six wives of Henry VIII! This is an edge-of-your-seat reimagining of the romance and tragedy that defined them, told from multiple points of view by award-winning and bestselling authors. If you were one of King Henry VIII's six wives, who would you be? Would you be Anne Boleyn, who literally lost her head? The subject of rumor and scandal like Catherine Howard? Or would you survive like Anna of Cleves? Meet all Henry's queens--each bound for divorce or death--in this epic novel that reads like fantasy but really happened. Watch spellbound as each wife attempts to survive their unpredictable king as he grows more obsessed with producing a male heir. And discover how the power-hungry court fanned the flames of Henry's passions . . . and his most horrible impulses. Brought to life by seven award-winning and bestselling authors, here is an intimate look at the royals during one of the most treacherous times in history, perfect for anyone fascinated by Britain's Royal Family or Netflix's The Crown. "Ambitious and exciting." --Bustle "These stories of love, lust, power and intrigue never fail to fascinate." --Shelf Awareness, Starred Review Who's Who: M. T. Anderson - Henry VIII Candace Fleming - Katharine of Aragon, wife #1 Stephanie Hemphill - Anne Boleyn, wife #2 Lisa Ann Sandell - Jane Seymour, wife #3 Jennifer Donnelly - Anna of Cleves, wife #4 Linda Sue Park - Catherine Howard, wife #5 Deborah Hopkinson - Kateryn Parr, wife #6
Author | M. T. Anderson/Candace Fleming/Stephanie Hemphill/Lisa Ann Sandell/Jennifer Donnelly/Linda Sue Park/Deborah Hopkinson |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Ember |
Release Date | Feb 18, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
『Code Name Verity』
The beloved #1 New York Times bestseller, a "fiendishly plotted" (New York Times) "heart-in-your mouth adventure" (Washington Post), that "will take wing and soar into your heart" (Laurie Halse Anderson) — now with a new bonus chapter. October 11th, 1943 — A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun. When "Verity" is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn't stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she's living a spy's worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution. As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage, failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy? A universally acclaimed Edgar Award winner, Code Name Verity is a visceral read of danger, resolve, and survival that shows just how far true friends will go to save each other. This updated edition features a brand-new short story, essay from the author, a discussion guide, and more.
Author | Elizabeth E. Wein |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Jan 03, 2023 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Song of Achilles』
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012 Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles’s mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfill his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
Author | Madeline Miller |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | A&C Black |
Release Date | Apr 12, 2012 |
Source | Google Books |
『Hamilton and Peggy!』
Drawing from historical journals and letters, New York Times bestselling author Laura Elliot weaves a richly detailed tale about the extraordinary Peggy Schuyler and her revolutionary friendship with Alexander Hamilton. Perfect for fans of the smash Broadway musical sensation Hamilton! Peggy Schuyler has always felt like she’s existed in the shadows of her beloved sisters: the fiery, intelligent Angelica and beautiful, sweet Eliza. But it’s in the throes of a chaotic war that Peggy finds herself a central figure amid Loyalists and Patriots, spies and traitors, friends and family. When a flirtatious aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, writes to Peggy asking for her help in wooing the earnest Eliza, Peggy finds herself unable to deny such an impassioned plea. A fast friendship forms between the two, but Alexander is caught in the same war as her father, and the danger to all their lives is real. Everything is a battlefield—from the frontlines to their carefully coded letters—but will Peggy’s bravery’s and intelligence be enough to keep them all safe?
Author | L. M. Elliott |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Katherine Tegen Books |
Release Date | Feb 13, 2018 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Valiant』
Princess. Captive. Gladiator. Always a Warrior. Fallon is the daughter of a proud Celtic king and the younger sister of the legendary fighter Sorcha. When Fallon was just a child, Sorcha was killed by the armies of Julius Caesar. On the eve of her seventeenth birthday, Fallon is excited to follow in her sister's footsteps and earn her place in her father's war band. She never gets the chance. Fallon is captured and sold to an elite training school for female gladiators—owned by none other than Julius Caesar himself. In a cruel twist of fate, the man who destroyed Fallon’s family might be her only hope of survival. Now, Fallon must overcome vicious rivalries, deadly fights in and out of the arena, and perhaps the most dangerous threat of all: her irresistible feelings for Cai, a young Roman soldier and her sworn enemy. A richly imagined fantasy for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Cinda Williams Chima, The Valiant recounts Fallon’s gripping journey from fierce Celtic princess to legendary gladiator and darling of the Roman empire.
Author | Lesley Livingston |
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Price | $7.99 |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Feb 14, 2017 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Language of Fire』
The Language of Fire is a lyrical, dark, and moving look at the life of Joan of Arc, who as a teen girl in the fifteenth century commanded an army and helped crown a king of France. This extraordinary verse novel from award-winning author Stephanie Hemphill dares to imagine how an ordinary girl became a great leader, and ultimately saved a nation. Jehanne was an illiterate peasant, never quite at home among her siblings and peers. Until one day, she hears a voice call to her, telling her she is destined for important things. She begins to understand that she has been called by God, chosen for a higher purpose—to save France. Through sheer determination and incredible courage, Jehanne becomes the unlikeliest of heroes. She runs away from home, dresses in men’s clothes, and convinces an army that she will lead France to victory. As a girl in a man’s world, at a time when women truly had no power, Jehanne faced constant threats and violence from the men around her. Despite the impossible odds, Jehanne became a fearless warrior who has inspired generations.
Author | Stephanie Hemphill |
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Price | $7.99 |
Publisher | HarperCollins |
Release Date | Jun 11, 2019 |
Source | Google Books |
『Alex & Eliza』
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Witches of East End and the Descendants series comes the love story of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler. 1777. Albany, New York. As battle cries of the American Revolution echo in the distance, servants flutter about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuylers’ grand ball. Descended from two of the oldest and most distinguished bloodlines in New York, the Schuylers are proud to be one of their fledgling country’s founding families, and even prouder still of their three daughters—Angelica, with her razor-sharp wit; Peggy, with her dazzling looks; and Eliza, whose beauty and charm rival those of both her sisters, though she’d rather be aiding the colonists’ cause than dressing up for some silly ball. Still, Eliza can barely contain her excitement when she hears of the arrival of one Alexander Hamilton, a mysterious, rakish young colonel and General George Washington’s right-hand man. Though Alex has arrived as the bearer of bad news for the Schuylers, he can’t believe his luck—as an orphan, and a bastard one at that—to be in such esteemed company. And when Alex and Eliza meet that fateful night, so begins an epic love story that would forever change the course of American history. In the pages of Alex and Eliza, #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz brings to life the romance of young Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler.
Author | Melissa de la Cruz |
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Price | unknown |
Publisher | Penguin |
Release Date | Jan 14, 2020 |
Source | Google Books |
『All That Glitters』
Originally published as Enchantée, All That Glitters is Gita Trelease’s debut fantasy about an orphaned girl who uses dark magic to save her sister and herself is “a soaring success” (NPR)! Paris is a labyrinth of twisted streets filled with beggars and thieves, revolutionaries and magicians. Camille Durbonne is one of them. She wishes she weren’t... When smallpox kills her parents, Camille must find a way to provide for her younger sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on magic, Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille pursues a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Using dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into a baroness and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for magic. As she struggles to reconcile her resentment of the rich with the allure of glamour and excess, Camille meets a handsome young inventor, and begins to believe that love and liberty may both be possible. But magic has its costs, and soon Camille loses control of her secrets. And when revolution erupts, Camille must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, reality or magic—before Paris burns.
Author | Gita Trelease |
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Price | $9.99 |
Publisher | Flatiron Books |
Release Date | Feb 05, 2019 |
Source | Google Books |
『The Lie Tree』
Costa Book of the Year: This novel of science, magic, murder, and a determined Victorian-era teenager is a “heady concoction . . . absolutely unforgettable” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered—a proper young lady who knows her place. But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing—like the real reason her family fled to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father’s death was no accident. In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies—like fires, wild and crackling—quickly take on a life of their own. “Frances Hardinge has joined the ranks of those writers of young-adult fiction, like Philip Pullman, whose approach to fantasy proves so compelling that they quickly develop an adult following, and The Lie Tree is a good demonstration of why this is so . . . [a] page-turner.” —Locus “The time is nineteenth-century England just after Darwin’s theory of evolution has thrown the scientific world into turmoil; the setting is the fictional island of Vane, between land and sea; the main character is a fourteen-year-old girl caught between society’s expectations and her fierce desire to be a scientist. . . . A stunner.” —The Horn Book (starred review) “A murder mystery that dazzles at every level, shimmering all the more brightly the deeper down into it you go.” —Chicago Tribune “Haunting, and darkly funny . . . features complex, many-sided characters and a clear-eyed examination of the deep sexism of the period, which trapped even the most intelligent women in roles as restrictive as their corsets.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Hardinge, who can turn a phrase like no other, melds a haunting historical mystery with a sharp observation on the dangers of suppressing the thirst for knowledge.” —School Library Journal (starred review)
Author | Frances Hardinge |
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Price | $7.99 |
Publisher | ABRAMS |
Release Date | Apr 19, 2016 |
Source | Google Books |
In wrapping this up, I hope this list has set you ablaze and awakened your desire for historical young adult fiction. Believe me, these books ain't your grandma's musty old history books. These are vivid, living tales that transport you to different periods, right in the heart of it. You'll get to roam the Victorian streets, or witness the unrest of the French Revolution, or feel the electric energy of 20th Century Harlem in its prime, right from your cozy reading corner at home. The writers of these marvels don't just tell you about these times; they make you live through them. It's adventure cloaked in antiquity, mixed with a few sprinkles of love, war, mystery, and everything in between. So next time boredom dares to prod you, grab any of these amazing books and jump right in. Time travel is one page flip away. You won't just read history; you'll practically taste it. History has never been this cool. So uncap your coffee, cozy up, and let's get lost in the past!
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