When I think about it, I realize historical fiction was my first genre love back when I was a child. Between American Girls books, Dear American and Little House on the Prairie — I was OBSESSED with being transported back to the past.
That hasn’t changed as an adult — I love to experience the past without actually having to live it. I’m a creature of modern comforts for sure so a little armchair adventure is best for me.
ANYWAYS, it’s been years since I talked about my favorite YA historical fiction books and I thought it was time to update this list because I’ve added many favorites since I last talked about them.
I typically gravitate towards adult fiction when it comes to historical books because, overall, teen historical fiction has always been hard to find. But the favorites I do have? They are some of the best historical fiction I’ve enjoyed — not just the best young adult historical fiction!
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P.S. Check out my most anticipated YA books for 2024!
Best YA Historical Fiction Books For Teens
All of Ruta Sepetys books
My all time favorite author of historical young adult fiction is hands down Ruta Sepetys. Everything she writes is something I recommend to all fans of historical fiction. She just has this way of taking something not as well known from history and bringing it to life so much that I have to go learn about it later on.
I’m just going to share my top 3 of hers but all of hers are worth reading.
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Setting: 1939 Lithuania/Russia/Siberia
I picked this up on a whim in 2011 on audiobook and it absolutely wrecked me.
It is a bit of a brutal read as you follow 16 year old Lina’s life as it changes when Stalin’s Russia invades their country and forces her family, among many others, into labor camps.
It’s harrowing but it was eye-opening, for me, as I feel like all I had read/learned was of Hitler’s brutality during this time but the brutality of the Soviets and the labor camps in Siberia were a spot in history that I was really wasn’t familiar with personally.
You can read my review of Between Shades of Gray but here’s a little pullquote from it: “There is so much hope, love and resilience within these pages and — for every moment I felt sickened by humanity — I also felt invigorated by our will to fight, to live, to maintain our dignity and to love.
Salt To The Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Setting: 1944 East Prussia/Baltic Sea
I had never heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff maritime disaster and tragedy but let me tell you I dove into research mode after reading this book. I loved that Ruta unearthed this piece of history that isn’t so well known and humanized it with her wonderful characters. I couldn’t stop reading the harrowing journey these characters embarked on trying to flee to safety only to end up fighting for their survival once again on the vessel that was supposed to be their hope. You can read my review of Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys here.
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Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Setting: 1950’s New Orleans
What an atmospheric book this was and how deeply I feel in love with these characters! This is more of a character-driven historical for sure but the setting and these characters will hook you until you feel like you are ambling around the French Quarter with them. Just really loved this story of a young girl who is trying so desperately to get out of the Big Easy, and out of the shadow of her mother’s reputation, and risks her future getting wrapped up in a murder case. Perfect book if you aren’t necessarily looking for a book based around a big historical event but rather just immerses you in the era.
Ruta’s other books:
- The Fountains of Silence — I really did enjoy this book set in 1957 Madrid under the fascist dictatorship of Franco but it was my least favorite of what I read (which it still was something I REALLY liked!) — I just love the other books more. Read more about it here.
- I Must Betray You: I haven’t read this one yet (it came out last year) but I’ve heard amazing things about this book and bet it will end up on this list when I do read it — set in 1980’s Communist Romania and the citizen spy network. Read more about it here.
Stacey Lee’s books
Stacey Lee has been slowly becoming a fast favorite in the YA historical space though I haven’t read all of her books yet. The ones I haven’t read yet have gotten rave reviews.
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
Setting: Oregon Trail in 1849
This was a great book about friendship between two girls who are on the run together to California (for different reasons) and who are definitely outsiders in Missouri in 1849 — one is a Chinese immigrant and the other is a black slave. Life on the Oregon Trail though is no place for two girls, they quickly learn, so they have to disguise themselves as boys as they trek into the unknown frontier. I loved the merry band of misfits they meet along the way!
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Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
Setting: San Francisco, 1906 (historic earthquake)
Mercy, a young determined young Chinese girl, refuses to let the fact that she’s Chinese and a girl get in the way of her dreams. She cunningly bribes her way into an exclusive all-girls school and endures the push back from those who don’t want her there and keeping her story under wraps — until it all changes in an instant when a historic earthquake hits the city and she’s forced to wait with her classmates in a temporary park encampment as their city is in shambles.
Stacey’s other books:
- The Downstairs Girl — Set in 1890 Atlanta, it’s about a young Chinese American teen who is a lady’s maid by day and an anonymous advice columnist by night. Her column soars to popularity and, when she decides to tackle some topics the society ladies don’t like, the outrage has people looking to reveal her identity — something she can’t let happen. Read more about it here.
- Luck of the Titanic: The story of a Chinese teen (and trained acrobat) who is a stowaway on the Titanic. Read more about it here.
Brazen by Katherine Longshore
Setting: Tudor England during King Henry VIII’s reign
This book is part of a series (they can be read out of order) and I think they are SO FUN but this one is by far my favorite. If you are looking for something that is the perfect balance of fun and historical facts woven together and ISN’T about war, this one is for you. It’s a very accessible historical fiction book for teens who are more reluctant to the genre.
This one was an addictive romp through King Henry VIII’s court following Lady Mary Howard, wife of King Henry VIII’s illegitimate son Henry Fitzroy, through her marriage to Fitzroy and her time at court as she navigates friendships, romances, the scandals of the court and more. Great for fans of the tv show Reign!
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Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
Setting: 1950’s San Fransisco during the Red Scare
It’s about a Chinese-American girl, living in the 1950’s during the Red Scare, who starts to explore her sexuality as she and a new friend start frequenting The Telegraph Club during a time when it’s dangerous for two girls to fall in love or for a place like The Telegraph Club to exist.
You can FEEL the tension that is high for her community and family thanks to all the Red Scare paranoia as well as the one that looms heavy over the main character as she tries to balance this self-discovery with staying out of trouble as the threat of her father’s deportation looms large. The setting is VIVID and it’s just such a beautiful, perfect book.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Setting: 1939 Germany
One of my all time favorite books in general but an absolute classic, must-read teen historical fiction novel! One that many adults who don’t read YA ended up loving when I recommended it. Narrated by Death (yes, you read that right), it is about a young girl coming of age in Nazi Germany.
Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink
Setting: Tulsa, OK in 1921 – Greenwood Massacre in Black Wall Street.
An absolutely gut-wrenching must read about an awful event in history that really should be more well known! It centers around two teenagers, with opposing views, who have a budding friendship (maybe more) after spending more time together as co-workers —until their world flips upside down when a vicious white mob storms their community. Definitely a book that should be read in schools!
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Girls Like Us by Randi Pink
Setting: summer of 1972 (rural Georgia and Chicago)
It tells the story of several young teenage girls, from different backgrounds, who find themselves dealing with an unplanned pregnancy in the summer of 1972 where there were little choices for them in facing their predicament. I really fell in love with these characters. Would make a great YA book club pick!
Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
Setting: 1770’s America
This one was so good — it’s a re-imagining of the story behind Agent 355 — a New York society girl and spy for George Washington during the Revolutionary. I knew NOTHING about it and let me tell you I went down a rabbit hole after reading this book.
The main character is desperate to get away from where she lives in the Grand Bahama Island to escape her awful stepfather and ends up jumping on an opportunity to be someone else when she finds the body of a young woman from a shipwrecked boat. Once rescued she, along with the help of a new friend she confides in, she now lives life as a society girl until she sees the darker side of the war and decides to use her position for what she believes in.
The Red Palace by Jane Hur
Setting: 1758 Joseon-era Korea
This was a really great historical mystery with a setting I’ve never personally read before! I find historical mysteries are a really easy way to get into the historical genre so I like recommending this one a lot for people who think they aren’t into the genre.
It’s about a young palace nurse who gets caught up in a mystery/investigation (and court politics) while trying to save her mentor and friend who is being accused of murdering four nurses.
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Setting: WW2 England/France
One of my all time favorite books and Elizabeth Wein is writing some fantastic YA historicals — especially if you like WW2, aviation & spy stuff. I will admit this book was a slow burn to start but by the end I was all praises and tears.
I don’t want to give to much of the plot away but it’s set in the midst of WWII and the narrator has been held prisoner by the Gestapo and forced, by interrogation and force, to write down everything she knows about the war efforts — even though she knows they are going to kill her when she’s done what they’ve asked.
She weaves in what she knows about the war effort in with how she even ended up involved in the war and her current condition and happenings while being held captive.
The Turning Point by Vanessa L. Torres
Setting: 1980’s Minnesota
Looking for a YA historical fiction that isn’t set in a war? This coming of age story will immerse you into the 1980’s and all things Prince and dance.
It’s about a Latinx ballet dancer, dancing at the ballet company owned and run by her dad, who gets the chance to audition to be a dancer for her favorite artist Prince.
She is working to achieve her dreams and succeed with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but she’s also contending with complicated family dynamics, figuring out if she wants ballet to be her life and a boy who disrupts her life.
A newer historical fiction book for teens and it totally went under the radar — I highly recommend! I have been dying for some more YA books set in the 1980’s (even though it makes me feel very, very old).
What books are your absolute favorite teen historical novels? I’d love some recommendations! Have you read and enjoyed any of the ones I’ve listed?
Check out these other posts you might like:
- Upcoming books becoming movies or tv shows
- Books For Fans Of The Hunger Games
- The Best Teen Vampire Books
- New Historical Fiction Releases For This Year
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Susan (Bloggin' 'bout Books) says
Great post! I love YA historical fiction so I’ve read the majority of these. Sepetys and Lee are two of my very favorite authors of YA hist-fic. I hadn’t heard of Randi Pink before. I’m excited to try her books. Thanks for the heads-up!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Jamie says
Yes definitely check out Randi Pink! And yeah Sepetys and Lee really are writing some of the best in the genre! Can’t wait for whatever they have coming out next.
Pat Bak says
Check out Christine Fallert Kessides’ debut novel(just published) Magda Standing. This is the story of Magda, a bright first generation German Americanteenager from Pittsburgh who is forced to leave high school to tend to her baby brother due to her mother’s mealy complete debilitation from mental illness. Armed with her indefatigable spirit, Magda refuses to give up on her dreams of college and independence but quickly finds she must deal with the challenges of being a Nurses aid attending to soldiers wounded by the brutal fighting of World War I, only to have them succumb to the ravishes of the Spanish Flu epidemic. Will her brother and brother in law survive? Will her growing love for a man whose life was altered, and leg was taken by this vicious war return her affection? Magda Standing is a wonderful YA historical novel that will be enjoyed by t teens and adults alike.
WIlford says
“Salt To The Sea” on your historical fiction list caught my eye. Your post is great, highlighting captivating reads. Looking forward to exploring them!