My All-Time Favorite YA Historical Books

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.

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.

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!

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.

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!

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!

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).