Some of My Favorite YA Historical Fiction Books
Discover the best YA historical fiction books in this curated reading list, featuring Bloody Jack, Fever 1793, and Pirates!—perfect for teens and young adults who love adventure, drama, and rich period settings. Explore top juvenile and young adult historical novels from beloved authors like Louis A. Meyer, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Gary D. Schmidt, ideal for your next book recommendation or classroom reading list.
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The Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
A young girl's rebellion against bigotry culminates in a terrifying witch hunt and trial.
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Catherine, Called Birdy (rpkg)
by Karen Cushman
"Corpus Bones! I utterly loathe my life." Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to arich man--any rich man, no matter how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest. Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actually lose the battle against an ill-mannered, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it! Catherine feels trapped. Her father is determined to marry her off to a rich man--any rich man, no mater how awful. But by wit, trickery, and luck, Catherine manages to send several would-be husbands packing. Then a shaggy-bearded suitor from the north comes to call--by far the oldest, ugliest, most revolting suitor of them all. Unfortunately, he is also the richest. Can a sharp-tongued, high-spirited, clever young maiden with a mind of her own actualy lose the battle against an ill-mannared, piglike lord and an unimaginative, greedy toad of a father? Deus! Not if Catherine has anything to say about it!
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A Coal Miner's Bride
by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Sent from Poland to Pennsylvania to be married to a coal miner, thirteen-year-old Anetka lives a totally new life in a harsh environment she doesn't understand, in this latest addition to the Dear America series.
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The Great Railroad Race
by Kristiana Gregory
As the daughter of a newspaper reporter, fourteen-year-old Libby keeps a diary account of the exciting events surrounding her during the building of the Transcontinental Railroad in the West in 1868.
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Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
This compelling story of adventure, romance, and intrigue, set in ancient Egypt, was written by the three-time Newbery Honor and Edgar Award winning author Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Mara is a proud and beautiful slave girl who yearns for freedom in ancient Egypt, under the rule of Queen Hatshepsut. Mara is not like other slaves; she can read and write, as well as speak the language of Babylonian. So, to barter for her freedom, she finds herself playing the dangerous role of double spy for two arch enemies—each of whom supports a contender for the throne of Egypt. Against her will, Mara finds herself falling in love with one of her masters, the noble Sheftu, and she starts to believe in his plans of restoring Thutmose III to the throne. But just when Mara is ready to offer Sheftu her help and her heart, her duplicity is discovered, and a battle ensues in which both Mara’s life and the fate of Egypt are at stake. “Dangerous espionage, an unusual love story, and richly drawn background make this a book to capture quick and lasting interest.”—Horn Book “Thoroughly engrossing.”—Kirkus Reviews
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Pirates!
by Celia Rees
This powerful and thrilling novel presents the story of the inspiring journey of two 18th-century women who break the bonds of gender, race, and position to find their own way to glory.
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Queen's Own Fool
by Jane Yolen
Fans of historical sagas and the CW show Reign will be swept up by this clever tale by Jane Yolen and Robert Harris Once she was a traveling player . . . Now called La Jardinière, a resourceful and clever jester to the queen’s court, Nicola was a most unlikely person to end up “fool” and friend to Mary, Queen of Scots. But Nicola isn’t an ordinary comedian tumbling and clowning before the court; her quick wit and sharp tongue are rare amongst the fawning nobles. As fate takes Mary from France to Scotland, and into confrontations with rebellious lords and devious advisors, Nicola remains deep in the queen’s inner circle. But when the Scots start to turn on Queen Mary, Nicola struggles to find something—anything—that she, just a fool, can do to save her friend. “Based deeply in fact and full of detail both luscious and sordid. . . . [Yolen and Harris] spin a historical tale of great immediacy and impact.”—Kirkus Reviews "This rich and involving novel of Mary Queen of Scots and her court will have readers clamoring to know more about this dramatic period in French and Scottish history. Readers are treated to a fascinating look at royal politics."—School Library Journal
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The Shakespeare Stealer
by Gary Blackwood
A delightful adveture full of humor and heart set in Elizabethan England! Widge is an orphan with a rare talent for shorthand. His fearsome master has just one demand: steal Shakespeare's play "Hamlet"--or else. Widge has no choice but to follow orders, so he works his way into the heart of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare's players perform. As full of twists and turns as a London alleyway, this entertaining novel is rich in period details, colorful characters, villainy, and drama. * "A fast-moving historical novel that introduces an important era with casual familiarity." --School Library Journal, starred review "Readers will find much to like in Widge, and plenty to enjoy in this gleeful romp through olde England" --Kirkus Reviews "Excels in the lively depictions of Elizabethan stagecraft and street life." --Publishers Weekly An ALA Notable Book
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At the Sign of the Sugared Plum
by Mary Hooper
As the Plague takes hold of seventeenth-century London and people flee the city, Hannah and her sister Sarah try to maintain Sarah's candy shop even with the possibility of their own demise growing ever closer.
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The Midwife's Apprentice (rpkg)
by Karen Cushman
'Like Cushman's 1995 Newbery Honor Book, Catherine, Called Birdy, this novel is about a strong young woman in medieval England who finds her own way home. This is a world, like Chaucer's, that's . . . dangerous, primitive and raucous. From the first page you're caught by the spirit of the homeless, nameless waif, somewhere around 12 years old. She gets the village midwife to take her in, befriends a cat, names herself Alyce, and learns something about delivering babies. When she fails, she runs away, but she picks herself up again and returns to work and independence.' --ALA Booklist (starred review). '. . .A fascinating view of a far distant time.' -- The Horn Book (starred review)
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Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
An epidemic of fever sweeps through the streets of 1793 Philadelphia in this novel from Laurie Halse Anderson where "the plot rages like the epidemic itself" (The New York Times Book Review). During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.
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Montmorency
by Eleanor Updale
Five years after giving up his life of crime in the London sewers, Montmorency is back. But his evil alter ego, Scarper, has returned too, pulling him back into a dark world of crime.Montmorency's old friend and fellow government agent, Lord George Fox-Selwyn, fights to rescue him from disaster. The two men are needed now more than ever, as a rash of bombings threaten to destroy England's rail lines. And only Montmorency's intimate knowledge of the London underworld can save the city...
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Last Dance on Holladay Street
by Elisa Carbone
In 1878, thirteen-year-old Eva seeks her birth mother in Colorado, only to find the city and her mother are not what she imagined.
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Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy
by Gary D. Schmidt
Turner Buckminster is purely miserable. Not only is he the son of the new minister in a small Maine town, but he is shunned for playing baseball differently from the local boys.
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Time Enough for Drums
by Ann Rinaldi
Sixteen-year-old Jem struggles to maintain the status quo at home in Trenton, New Jersey, when the family men join the war for independence. There are signs of rebellion in the Emerson household several years before the actual American Revolution hits in 1776! Brought up in a relatively liberal household, Jemima Emerson is quite a challenge for her tutor, John Reid, who is known as a Tory with strong ties to England. How could Jem's parents be friends with a man who opposes American freedom? Jem longs for freedom on every level, in the home and her homeland--and John represents the forces that restrict her. Jem and her family soon find themselves fighting for freedom in whatever ways they can in the Revolutionary War. Before long, Jem discovers that there is much more to Mr. Reid than she ever imagined. Her feelings about him change when Jem realizes that John shares her love of freedom--and will risk his life to defend it.
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Bloody Jack
by Louis A. Meyer
"While disguised as a boy, Jacky Faber experiences adventure and romance on the high seas"--
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Curse of the Blue Tattoo
by Louis A. Meyer
In 1803, after being exposed as a girl and forced to leave her ship, Jacky Faber finds herself attending school in Boston, where, instead of learning to be a lady, she battles her snobbish classmates, roams the city in search of adventure, and learns to ride a horse.
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Under the Jolly Roger
by Louis A. Meyer
In 1804, fifteen-year-old Jacky Faber heads back to sea where she gains control of a British warship and eventually becomes a privateer.
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In the Belly of the Bloodhound
by Louis A. Meyer
Jacky Faber and her classmates at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston are kidnapped while on a school outing and transported in the hold of a slave ship bound for the slave markets of North Africa.
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Mississippi Jack
by Louis A. Meyer
In 1806, the exploits of Jacky Faber continue as she heads west to avoid capture by the British and discovers adventure aboard a keelboat on the mighty Mississippi River. 20,000 first printing.
