100 Must-Read YA Historical Novels
My love for historical fiction began when I was a tiny budding reader and my mom read the Little House on the Prairie books to me (problematic, I know, as Rioter Kelly has written about, but it was what I had). As soon as I could read myself, I devoured every historical novel I could get my hands on. I love the genre because not only is it incredibly varied, but it often focuses on characters and people you don’t always see in the history texts–girls, for example. YA historical fiction offers even more exciting perspectives and experiences from all over the world, dating back many centuries.
For the purposes of keeping this list manageable, I’ve defined historical fiction here as a novel that explores the experiences of teen characters pre-1980. (Yeah, we can make an argument that books set 1980-2000 are technically historical fiction, but I choose not to here because that makes me feel old.) I’ve also focused on realistic historical fiction (i.e. you won’t see Libba Bray on this list, even though she writes some pretty awesome historical fantasy), but I’ve made exceptions for magical realism and instances of magical thinking. I’ve also excluded alternative history, but I’ve included books that insert fictional characters into significant historical events. I did include books that allow for some anachronisms for the sake of story, as long as the book stayed true to the spirit of the era.
Finally, books that are the first in a series are denoted with a +!
All right! Buckle up, readers! We’re going back in time!
- Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson
- Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliot
- The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson+
- Audacity by Melanie Crowder
- Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez
- Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
- Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
- Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
- A Big Dose of Lucky by Marthe Jocelyn
- Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
- Blood Secret by Kathryn Lasky
- Bloodline by Katy Moran
- Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer+
- Boston Jane by Jennifer L. Holm+
- A Break with Charity by Ann Rinaldi
- A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper+
- Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina
- Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein
- Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed+
- Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
- Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- Code Talker by Joseph Bruchac
- Copper Son by Sharon Draper
- Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter
- The Darkest Hour by Caroline T. Richmond
- Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang
- Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
- A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
- Deadly by Julie Chibarro
- Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia
- The Evolution of Evelyn Serrano by Sonia Manzano
- Faithful by Janet Fox+
- Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
- Fever, 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Finding My Place by Traci L. Jones
- Fire from the Rock by Sharon Draper
- The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
- Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
- Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
- The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
- A Golden Web by Barbara Quick
- Good Fortune by Noni Carter
- The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman- Hush by Donna Jo Napoli
- In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap
- Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
- Jazmin’s Notebook by Nikki Grimes
- Josephine by Beverly Jenkins
- The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
- Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
- The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle
- Like Water on Stone by Dana Walrath
- Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore+
- Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
- Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
- A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
- Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
- Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
- Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry
- Pharaoh’s Daughter by Julius Lester
- Pirates! by Celia Rees
- Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankmen+
- Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan
- The Queen’s Daughter by Susan Coventry
- The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
- Riot by Walter Dean Myers
- The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon+
- Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
- Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman+
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
- Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz
- Silhouette of a Sparrow by Molly Beth Griffin
- The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock
- A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
- A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee+
- StarCrossed by Linda Collison+
- Strings Attached by Judy Blundell
- Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Green+
- Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
- Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
- A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman
- These Shallow Graves by Jennifer Donnelly
- Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
- True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
- A Tyranny of Petticoats, ed. by Jessica Spotswood
- Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
- Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown
- Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
- Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley
- What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
- What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn
- Wildthorn by Jane Eagland
- Willow by Tonya Cherie Hegamin
- The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
- X: A Novel by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
- The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coates
