Historical Fiction Sampler Call # Title Setting F ALL Zorro: a novel​
, by Isabelle Allende Mexico & Reviews California, 19th century Diego de la Vega, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and Shoshone
woman, grew to become the elusive Zorro, who returns to California
to reclaim the hacienda of his childhood and fight for the rights of
the underprivileged. F ALV In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez Dominican Republic, early 20thc Gives a fictionalized account of four sisters in the Dominican
Republic under the dictatorship of General Trujillo F AND Fever 1793​
, Laurie Halse Anderson Philadelphia Notable/Be
In ​
1793​
sixteen-year-old Matilda Cook, separated from her sick
mother, learns about perseverance and self-reliance when she is
forced to cope with the horrors of a yellow ​
fever​
epidemic. F AND The Pox Party,​
M.T. Anderson USA, 18th century Awards & Reviews Various diaries, letters, and other manuscripts chronicle the
experiences of Octavian, a young African American, from birth to
age sixteen, as he is brought up as part of a science experiment in
the years leading up to and during the Revolutionary War. F AND Chains, ​
by Laurie Halse Anderson USA, 18th century Awards After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies for the rebels during the Revolutionary War. F BLA The Year of the Hangman​
, by Gary Blackwood England & USA, 1777 reviews Having been kidnapped and taken forcibly from England to the
American colonies, fifteen-year-old Creighton becomes part of
developments in the political unrest there that may spell defeat for
the patriots and change the course of history. F BRA A Great and Terrible Beaut​
y, by Libba Bray bk1 of series 1895 England awards, reviews After the suspicious death of her mother in 1895, sixteen-year-old
Gemma returns to England, after many years in India, to attend a
finishing school where she becomes aware of her magical powers
and ability to see into the spirit world F BRA The Diviners​
, by Libba Bray New York City, 1920s awards and "Seventeen-year-old Evie O'Neill is thrilled when she is exiled from
small-town Ohio to New York City in 1926, even when a rash of
reviews WWII awards and After being taught in a boarding school run by whites that Navajo is
a useless language, Ned Begay and other Navajo men are recruited
reviews F BRU Code Talker: a novel about the Navajo Marines of WWII, Awards & Description Reviews Awards, reviews st Books
(A.L.A.) occult-based murders thrusts Evie and her uncle, curator of an
Occult Museum into the thick of the investigation" by the Marines to become Code Talkers, sending messages during
World War II in their native tongue by Joseph Bruchac F BUC The Good Earth​
, by Pearl S. Buck China, early Nobel Prize Wang Lung, a peasant in China in the 1920s, becomes a prosperous
landowner with the help of his humble wife, O'Lan, with whom he
20th century winning shares a devotion to duty, land, and survival. author F CAS VIII​
, by H.M. Castor 16th century reviews England Hal, a young man of extraordinary talents, skill on the battlefield,
sharp intelligence, and virtue, believes he is destined for greatness
but, haunted by his family's violent past, he embarks on a journey
that leads to absolute power and brings him face to face with his
demons as he grows to become Henry VIII. F COL My Brother Sam is Dead​
, by James Lincoln Collier American Revolutiona
rWar Newbery honor Recounts the tragedy that strikes the Meeker family during the
Revolution when one son joins the rebel forces while the rest of the
family tries to stay neutral in a Tory town. F COO A Brief History of Montmaray​
, Europe, by Michelle Cooper WWII reviews On her sixteenth birthday in 1936, Sophia begins a diary of life in a
fictional island country off the coast of Spain, where she is among
the last descendants of an impoverished royal family trying to hold
their nation together on the eve of the second World War. F COU The Power of One,​
by Bryce Courtenay South reviews Africa, WWII Story of Peekay, an English boy, living in South Africa during World
War II whose dream is to become a winner. F CRO Audacity​
, by Melanie Crowder New York “A historical fiction novel in verse detailing the life of Clara Lemlich
and her struggle for women's labor rights in the early 20th century
in New York" F CUR Bud, not Buddy , ​
by Christopher Paul Curtis USA, Great Depression years Awards & starred reviews Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during
the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in
search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned
bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. F CUT The Maid, ​
by Kimberly Cutter France Reviews 15th century A fictionalized account of the fifteenth-century peasant girl who led a
French army to victory against the English, witnessed the crowning
of King Charles VII, and was later burned at the stake for witchcraft. F DAV Lost,​
by Jacqueline Davies New York City, 1911 reviews Sixteen-year-old Essie Rosenfeld must stop taking care of her 6
year-old sister when she goes to work at the Triangle Shirtwaist
Company, where she befriends a missing heiress who is in hiding
from her family and who seems to understand the feelings of
heartache and grief that Essie is trying desperately to escape. F DEF Nowhere to Call Home, USA, 1930s reviews When her father kills himself after losing his money in the stock
market crash, twelve-year-old Frances, now a penniless orphan,
decides to hop aboard a freight train and live the life of a hobo Cynthia DeFelice Great Depression F DOC Billy Bathgate: a novel , ​
by E.L. Doctorow USA 1900 ­ 1930s awards & reviews The story of Billy Bathgate, a boy who has insinuated himself into
the inner circle of the notorious Dutch Schultz gang to become
apprentice and protege to one of the great murdering gangsters. F DOG Annexed​
, by Sharon Dogar Europe WWII awards & reviews A fictional account of life with Anne Frank hidden in the secret annex
from Peter's point-of-view, following as he becomes closer with
Anne, begins to question his own religion, and is forced to suppress
his own desires to join the fight. F DON Revolution​
, by Jennifer Donnelly French Revolution CYRM nominee, reviews An angry, grieving seventeen-year-old musician facing expulsion
from her prestigious Brooklyn private school travels to Paris to
complete a school assignment and uncovers a diary written during
the French revolution by a young actress attempting to help a
tortured, imprisoned little boy--Louis Charles, the lost king of
France. F FOR The Gypsy Crown, ​
by Kate Forsyth England, star 17th century reviews In seventeenth-century England, cousins Emilia and Luka are the
only members of their gypsy family to escape imprisonment and
must venture out on their own to find six lucky charms that should
restore the family's good fortune and set their relatives free. F FRO The Braid​
, by Helen Frost Scotland, 1950 Two Scottish sisters, living on the island of Barra relate, in alternate
voice,s their experiences after their family is forcibly evicted and
separated with one sister accompanying their parents and younger
siblings to Cape Breton, Canada, and the other staying behind with
other family F GEN The Dark Between, ​
by Sonia Gensler England, Reviews 19th century F GOL Memoirs of a Geisha: a nove​
l Japan, early star by Arthur Golden 20th century reviews Nitta Sayuri, a young Japanese woman who was taken from her
home at the age of nine and sold into slavery as a geisha, discovers
a rare opportunity for freedom when the outbreak of World War II
forces an end to the only life she has ever known. F GRE Leonardo’s Shadow, or My astonishing life as Leonardo da Vinci’s servan​
t, by Christopher Gray Fifteen-year-old Giacomo, servant to Leonardo da Vinci, helps his
procrastinating master finish painting, "The Last Supper," while also
trying to find clues to his parentage and pursue his own career as an
artist in late fifteenth-century Milan. Italy, 15th century Star reviews Star reviews Three teenagers in Victorian­era Cambridge spend the summer at a local college and soon discover that their hosts, the Metaphysical Society, may be conducting sinister experiments in an attempt to communicate with the dead. F FAD Uprising​
, by Margaret Peterson New York City, 1927 reviews Mrs. Livingston reluctantly recalls her experiences at the Triangle
Shirtwaist factory, including miserable working conditions that led to
a strike, then the fire that took the lives of her two best friends. F HAI The Girl is Murder​
, by Kathryn Miller Haines 1942, New York City star reviews In 1942 New York City, fifteen-year-old Iris grieves for her mother
who committed suicide and for the loss of her life of privilege, and
secretly helps her father with his detective business since he, having
lost a leg at Pearl Harbor, struggles to make ends meet. F HAU Napoleon & Josephine: the sword & the hummingbird, ​
by Gerald & Loretta Hausman France, reviews 18th century From her childhood in Martinique, Josephine knew that she would
someday be "more than a queen," and she eventually fulfills her
destiny at the side of Napoleon Bonaparte as Empress of the French. F HES Brooklyn Bridge: a novel​
, by Karen Hesse New York City, 19th century star reviews Fourteen-year-old Joseph Michtom's life takes a dramatic turn when,
in 1903 Brooklyn, his parents turn their apartment into a factory for
making teddy bears; and Joseph wonders whether he will ever see
the glitter of Coney Island. F HOS Healing Water: a Hawaiian Stor​
y , by Joyce Moyer Hostetter Hawaii, 1860s reviews When teenaged Pia is sent to Hawaii's leprosy settlement on Molokai
Island in the 1860s, he chooses anger and self-reliance as his means
of survival, but the faithful examples of other villagers and one
remarkable priest threaten to destroy his desire for revenge. F KAD Weedflower ​
by Cynthia Kadohata California 1940s star reviews After twelve-year-old Sumiko and her Japanese-American family are
relocated from their flower farm in southern California to an
internment camp on a Mojave Indian reservation in Arizona, she
helps her family and neighbors, becomes friends with a local Indian
boy, and tries to hold on to her dream of owning a flower shop. F KEP Going Over​
, by Beth Kephart Berlin Wall, 1980s Award winner In the early 1980s Ada and Stefan are young, would-be lovers living
on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall--Ada lives with her mother and
grandmother and paints graffiti on the Wall, and Stefan lives with his
grandmother in the East and dreams of escaping to the West. F KLE Love disguised​
, by Lisa Klein England, reviews 16th century After a courtship ends badly, eighteen-year-old Will Shakespeare
jumps at the chance to go to London, where he can pursue his
dream of becoming an actor and where he is about to meet the girl
who will change his life forever. F LES Day of tears: a novel in dialogue​
, by Julius Lester USA, 19th century, Corrette Scott King Award The story follows Emma, the slave of Pierce Butler, through a series
of events in her life as her master hosts the largest slave auction in
American history in Savannah, Georgia in 1859 in order to pay off
his mounting gambling debts. F MAC Nobody’s Secret​
, by Michaela Massachus
Newbery When fifteen-year-old Emily Dickinson meets a charming young man
who playfully refuses to tell her his name, she is intrigued--so when
Honor author he is found dead in her family's pond in Amherst she is determined
to discover his secret, no matter how dangerous it may prove to be MacColl etts, 19th century F MEY Bloody Jack: being an account of the curious adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, ship’s boy​
. By L.A. Meyer pirates, 18th reviews, century part of a series Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a
thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her
way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of
pirates. F MOR Jazz​
by Toni Morrison USA, 1926 A mysterious voice weaves the story of a black door-to-door
salesman of beauty products who shoots his young lover and of his
wife who tries to disfigure the corpse with a knife in 1926. F MOR Fleshmarket​
, by Nicola Morgan Scotland, 19th century Following the death of his mother during surgery, Robbie decides to
take revenge on the surgeon who performed the operation, and in
the process, makes a gruesome discovery about the lengths the
medical profession will go to advance its knowledge of anatomy F MOR Bloodline​
, by Katy Moran Britain, 7th century star reviews While traveling through Britain trying to stop an impending war,
Essa, who bears the blood of native British tribes and of the invading
Anglish, discovers that his mother is alive and he, himself, is a
prince of the northern kingdom, but he has loyalties and loved ones
in the south to whom he is compelled to return F MYE Riot ​
by Walter Dean Myers. New York City 1863 star reviews Fifteen-year-old Claire, the daughter of an Irish mother and an
African father, faces ugly truths and great danger when Irish
immigrants, enraged by the Civil War and a federal draft, lash out
against African-Americans and wealthy "swells" of New York City. F OTS When the Emperor was USA, 1940’s reviews Divine: a nove​
l, by Julie Otsuka A novel in which the members of a Japanese American family
present their unique perspectives on the experience of being forced
into an internment camp during World War II. F PAS Doctor Zhivago,​
by Boris Paternak Russia, early 20th century awards Presents the classic story of Dr. Zhivago and Lara who fall in love in
the midst of the turmoil of the Russian Revolution
F PAU The Rifl​
e, by Gary Paulsen F PES Amistad​
, by David Pesci USA, 18th century award A fictionalized retelling of one of America's first civil rights cases
which occurred in 1839 when fifty-three slaves who were captured in
Connecticut after taking over the Spanish slaver Amistad, battled all
the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to win their freedom. reviews F REU The Ring of the Slave Prince by ​
Bjarne Reuter Africa, 1639 reviews In 1639, a fourteen-year-old Irish-Caribbean sailor in search of
treasure to pay his family's debts sets out to return an African
prince, captured as a slave, to his homeland and collect a princely
reward. F ROS Belle Epoque​
, by Elizabeth Ross France, 1870s star reviews Sixteen-year-old Maude Pichon, a plain, impoverished girl in Belle
Epoque Paris, is hired by Countess Dubern to make her headstrong
daughter, Isabelle, look more beautiful by comparison but soon
Maude is enmeshed in a tangle of love, friendship, and deception. F SCH Trouble, ​
by Gary D. Schmidt Maine 1912 Newbery Honor winner Fourteen-year-old Henry, wishing to honor his brother Franklin's
dying wish, sets out to hike Mount Katahdin in Maine with his best
friend and dog, but fate adds another companion--the Cambodian
refugee accused of fatally injuring Franklin. F SEE Shanghai girls : a novel Chinese picture brides star reviews Sisters Pearl and May Chin are forced into marriages to Chinese men
living in America after their father gambles away his wealth; but life
in America proves more difficult than they expected. F SEP Between shades of gray​
, by Ruta Sepetys Lithuania, 1941 Awards Fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother, and brother are pulled from their
home by Soviet soldiers and sent to Siberia, where her father is
sentenced to death in a prison camp while she fights for her life,
vowing to honor her family and the thousands like hers by burying
her story in a jar on Lithuanian soil. Based on the author's family. F SEP Out of the Easy​
, by Ruta Sepetys New Orleans ­ 1950s Award winning author Josie, the seventeen-year-old daughter of a French Quarter
prostitute, is striving to escape 1950 New Orleans and enroll at
prestigious Smith College when she becomes entangled in a murder
investigation. F SHA The Killer Angels, ​
by Michael Shaara Civil War Award Winner A fictional account of four days in July, 1863 at the Battle of
Gettysburg discussing tactics, plans, and preparations for battle
from both the Northern and Southern points of view.
F SMI Elephant Run,​
by Roland Smith Burma, 1941 reviews Nick's father and others are taken prisoner when his plantation in Burma is invaded by the Japanese leaving Nick and his friend Mya to risk their lives in order to free them from the POW camp. F SMI A Tree Grows in Brookly, Betty Smith Brooklyn, NY, early 19thc Awards & star reviews Young Francie Nolan experiences the problems of growing up in a
Brooklyn, New York slum. F TAL Lies We Tell Ourselvse,​
by Robin Tally Virginia, 1959 reviews Linda Hairston, who has been taught all her life that the races should be kept "separate but equal," must work on a school project with Sarah Dunbar, one of the first African­American students at the all­white Jefferson High School. Awards & reviews An African-American family living in Mississippi during the
Depression of the 1930s is faced with prejudice and discrimination
which its children do not understand. F TAY Roll of Thunder, hear my cry, by Mildred D. Taylor USA, Great Depression F TUR No Shame, No Fear,​
by Ann Turnbull England, star 17th century reviews n England in 1662, a time of religious persecution, fifteen-year-old
Susanna, a poor country girl and a Quaker, and seventeen-year-old
William, a wealthy Anglican, meet and fall in love against all odds. F UPD Montmorency’s Revenge​
, by Eleanor Updale London, Victorian Star reviews As Queen Victoria lies dying and with her family in danger, a group
of friends races to track down the anarchists responsible for
George's death, even as Montmorency seeks to teach a new
generation to forgive F VOO My Family for the War,​
by Anne C. Voorhoeve Nazi Germany, WWII star reviews Ten­year­old Franziska Mangold escapes Nazi Germany on the kindertransport she boards in Berlin, and when she arrives in London, she takes on the name Frances and struggles with her identity as she pieces together a new life without her family. F VRE The Passion of Artemisia,​
by Susan Vreeland Italy, 17th century reviews Eighteen-year-old Artemisia Gentileschi, having ruined her
reputation by making a public accusation of rape against her art
teacher, enters into an arranged marriage in post-Renaissance Italy
and moves with her husband to Florence where her talent blossoms,
bringing fame and conflict into her life. F WEA Becoming Billie Holiday​
, by Carole Boston Weatherford USA, 1915 ­ Star 1959 reviews Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday looks back on her early years in this
fictional memoir written in verse. F WEI Code Name Verity​
, by Elizabeth Wein WWII England & France, Printz & Edgar Awards In 1943, a British fighter plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France and
the survivor tells a tale of friendship, war, espionage, and great
courage as she relates what she must to survive while keeping
secret all that she can. F WEI Rose Under Fire,​
by Elizabeth Wein WWII, Germany Award winning authors When young American pilot Rose Justice is captured by Nazis and
sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp,
she finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery, and
friendship of her fellow prisoners.
F WIL The Bridge of San Luis Re​
y, by Thornton Wilder Peru, A tiny footbridge in Peru breaks, and five people hurtle to their
Pulitzer Prize, 1928 deaths. For Brother Juniper, a humble monk who witnesses the
catastrophe, the question is: Why those five? F WIN The Cure for Dreaming,​
by Cat Oregon, Morris Seventeen-year-old Olivia Mead, a suffragist, is hypnotized by the
Winters 1900 Award finalist author intriguing young Henri Reverie, who is paid by her father to make
her more docile and womanly but who, instead, gives her the ability
to see people's true natures, while she secretly continues fighting for
women's rights. F YEP Dragon’s Gat​
e, by Laurence Yep USA, 1867 Awards & reviews When he accidentally kills a Manchu, a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy
is sent to America to join his father, an uncle, and other Chinese
working to build a tunnel for the transcontinental railroad through
the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1867. PB F BAG Forgotten Fire​
, by Adam Bagdasarian Armenian Massacre, 1914 awards & reviews The story of how Vahan Kenderian survived the Turkish massacre of
the Armenians in 1915. PB F LAW B for Buster​
, by Iain Lawrence WWII star reviews Fifteen-year-old Melkorka, an Irish princess, is kidnapped by Russian
slave traders and not only learns how to survive but to challenge
some of the brutality of her captors, who are fascinated by her
apparent muteness and the possibility that she is enchanted. PB F MOR Private Peaceful,​
by Michael Morpurgo WWI, England 1914­ 1918 star reviews When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British
Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only
fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his
childhood love, Molly, and himself PB F NAP Hush : an Irish Princess’ tale​
, Middle by Donna Jo Napoli Ages, Ireland & Europe star reviews Fifteen-year-old Melkorka, an Irish princess, is kidnapped by Russian
slave traders and not only learns how to survive but to challenge
some of the brutality of her captors, who are fascinated by her
apparent muteness and the possibility that she is enchanted. PB F SAL Eyes of the Emperor​
, b y Graham Sailsbury Japanese Americans WWII reviews Following orders from the United States Army, several young
Japanese American men train K-9 units to hunt Asians during World
War II. PB F YEP Dragonwings​
, Laurence Yep San Francisco, early 20th century Newbery Honor award In the early twentieth century a young Chinese boy joins his father
in San Francisco and helps him realize his dream of making a flying
machine.