These titles are available at the Sacramento Public Library. Ask a librarian for more great titles for teens! (Links to Sacramento Public Library Catalog open in a new window).
Ashes
of Roses by Mary Jane Auch
YA fic Auch
Sixteen-year-old Margaret Rose Nolan, newly arrived from Ireland, finds
work at New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory shortly before the
1911 fire in which 146 employees died.
Raven
of the Waves by Michael Cadnum
YA fic Cadnum
Pagan and early Christian worlds clash in the year 794 A.D. when a band
of Norse warriors descends on England’s western shore.
The
Ransom of Mercy Carter by Caroline B. Cooney
YA fic Cooney
In 1704, in the English settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, eleven-year-old
Mercy and her family and neighbors are captured by Mohawk Indians and
their French allies, and forced to march through bitter cold to French
Canada, where some adapt to new lives and some still hope to be ransomed.
Children
of the River by Linda Crew
YA fic Crew
Having fled Cambodia four years earlier to escape the Khmer Rouge army,
seventeen-year-old Sundara is torn between remaining faithful to her own
people and enjoying life in her Oregon high school as a "regular"
American
The
Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
YA fic Cushman
In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered
midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the
three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place
in this world.
Gabriel’s Story by David Anthony Durham
fic w Durham
In the 1870’s, Gabriel Lynch, a fifteen-year-old African-American,
resents his new life on the Kansas prairie and runs away to seek adventure
with a group of cattle drovers. Desire for adventure becomes a struggle
for survival with the brutal gang of cowboys. (This book contains mature
subject matter and is recommended for older teens.)
Coram
Boy by Jamila Gavin
YA fic Gavin
In eighteenth century England, Meshak carries a terrible secret about
the fates of unwanted children given to his father, the Coram Man, for
safe-keeping.
Snow
Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
fic Guterson
On an isolated island in Puget Sound, a fisherman is found murdered. A
Japanese-American man is charged with the crime. The resulting trial revives
memories of the exiling of all Japanese residents of the island during
World War II. (This book contains mature subject matter and is recommended
for older teens.)
A
Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard
YA fic Haugaard
In turbulent sixteenth-century Japan, orphaned Taro is taken
in by a general serving the great warlord Takeda Shingen and grows up
to become a samurai fighting for the enemies of his dead family.
Out
of the Dust by Karen Hesse
J fic J Hesse
In a series of poems, fifteen-year-old Billie Jo relates the hardships
of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl
years of the Depression.
Lord
of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence
YA fic Lawrence
An English boy during World War I comes to believe that the battles he
enacts with his toy soldiers control the war his father is fighting on
the front.
Freedom
Beyond the Sea by Waldtraut Lewin
YA fic Lewin
To escape the Spanish Inquisition, Esther Marchadi, the sixteen-year-old
daughter of a murdered Jewish rabbi, disguises herself as a boy and joins
the crew of Christopher Columbus's "Santa Maria." To survive,
she not only must keep her true identity secret, but navigate the intrigue
between Admiral Columbus and others who would see him destroyed.
Dear
Ellen Bee: A civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies
by Mary E. Lyons and Muriel M. Branch
YA fic Lyons
A scrapbook kept by a young black girl details her experiences and those
of the older white woman, "Miss Bet," who had freed her and
her family, sent her north from Richmond to get an education, and then
worked to bring an end to slavery. Based on the life of Elizabeth Van
Lew.
More Historical Fiction for Teens…
Lamb:
the Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher
Moore fic Moore
A hilarious yet reverent look at the childhood and teenage years of Joshua
of Nazareth as told by his best bud, Biff. (This book contains mature
subject matter and is recommended for older teens.)
Fallen
Angels by Walter Dean Meyers
YA fic Myers
Seventeen-year-old Richie Perry, just out of his Harlem high school, enlists
in the Army in the summer of 1967 and spends a devastating year on active
duty in Vietnam.
When
My Name was Keoko by Linda Sue Park
YA fic Park
With national pride and occasional fear, a brother and sister face the
increasingly oppressive occupation of Korea by Japan during World War
II, which threatens to suppress Korean culture entirely.
Witch
Child by Celia Rees
YA fic Rees
In 1659, fourteen-year-old Mary Newbury keeps a journal of her voyage
from England to the New World and her experiences living as a witch in
a community of Puritans near Salem, Massachusetts.
What
About Anna? by Jan Simoen
YA fic Simoen
Anna has lost two brothers, one to AIDS and one to a land mine in the
war in Bosnia. When she hears reports that her brother has been seen alive,
can she face the horror of her own memories from the war?
The Serpent’s Children by Lawrence Yep
YA fic Yep
In nineteenth-century China, a young girl struggles to protect her family
from the threat of bandits, famine, and an ideological conflict between
her father and brother.