Top Ten Tuesday | Historical YA & MG titles

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, where book bloggers are invited to share their top ten lists centered on a certain theme.

This week’s theme was a genre freebie, so I chose to talk historical fiction! Historical fiction, especially in YA & middle grade, doesn’t get enough love and I find that it’s always a challenge to get teens at my library to check out this genre. For a lot of them, they hear “history” and automatically think “school.” I’m always on the hunt for historical YA & MG titles that will capture teens’ interest!

Here’s my top ten historical titles to recommend at my library:

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1. Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian: I listened to the audiobook version of this YA historical novel about 3 teens during the AIDS epidemic and easily fell in love with the story!

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2. In the Neighborhood of True by Susan Kaplan Carlton: It is SO refreshing to read a historical novel about a Jewish teen that isn’t just about the Holocaust! Plus look at that swoony pink cover.

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3. Inventing Victoria by Tonya Bolden: This historical YA novel about a white-passing black teen in the 1880s has been on my TBR for so long! It has a gorgeous cover that I’m always putting face-out at my library.

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4. Pulp by Robin Talley: I loved this YA novel with dual perspectives–one about a queer teen named Janet in the 1950s discovering lesbian pulp fiction & writing her own novel, and one about a queer teen today reading Janet’s novel! Having a modern perspective woven in definitely makes this one an easy pitch to teen readers new to historical fiction.

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5. Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee: I haven’t read any of Stacey Lee’s books, but they’re definitely some of the most popular historical YA novels at my library!

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6. One True Way by Shannon Hitchcock: I’m so happy we’re seeing an uptick in queer middle grade books, and this historical one was especially sweet!

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7. The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf: I love this historical novel set in Malaysia with OCD rep and #OwnVoices Muslim rep! This one totally deserves more attention.

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8. Let Me Hear a Rhyme by Tiffany D. Jackson: It feels kinda weird calling a book set in the 90s historical, but here we are! Tiffany’s books are hugely popular at my library and this one is no exception.

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9. All Out edited by Saundra Mitchell: Any queer YA book is always a hit at my library, so this one is always a historical fiction recommendation that actually peaks teens’ interest!

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10. Music From Another World by Robin Talley: Yep, I’ve got two Robin Talley books on this list! Robin really knows her way around the genre and I love that this one is told in letters & diary entries.

 

What’s your favorite historical novel?

Happy reading! (1)

16 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday | Historical YA & MG titles”

  6. I was going to comment and say this wasn’t my preferred genre, and then I saw Let Me Hear a Rhyme on here and that on my TBR… Totally agree – I can’t believe that that 90s could kinda qualify as historical fiction. Maybe I need to update my definition. Haha.

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  7. I love the cover of All Out and I see a few books here I’d like to check out eventually. Thanks for sharing!

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