Our teen book spotlight this week is all about Historical Fiction!!! Our titles this week are all historical fiction stories; this is one of my favorite genres because it provides an opportunity to read about times and events in history that many times we do not know much, if anything, about because they are not taught in typical school classes. Historical fiction books are filled with true facts (authors need to do a ton of research) and many times the characters are inspired by real people. We have books that take place in the United States and others on other continents; some take place in more recent times and others further in the past. These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #yahistoricalfiction as well as on Libby and Hoopla.
Audacity by Melanie Crowder--The real-life story of Clara Lemlich, a Jewish Russian girl who emigrated to New York at the turn of the 20th century and spearheaded the fight for equal rights for laborers and women, is told by author Crowder in this novel-in-verse. Clara bucked both her traditional Jewish family's norms and the conventions of the society she found herself in, to stand up for laborers working in substandard conditions in the factories of Manhattan, like the sweatshop she was forced into. Year after year she fought for labor rights, organizing a women's union, and leading the Uprising of the 20,000.
Orphan, Monster, Spy by Matt Killeen--After her mother is shot at a checkpoint, Sarah, a Jewish teenager, agrees to help the resistance by posing as the daughter of a wealthy Nazi to gain access to the blueprints of a bomb that could destroy Western Europe.
Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. Elliott--After his plane is shot down by Hitler's Luftwaffe, nineteen-year-old Henry Forester of Richmond, Virginia, strives to walk across occupied France, with the help of the French Resistance, in hopes of rejoining his unit.
The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee--Henry "Monty" Montague is a British gentleman taking a grand tour of Europe in the eighteenth century alongside his best friend and secret crush, Percy. His father expects him to take over the family estate when he returns--an expectation Monty dreads--so he's determined to make the most of his yearlong trip with Percy, despite the fact that Monty's younger sister is traveling with them. But one misstep leads to an adventure beyond anyone's imagination which includes a manhunt, tomb-raiding, and pirates.
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer--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.
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen--In the spring of 1929, eighteen-year-old Cordelia Grey and her stage-struck friend Letty Larkspur run away from their small Ohio town to seek their fortunes in New York City and soon find themselves drawn into situations and relationships, particularly with the dazzling Astrid Donal, that change their lives forever.