Historical Fiction
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing
M. T. Anderson Octavian is a black youth being raised in the Thirteen Colonies by a group of rational philosophers known only by numbers. He and his mother — a princess in exile from a faraway land — are the only persons in their household assigned names. As his mother entertains the house scholars with her beauty and wit, young Octavian begins to question the purpose behind his guardians' fanatical studies. Only after he dares to open a forbidden door does he learn the hideous nature of their experiments — and his own chilling role in them. |
Remembrance
Theresa Breslin In a small village in Scotland, the Great War will alter the course of five lives. 18-year-old John enlists in the army, eager to fight for his country. His sweetheart, Charlotte, stays to earn her nursing certificate with John’s sister Maggie, who sees the opportunity to make a new life for herself. Charlotte’s brother Francis sees only tragedy in war, but feels pressured to join up. And Alex, below the recruiting age, is determined to reach the front lines somehow. |
Copper Sun
Sharon M. Draper When slave traders invade Amari's village and murder her entire family, Amari is dragged to the Carolinas and bought by a cruel plantation owner. Now, survival and escape are all Amari dreams about. As she struggles in the face of backbreaking work and degradation, she finds unexpected friendship. Polly, an indentured white girl, proves not to be as hateful as she'd first seemed, and they work together to find the thing they both want most – freedom. |
Leonardo's Shadow
Christopher Grey Leonardo da Vinci has been working on the Last Supper for nearly two years, but he hasn't finished it. The Duke of Milan is demanding that it be completed by the time the Pope visits, and if he fails, drastic measures will be taken against him. It's all down to young Giacomo, Leonardo's assistant, to come up with a brilliant solution! |
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
Jacqueline Kelly Calpurnia is 11 years old in 1899, and she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her backyard are so much bigger than the green ones. With a little help from her cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century. |
Day of Tears
Julius Lester This is the story of Emma, a slave owned by Pierce Butler and caretaker of his daughters, and Pierce, a man with a mounting gambling debt and household to protect. Emma wants to teach the girls - one who opposes slavery and one who supports it - to have kind hearts. But Pierce decides to cash in his “assets” and hosts the largest slave auction in American history. And on that day, the skies open up and weep endlessly on the proceedings below. |
Devil On My Heels
Joyce McDonald It’s 1959 in Benevolence, Florida, and life is sweet for 15-year-old Dove. But trouble is brewing among the local migrant workers. Mysterious fires have broken out, and rumors are spreading that disgruntled pickers are to blame. Suddenly, black and white become a muddy shade of gray, and whispers of the KKK drift through the Southern air like sighs. The Klan could never exist in a place like Benevolence, Dove tells herself. Or could it? |
Marie, Dancing
Carolyn Meyer Marie, a 14-year-old ballet dancer in the Paris Opera, has led a life of hardship. Dancing is the only joy to counter hunger, her mother's drinking, and her selfish sister. But when famed artist Edgar Degas demands Marie's presence in his studio, it appears that her life will be transformed: he will pay her to pose for a sculpture, and he promises to make her a star. As Marie stands before Mr. Degas, she dreams of supporting her family. She dreams of a life on the stage of the Opera. And she dreams of her true love. |
Shylock's Daughter
Mirjam Pressler As the daughter of a wealthy moneylender, Jessica leads a relatively privileged life in the Jewish Ghetto. But during her rare walks on the main streets of Venice, she has glimpsed the colorful, exciting world outside. Then, by chance she meets a handsome aristocrat named Lorenzo, who has everything that Jessica longs for, and who promises to make her his wife. There is one painful condition, however - she must convert to Christianity. Will Jessica follow her desires, even if it means leaving behind everyone she loves and abandoning her religion? Will her father survive this betrayal? |
Girl in Blue
Ann Rinaldi When teenage Sarah learns that she is to marry her neighbor, she runs away from home. Disguising herself as a boy, Sarah joins the army, and before long is a soldier in the Civil War. She navigates the joys and hardships of army life, struggling to keep her true identity a secret. But her real adventure is only beginning. A chance encounter with a detective draws her into a web of mystery and intrigue, and Sarah's courage will be put to the test as never before. |
Between Shades of Gray
Rupta Sepetys 15-year-old Lina is living an ordinary life, until Soviet officers invade her home and tear her family apart. Separated from her father, Lina, her mother, and her young brother are sent to a Siberian work camp, where they are forced to fight for their lives. Lina finds solace in her art, documenting these events by drawing. Risking everything, she hides clues in her drawings of their location and secretly passes them along, hoping they will make their way to her father's prison camp. But will strength, love, and hope be enough for Lina and her family to survive? |
The Bone Collector's Son
Paul Yee It’s 1907, and Bing’s father makes a living in Chinatown by digging up the bones of the dead before sending them back to China for a proper burial. Bing hates his father's work, and things go from bad to worse when they discover that Mr. Shum’s skull is missing from his grave. Almost immediately, Bing and his father have a string of bad luck. Bing is convinced that it’s caused by Shum’s ghost. Only by overcoming his fear will Bing be able to calm the spirits that are disturbing the living – and the dead. |
