Good Reads
Way Back When - Historical Teen Fiction
What was life like twenty years ago? What about 200 years ago? Get a historical perspective with some of these great reads.
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Witch Child
By Rees, Celia Rees 2001/07 - Candlewick Press (MA) 0763614211 Check Our Catalog Mary's grandmother is executed for witchcraft, and Mary is forced to leaveher home to avoid the same fate. At first she flees to the English countryside, but when the atmosphere of superstition and suspicion becomes all consuming she leaves on a boat for America in the hope that she can start over and forget her past. But during the journey, she realizes that the pastis not so easy to escape. ...More |
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Copper Sun
Pale strangers enter fifteen-year-old Amari's village to capture the strongest, healthiest villagers and to murder the rest. Sweeping in scope, detailed and penetrating in its look at the complicated interrelationships of those who live together on a plantation, Copper Sun is an unflinching and unforgettable look at the African slave trade and slavery in America. ...More |
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An Angry Drum Echoed: Mary Musgrove, Queen of the Creeks
By Bauer Mueller, Pamela 2007/01 - Pinata Publishing 9780968509777 Check Our Catalog Born "Coosaponakeesa" to a Creek mother and an English father, she skillfully straddled two worlds: her Indian heritage and the English way of life. Through her influence with the Indian tribes, Mary encouraged the chiefs to meet with General Oglethorpe in Savannah, leading to the peaceful establishment of an English colony in Indian territory. Although she won the esteem of the English settlers, she eventually became a thorn in the side of the newly formed colonial government. After ten years without pay for her diplomatic and interpretive services, she led her Creek tribesmen in a relentless march through the streets of Savannah to demand justice. ...More |
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Soldier's Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers
Battle by battle, Gary Paulsen shows readers one boy's war through one boy's eyes and one boy's heart, and gives a voice to all the anonymous young men who fought in the Civil War. From the acclaimed author of "Nightjohn" and "Sarny". ...More |
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Out of the Dust
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. ...More |
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Jonathan Hodge and the Secret of Aargone
By DeWitt, Franklin 2007/06 - Tate Publishing & Enterprises 9781598868791 Check Our Catalog What do you get when you mix a boy with superhero powers, the imposing figure of General Washington, evil monsters and a plot to kill the founding fathers? Find out in Jonathan Hodge and the Secret of Aargone, the exciting new historical fantasy by author Franklin DeWitt. Follow with our hero, Jonathan Hodge, as he leaves his peaceful farm in Massachusetts to join General Washington's army, and soon after encounters unearthly monsters which are more than they appear. Old and young alike are sure to enjoy this unique and adventurous tale set during the American Revolution. ...More |
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The Loud Silence of Francine Green
Once again, Newbery Medalist Cushman (The Midwife's Apprentice) follows a young woman's progress toward her true self, this time exploring the nature of friendship and the experience of growing up Catholic in an era that is both fascinating and relevant to today's young people. ...More |
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Nobody's Princess
By Friesner, Esther 2007/04 - Random House Books for Young Readers 9780375875281 Check Our Catalog Nebua Award-winning author Esther Friesner deftly weaves together history and myth as she takes a new look at the girl who will become Helen of troy. The resulting story offers up adventure, humor, and a fresh and engaging heroine. ...More |
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Witness
Two young girls--one black and one Jewish--are caught up in the turmoil of prejudice in a small Vermont town in 1924.
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The Secret Life of Bees
By Kidd, Sue Monk 2005/10 - Penguin Books 0143036408 Check Our Catalog "Sue Monk Kidd is an extraordinary storyteller. In "The Secret Life of Bees," she explores a young girl's search for the truth about her mother; her courage to tear down racial barriers; and her joy as she claims her place within a community of women. Beautifully written." (Ursula Hegi, author of "The Vision of Emma Blau"). ...More |
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The Midwife's Apprentice
The girl known only as Brat has no family, no home and no future until she meets Jane the Midwife and becomes her apprentice. As she helps the sharp-tempered Jane deliver babies, Brat--who renames herself Alyce--gains knowledge, confidence, and the courage to want something from life. ...More |
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Shadow Spinner
By Fletcher, Susan 1998/05 - Atheneum Books 0689818521 Check Our Catalog In an adventure equal to any a storyteller might relate, a crippled serving girl faces the intrigues of the harem, the dangers of the streets, and the anger of the Sultan himself to find the needed ending to an incomplete story. ...More |
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Good Night, Mr. Tom
By Magorian, Michelle 1986/11 - Harpertrophy 006440174X Check Our Catalog "A small, timid refugee from wartime London--and from a sadistic mother--and a lonely villager who has reluctantly accepted the child form a bond of love and trust that is deeply touching. . . . a vivid cast for an English story with universal and timeless appeal."--IRA Children's Book Award Committee. ALA Notable Children's Book; 1982 ALA Best Books for Young Adults; 1983 "Horn Book" Fanfare Honor List; 1982 IRA Children's Book Award; "Booklist" 1982 Young Adult Editors' Choices. ...More |
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The Forgotten Fire
It is 1915 and Vahan Kendarian, the pampered youngest son of one of the most influential Armenian families in Turkey, is confident that his privileged world will always include the house he loves, the laughter of his brothers and sisters, a sense of belonging. But when his uncle disappears and his father is taken away, when two brothers are shot before his eyes in the family garden, Vahan's world shatters. "Be steel", his father had always said when something tested his son's character. "Steel is made strong by fire. "What is about to occur is Vahan's fire. In the next three weeks he will lose his home and know hunger and thirst for the first time. In the next three years he will become an orphan, a prisoner, a beggar, a servant, a stowaway in order to survive. He will meet and be befriended by the Horsesho ...More |
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A Single Shard
tree-ear, an orphan, has become fascinated with the potters' craft; he wants nothing more than to watch master potter Min at work, and he dreams of making a pot of his own someday. When Min takes on tree-ear as his helper, tree-ear is elated--until he finds obstacles in his path: the backbreaking labor of digging and hauling clay, Min's irascible temper, and his own ignorance. However, tree-ear is determined to prove himself. ...More |
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Fever 1793
By Anderson, Laurie Halse Earley, Lori 2000/09 - Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing 0689838581 Check Our Catalog
Winner - 2003 Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Award |
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Year of the Hangman
By Blackwood, Gary L. 2002/09 - Dutton Books 0525469214 Check Our Catalog Acclaimed and award-winning author Blackwood's masterful blending of fiction with real characters and events results in a thought-provoking page-turner about a tumultuous time. ...More |
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Lyddie
Impoverished Vermont farm girl Lyddie Worthen is determined to gain her independence by becoming a factory worker in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1840s. ...More |
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Jacob Have I Loved
By Paterson, Katherine 1980/11 - HarperCollins Publishers 0690040792 Check Our Catalog "With wry humor, Sara Louise recalls her turbulent adolescence on Rass Island and her intense jealousy of her own twin sister. Strength of characterization and memorable external and internal action mark this superbly crafted novel as a quest for self-knowledge".--1991 Newbery Committee (ALA). Newbery Medal; ALA Notable Children's Book; ALA Best Book for Young Adults. ...More |
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Catherine, Called Birdy
The thirteen-year-old daughter of an English country knight keeps a journal in which she records the events of her life, particularly her longing for adventures beyond the usual role of women and her efforts to avoid being married off. ...More |
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The Kite Rider
By McCaughrean, Geraldine 2002/06 - HarperCollins Publishers 0066238749 Check Our Catalog In the colorful, dangerous world of 13th-century China, the Great Miao, master of the Jade Circus, offers 12-year-old Haoyou the chance to change his life--to escape from his family's poverty and the pain of his father's recent death--by becoming a kite rider. ...More |
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Ties That Bind, Ties That Break
Set in the pivotal period in Chinese history when the empire fell and the Republic of China was created, this moving story tells of Ailin, a young girl who refuses to follow the tradition of having her feet bound--and pays the price for her choice when her intended husband breaks the marriage agreement and her family is no longer willing to support her. ...More |
