Find your next great read for National Reading Month by exploring my reviews of these amazing historical YA books that you may have missed.

Historical fiction is a hugely popular literary genre, both in adult and young adult fiction. By broad definition, the main quality of this category is that the story “takes readers to a time and place in the past.” It may also involve events or people that happened in the past, and the cast of characters may be a mix of fictional and real people.

There’s debate about the finer points of definition, however. How many years old makes it historical? Historical to who? The past for two people can be very different. What if it’s the past to the character?

I’m not going to split hairs. Here is my list of amazing historical YA books you may have missed. All of them happen sometime in the past. Some characters have a more recent past than others, but none of it is in the 2000s.

No one had the internet or cell phones, which is pretty much the dark ages, right? :-)

Purge by Sofi Oksanen

"The only thing left alive was the shame." ― Sofi Oksanen, quote from Purge

I picked up Purge to add to my list of YA books about human trafficking, but this novel is pure literature, a stunning international masterpiece that spans decades of history, generations of pain, and dark twisted family secrets.

Set in Estonia and bouncing between 1941 and 1992, two protagonists tell their tales in a long and dizzying narrative that weaves between present terror and past horror. These women are bound to each other in multiple ways. Their mutual distrust them unreliable narrators, so that only the reader really only has the full picture, and sometimes even that picture is murky.

As I think back on each of these women's experiences, I see so many parallels in what happened to each, even though the details are very different on the surface. For example, both are raped. Both are silenced. Both are shamed. One is betrayed. One is a betrayer.

This is the kind of epic novel that I can think about for a long time and even read again. I missed things and know that I would see even more in a second reading because the book is so sweeping and full of such meaningful symbolism and detail.

If you are looking for some amazing historical YA books that you may have missed, add Purge to your TBR pile.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

“If there was only one tree like that in the world, you would think it was beautiful. But because there are so many, you just can't see how beautiful it really is.” ― Betty Smith, quote from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I first heard about this book from Oprah Winfrey and picked it up during the book club years. A classic YA novel published in 1943, before YA was really “a thing,” A Tree Grows in Brooklyn tells the story of a poor young girl growing up in Brooklyn, a child of struggling immigrant parents.

This historical YA book about immigration, class, and poverty, and Francie, has remained with me for decades. There’s a reason why this novel has stood the test of time and lands in the category of literary classics.

We Walked the Sky by Lisa Fiedler

“The show must go on, even when it's not the show you expected to be in.” ― Lisa Felder, quote from We Walked the Sky

Fiedler's multi-generational novel really captured and held my interest. Two parallel stories are running: the grandmother, Victoria, is a 16-year-old who runs away and joins the circus in 1965, and her granddaughter, Callie, is a teen who has followed in her circus footsteps, but now finds herself in a new place.

There are mysteries to unravel and friendships to develop. I loved all the circus lore and animals and characters. Really, it was an enchanting story. I want to read more by this author.

When compiling the list of amazing historical YA books that you missed, be sure to add this one.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

I have read several of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, and I found this one to be ambitious, compelling, and heartfelt. I learned things about slavery during the American revolutionary war that were new since most literature I've consumed has been during the later period of the civil war. The author’s research into the book made it rich and come alive.

You will want to add this amazing historical YA book about class difference, race, and slavery in early American history to your reading list. In fact, Laurie Halse Anderson is such a great author that she’s on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she’s all-around amazing!

The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island by Scott Semegran

It makes me sad to think that 1986 is “historical fiction,” but for young adults, the 1980s are an era for time travel.

I picked up this novel because it was the 2021 First Place winner for Middle-Grade/Young Adult Writers Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Wow! It hooked me immediately and didn’t let go.

Four middle-school boys find a backpack full of cash and pot left behind by their nemesis bullies, the Thousand Oaks Gang, and after evading them fails (they get beat up), they decide to retreat to an abandoned lake house for a few days. Being kids, they haven’t thought this through. The bullies find them. They end up stranded on an island with no food, water, or shelter and must survive until someone rescues them.

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this novel. I felt I was in great storytelling hands with Semegran. I don’t usually like Middle Grade novels; they usually are too young for me to really appreciate. But The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island has something special. As others have noted, it reminds me of The Body by Stephen King, which inspired Stand by Me (the movie). Perhaps it is the narrator’s voice, which seems older and wiser than his young years.

Treat yourself to this suspenseful and amazing historical YA book that you may have missed.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

“I am haunted by humans.” ― Markus Zusak, quote from The Book Thief

No list of historical YA books would be complete without including The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. How could you have missed this one? It has been at the top of the best seller lists for years—and with good reason!

In this historical novel set in Nazi Germany, we meet a young foster girl named Liesel. She’s an orphan. She loves books. She and her foster parents are sheltering a Jewish man in their basement. He also likes to read.

The writing is lovely. Zusak paints Liesel’s world of poverty, anxiety, fear, and grief in shades of stark contrasts. He is both a poet and a novelist.

What a wonderful, heartbreaking, haunting, and gripping story! It makes you really ask deep questions. It’s so beautiful. It’s transformational. It’s the reason why I love books.

Other Amazing Historical YA Books You May Have Missed

If you are looking for some other amazing historical YA books you may have missed, check out the Young Adult Historical Fiction book lists on Goodreads. You might also be interested in my post Other Good Reads, which has a comprehensive list of reviews of YA books.

Do you have any personal favorites to recommend to me? I’m always looking for another great read in this category.

Khristina Chess is the award-winning author of several YA novels about troubled teens turning corners. You can find her on Amazon, Goodreads, and Twitter as an active daily contributor in the #5amwritersclub.