Historical Fiction for Middle Schoolers

This novel, set in Elizabethan England, tells the story of an orphan boy who attempts to steal a copy of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Twelve-year-old Anita has grown up in the Dominican Republic during the brutal Trujillo regime. When her family gets caught up in an attempt to overthrow the dictator, Anita must find her own path to freedom.

Born in a Canadian settlement for runaway slaves, naive and well-meaning Elijah is forced to confront the realities of slavery when he attempts to recover stolen money that would help free a friend's enslaved family.

A Single Shard tells the story of a homeless orphan who helps a potter earn a royal commission in 12th-century Korea. Master these words that Linda Sue Park shaped into a Newbery Medal winner.

In medieval England, an unconventional teenage girl records events in her daily life, including her attempts to thwart her father's plans to marry her off.

Written in free verse, this Newbery Medal-winning novel details the struggles of an Oklahoman teenager during the dust-filled years of the Great Depression.

In 1776, Isabel is enslaved by British loyalists. When she begins to work as a spy for American revolutionaries, she discovers that neither side is interested in her freedom—and decides to do something about it.

This historical novel follows Sun-hee and her brother Tae-yul as their family grapples with political change, prejudice, and war during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

After being accused of theft, orphan Crispin is on the run in medieval England. As he crosses the country and evades his enemies, he discovers a startling secret about his true identity.

In this historical novel, thirteen-year-old Jonathan defies his father's wishes and joins the fight for American independence.

This historical novel traces the lives of two tiger cubs in ancient Rome.

This novel, based on true events, recounts the story of Helmuth Hübener, a 16-year-old German boy who created and distributed leaflets to counteract Nazi propaganda.

Recent immigrants from Cuba, Ruthie and her family are just learning to adjust to life in New York City when Ruthie is severely injured in a car accident. This novel, based in part on the author's childhood experiences, won the 2018 Pura Belpré Award.

During World War II, ten-year-old Ada and her brother are sent from London to the countryside, where Ada experiences freedom and kindness for the first time.

Inspired by the first black woman to be crowned Miss America, thirteen-year-old Vanessa enters a local beauty pageant in the hopes of transforming her life.

In 1935, twelve-year-old Moose moves to Alcatraz Island with his parents and his autistic sister Natalie. With a little help from his new friend Piper, Moose learns to adapt to life at the notorious prison.

After moving to Chicago from Alabama, an eleven-year-old boy finds solace and inspiration in the poetry of Langston Hughes.

In this historical novel set during the American Revolution, Tim Meeker must decide whether he should do as his father says and remain loyal to the British king or join his brother among the rebels.

In this historical fiction, sixteen-year-old Hiram Hillburn crosses paths with fourteen-year-old Emmett Till, whom he unsuccessfully tries to protect from the hateful intentions he has grown more aware of in his birthplace of Greenwood, Mississippi.

During the Great Depression, a ten-year-old boy hits the road in search of the father he has never known.

In order to repay a debt, twelve-year-old Charlie agrees to help the cruel Cap'n Buck to capture several fugitive slaves. But when Charlie is confronted with the horrors of slavery, he is forced to reconsider his plans.

When the Watson family pays Grandma a visit in Alabama, they find themselves caught up in the battle for civil rights.

In medieval England, an orphaned girl named Brat becomes an apprentice to Jane Sharp, the local midwife.

In 14th-century England, a knight-in-training named Robin suffers an injury to his legs — but learns that there are many ways to be a hero.

An unflinching look at the brutality of the American slave trade, Draper's novel tells the story of Amari, a young African girl who is enslaved.

Based on a true story, this novel follows an eleven-year-old Iraqi boy and his family as they endure turmoil and violence during the 1991 Gulf War.

The year is 1773, and fourteen-year-old Johnny is an apprentice silversmith in Boston. When a terrible accident threatens his future, Johnny must quickly adapt — just as the American colonists join forces to break free from British rule.

In the summer of 1968, three sisters travel to California to visit their estranged mother. While there, they learn about the fight for equality and civil rights.

This sequel to One Crazy Summer focuses on Delphine, the eldest Gaither sister, as she begins sixth grade and navigates unexpected changes in her family.

When sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern visit relatives in Alabama, they find themselves in the middle of an unexpected family feud. Learn these words from the last book in the Gaither Sisters trilogy.

After the Communist revolution in Cuba, fourteen-year-old Lucía Álvarez and her brother are sent to the United States to make a new life in Nebraska.

During World War II, thirteen-year-old Michael and his family infiltrate Nazi organizations to help the Allies defeat Hitler.

Three young refugees — a Jewish boy fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939, a Cuban girl suffering under the Castro regime in 1994, and a Muslim boy trying to escape war-torn Syria in 2015 — make desperate journeys in search of freedom and safety.

A young Jewish girl immigrates to America from Russia in the aftermath of World War I.

Jethro Creighton lives on a farm in southern Illinois when the Civil War begins. As he comes of age, the war impacts his family in ways he never could have imagined.

Like many Japanese-Americans, Hanako and her family are imprisoned in an American internment camp during World War II. After the war ends, they emigrate to Japan — but they struggle to make a home in a country that is unfamiliar to them.

The year is 1899, and 11-year-old Callie enjoys studying Darwin and exploring the natural world with her grandfather — but her traditional mother wants Callie to spend her time engaged in "ladylike" pursuits like cooking and sewing. As a new century dawns, Callie must struggle to balance her desires and interests with the expectations of society.

Fleeing to America to escape the Vietnam War, Hà and her family end up in Alabama, where they must adapt to a new culture. This novel in verse was inspired by author Thanhha Lai's own experiences.

In this work of historical fiction, a mouse named Amos helps Benjamin Franklin create some of his famous inventions.

Set in Arkansas in 1958, this novel tells the story of two courageous twelve-year-old girls who fight against segregation in their community.

After she moves to New York City from China, Shirley struggles to fit in and make friends — until she discovers baseball.

In this award-winning book set in the late 1800s, a young woman answers an ad placed by a Midwestern man seeking a wife.

Growing up in Chicago in the 1960s, Sam is a witness to both racism and the growing Civil Rights Movement. But when his father and brother embrace conflicting tactics for confronting prejudice and violence in their community, Sam must figure out where his loyalties lie.

An orphan living in ancient Egypt, twelve-year-old Ranofer dreams of becoming a master goldsmith — but instead he must work at menial jobs for his cruel half-brother. When Ranofer discovers a stolen goblet in his brother's possession, he believes he may have a chance at a new life.

This novel traces five generations of a single family from their enslavement on a plantation through contemporary times.

In this companion to Wonder, Julian's grandmother tells the story of her life in France during World War II.

In this historical novel, Hanna, a girl with Chinese heritage, moves to the Dakota Territory in 1880 and struggles to overcome the prejudices of her new community.

Determined to support her family, Lyddie is drawn to the textile mills flourishing in 19th-century Lowell, Massachusetts, but her dreams are threatened by the brutal working conditions she finds there.

During the Great Depression, Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel spend summers with their eccentric and adventurous grandmother.

Ten-year-old Sugar endures grueling work on a sugar plantation, but her friendships with the plantation owner's son and new Chinese laborers offer her hope and community.

While the Vietnam War roils America, seventh grader Holling Hoodhood contends with Shakespeare, a demanding father, a school bully, and more. Learn these words from Schmidt's funny and heartwarming coming-of-age story.

After emigrating from Barbados to Connecticut Colony, sixteen-year-old Katherine (Kit) Tyler finds herself at odds with her Puritan neighbors, which turns dangerous when she befriends a Quaker woman accused of being a witch.

"Stop! Thief!" are the words often shouted at him, so a young orphan takes that as his name as he struggles to survive in Warsaw during World War II.

Set in Mississippi during the Great Depression, this classic novel follows Cassie Logan and her family as they face prejudice and economic hardship.

In this prequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, a biracial young man tries to find his place in post-Civil War America.

In this sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, the Logans support a friend accused of a crime he didn't commit and confront prejudice and greed in their neighborhood.

During the Great Depression, Abilene Tucker tries to solve a mystery in her father's hometown of Manifest, Kansas, while also learning about Manifest's fascinating past.

During World War II, a 12-year-old girl named Annabelle befriends a reclusive veteran and contends with a vicious bully.

In the early 1900s, a young boy leaves China to join his father in San Francisco, where they work to build a flying machine.

During a Passover Seder, 12-year-old Hannah is mysteriously transported from 1980s New York to Poland during World War II. When Hannah is forced into a concentration camp, her survival depends on understanding the depraved arithmetic the Nazis use to keep track of their prisoners.

This novel is a fictionalized account of the childhood of Dr. Betty Shabazz, the civil rights activist and wife of Malcolm X.

In 15th-century Korea, brothers Kee-sup and Young-sup impress the king with their ability to construct and fly kites.

In King Arthur's England, a young boy encounters knights and robbers as he tries to restore peace to the land.

Thanks to a magical baseball card, Joe Stoshack travels back in time to 1909 and meets baseball legend Honus Wagner.

This novel, written in the form of a journal, details the life of a New England girl in the 1830s.

Fourteen-year-old Ida dreams of becoming a teacher. When her town's one-room schoolhouse must shut down, Ida decides to secretly teach the other students and prepare for her own high school entrance exams.

A sixth-grader and an elderly woman discover they have something in common — years of moving from one foster family to another.

This novel traces a family's deep connection to the sport of baseball through nine generations.

In colonial Massachusetts, a fourteen-year-old girl joins the fight for American independence.

In this work of historical fiction, two Soviet girls are sent to a new home after the Chernobyl disaster.

During the Revolutionary War, a twelve-year-old girl works as a spy and identifies a traitor to the American cause.

A Jewish teenager joins the resistance movement against the Nazis during World War II.

After the death of her father, Emily Starr moves to New Moon Farm to live with her aunts and cousin. Read the full text here.

Inspired by historical events, this novel explores tensions between a 19th-century community of deaf islanders and an ambitious scientist.

Separated from her father and brother by the Berlin Wall, Gerta comes up with a dangerous plan to reunite her family.

This semi-autobiographical novel recounts the story of a Japanese family attempting to flee Korea and return home at the end of World War II.

Set in 1986, this novel traces the ups and downs of three siblings as they wait for the launch of the Challenger space shuttle.

This novella tells the story of a young survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.

In this sequel to The War That Saved My Life, Ada continues to weather World War II in a crowded house in the English countryside.

Maks, a newsboy living in New York City in the late 19th century, tries to prove his sister's innocence after she is accused of theft.

May Amelia Jackson grows up on the American frontier at the end of the 19th century.

In this work of historical fiction, a young mapmaker recounts his adventures among the Spanish conquistadors exploring the Americas.

In 1970s New York, seventh-grader Jamila Clarke must take a forty-minute bus ride to a new school as part of an experiment for racial integration.

Thirteen-year-olds Benjamin (the son of runaway slave) and Alvin (the grandson of Irish immigrants) live in different Canadian towns in 1901, but they meet in the woods and end up working together to hunt down the Madman in this companion novel to Elijah of Buxton.

Set in the 1960s, eleven-year-old Ariel Goldberg travels to New York City in hopes of reuniting her family after her older sister Leah elopes with Raj, an Indian immigrant.

Running away from the slave-owning Southerland Plantation, twelve-year-old Homer and his seven-year-old sister Ada head to the swamp, where they find some unexpected help.

When riots break out in Los Angeles, sixth-grader Jordan Park decides he must go to his family's store to protect his father.

Lotus Bloom, a seventh-grade girl who loves the vintage style of the 1970s, learns to speak up and fight for the freedom of expression after facing a dress code violation at school.

After taking a new job to help out his family during the Great Depression, ten-year-old Beans Curry learns that some actions can have dire consequences.

This novel is a fictionalized account of the life of Juan de Pareja, the half-African slave of famed painter Diego Velázquez in 17th century Spain.

This novel is a fictionalized biography of Nathaniel Bowditch, a mathematical genius who begins work as an indentured servant on a ship before becoming a captain and celebrated navigator.

The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City impact the lives of two teenagers.

During World War II, a Japanese-American boy must rely on his baseball teammates when his father and grandfather are arrested.

After his father is kidnapped, twelve-year-old Silas teams up with a ghost and a pony in order to rescue him.

After World War II, a twelve-year-old boy befriends an African-American veteran — and begins to recognize prejudice and injustice in his hometown.

While his father is on a campaign to pressure Congress and President Hoover to deliver bonus payments owed to veterans of the Great War, twelve-year-old Calvin Blackbird must fight his own battles at a federal agricultural Native American boarding school in Oklahoma.

Set in the 1860s, this third book of the Golden Mountain Chronicles focuses on teenage Otter Young, who dreams of saving China from the destructive Manchus and British by joining his father and uncle's Great Work in America.

In this historical fiction, sixteen characters describe their actions and reactions connected to the first major battle of the Civil War, which was fought on July 21, 1861 in Virginia.