I feel like Historical YA fiction is kind of an underrated genre. YA Dystopian novels used to be huge back in the Hunger Games craze and now YA Fantasy and YA contemporary Romances are popular. A lot of the Historical YA books can run a little young sometimes but here's some of my favourites.
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
My Lady Jane is told in from 3 perspectives: Jane, the person who is Queen of England for only 9 days; Gifford, a guy who turns into a horse and is engaged to Jane; and Edward, the dying sixteen-year-old king. The great thing about this book is that it's like a Monty Python movie. It's absolutely hilarious and it has narrators who talk to the reader during the course of the story. This book isn't exactly historically accurate or realistic, but it's such an entertaining read that you can't help but love. There is at least two romances in this book that you get to see develop and they are both adorable. Highly recommend if you want something unique from the typical YA historical fiction books. There are more retellings from this author team to look forward to so read this to be ready for that awesomeness.My Review
The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
You might notice that some of my favourite historical fiction novels are hilarious. The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue is about Henry Montague (Monty) a bisexual teenager who is traveling Europe with his best friend and secret love, Percy, and his sister Felicity. They get caught up in a conspiracy and have to run around Europe to avoid getting killed. Monty is a complex character who is a bit selfish and arrogant but is really trying to improve himself. Felicity is a feisty heroine that you will be happy to root for. The romance between Percy and Monty has just the right amount of angst and sweetness that makes you sorry when the book ends. I loved travelling to all these places with these characters and learning about this time period. Highly recommend this new release.My Review: Goodreads, Blog
The Diviners Series by Libba Bray
Don't be intimidated by the length of these books and how long readers had to wait for sequels; this series is amazingly detailed. It's set in New York in the 1920s and the main character, Evie, is a flapper. When Evie touches things, she is able to see memories. In the first book, she is tasked with helping to solve a series of murders with her uncle, the manager of a paranormal museum. This series features many different POVs but Libba Bray does a great job of making them all interesting. The books might be long, but it's because the settings are lush and detailed and the plots are also very vivid.
The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare
If you haven't read a Cassandra Clare book yet, I don't really think you can call yourself a true reader of YA. Clare's books are just so addictive! I loved the Mortal Instruments series quite a bit more than this series, and I'm currently in love with the Dark Artifices, but the Infernal Devices is still amazing because it's a Cassandra Clare book. The series, which starts off with Clockwork Angel, is basically about this love triangle with the main character Tessa Gray, who is in love with parabatai Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs. They are Shadowhunters in the late 1800s in London, fighting demons. This trilogy is essential reading material because the love triangle is so fantastically written. Will Herondale is probably on every YA reader's book boyfriend list. If you loved TMI, then this trilogy adds a lot of world building to the Shadowhunter world. You need to read this trilogy before reading City of Heavenly Fire because otherwise, spoilers.My Review of Clockwork Angel, Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess.
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
Are you a fan of WW2 books? Then this book should be your cup of tea! In this book, Hitler won WW2 and Yael, the main character, can shapeshift into people as a result of experiments done by the Nazis. Her mission in the Resistance is to kill Hitler and to do so, she must compete in a motorcycle race across Europe. At times, the scenes in the death camp are disturbing, but Yael is such an interesting character to read from. She is strong and inspiring. Read this duology if you are looking for something new from the WW2 YA books.My Review of Wolf by Wolf.
His Fair Assassin Series by Robin LaFevers
This series is one of my favourite historical fiction series. It follows a trio of friends who grew up together in a convent. They are going out in the world, specifically Brittany, France in 1485, to serve their convent's divine patron, the god of death, Mortain. These books follow these girls becoming women in the political world and them questioning their religion. I love learning about religion and seeing these girls question their faith was very interesting to me. All the main characters are interesting and empowering to read about and and I loved the romance in these books. There are two more books coming out so now is a great time to get caught up!My review of Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, and Mortal Heart.
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Interested in a historical fiction standalone? I highly recommend this one. Ruta Sepetys is known as a YA historical fiction queen, but this is the only book of hers that I truly LOVED (note I haven't read Between the Shades of Grey yet). This story follows Josie, a daughter of a prostitute, who gets caught up in a murder mystery. Out of the Easy takes place in New Orleans in 1950. This book is about family and has a great murder mystery for those who grew up on Nancy Drew novels like I did.
My Review of Out of the Easy.
Tell me what your favourite YA historical fiction books are down below!
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