It is DIFFICULT to find quality literature for teen girls.
Go to any "Young Adult" section in the bookstore or library and you wade through a sea of JUNK to maybe come up with a few quality books.
In 5 Ways to Raise Readers I mentioned the importance of encouraging your children's interests through reading. Well... history is of great interest to my teen daughter.
So often I will find a book, read the description to my daughter, and she will say: "Mom - add that to our list!"
We decided to turn this list into a resource that will hopefully help many teen girls find GOOD books to read!
*This post contains affiliate links.
*Special thanks goes out to the Homegrown Learners' Facebook community. I put the call out for historical fiction suggestions and they were more than happy to help! This list is a compilation of reader suggestions and books from our own shelves here at home. This list is by no means exhaustive, just a compilation of what we have read and recommendations.... feel free to leave me YOUR favorites in the comments at the end of the post!
Historical Fiction Series for Teen Girls
The Amazing Tales of Max & Liz : Biblical historical fiction
Epic Order of the Seven : Biblical historical fiction (follows The Amazing Tales of Max & Liz)
Princesses of Myth: Heroines placed in fictional settings appropriate to the age in which they lived
The Stuart Quartet : Historical novels set in Scotland in the 1300s
The Royal Diaries : This series is a hit in our house and gets MANY reader recommendations, also
Dear America : This series can be enjoyed by younger children as well as teens - my daughter collects these books so we are always looking for them at thrift stores and used book sales
Young Royals : Anna's favorite series so far - she read ALL OF THEM and loved them!
The Florida Trilogy : a Colonial series set in St. Augustine, Florida
The St. Simons Trilogy : a post Revolutionary War series set in the South
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing : set in Colonial Boston
The Seeds of America Trilogy : Revolutionary War series -- gets high marks from my daughter!
The Georgia Triology : 1812 era series set in Georgia
The Awakening Land: a trilogy
Historical Fiction for Teen Girls
(arranged in somewhat of a "rough" chronological order)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Pharoah's Daughter
Cleopatra Confesses
Tirzah
Adara
Twice Freed
Catherine, Called Birdy
The Midwife's Apprentice
Alchemy and Meggy Swann
Matilda Bone
Search of the Moon King's Daughter
Queen's Own Fool (Mary Queen of Scots)
The Redheaded Princess
Constance: A Story of Early Plymouth
Fever 1793
I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend
The Witch of Blackbird Pond : one of our family's favorites!
Witch Child
The River Between Us
Young Pioneers -->> (by the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder)
A Northern Light
Riot
Two Girls of Gettysburg
Hattie, Big Sky
Crossing Stones
The Foreshadowing
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices From The Titanic
Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society
Desiree: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon's First Love
The Endless Steppe: Growing Up in Siberia
Flygirl
Number the Stars
The Book Thief
Night
Summer of My German Soldier
Bound
Anahita's Woven Riddle
Historical Fiction Authors
Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but hopefully will get you started on the path to finding great books!
- Avi
- Karen Cushman
- Patricia Riley Giff
- Karen Hesse
- Eva Ibbotson
- Carolyn Meyer
- Donna Jo Napoli
- Anna Rinaldi
- Jane Yolen
