Historical Fiction for Teens
Books in this list were selected to appeal to teens with a wide range of reading and maturity levels.
This booklist was contributed by Appleton Public Library Reference and Information Services Staff, 1/07
World War I, 1914-1918
All quiet on the Western front by Erich Maria Remarque(1982)Through the eyes and mind of a German private, the reader shares life on the battlefield during World War I.
A farewell to arms by Ernest Hemingway(1995)By turns romantic and harshly realistic, Hemingway's story of a tragic romance set against the brutality and confusion of World War I cemented his fame as a stylist and as a writer of extraordinary literary power. A volunteer ambulance driver and a beautiful English nurse fall in love when he is wounded on the Italian front. The best American novel to emerge from World War I, A Farewell to Arms is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse. Hemingway's frank portrayal of the love between Lieutenant Henry and Catherine Barkley, caught in the inexorable sweep of war, glows with an intensity unrivaled in modern literature, while his description of the German attack on Caporetto -- of lines of fired men marching in the rain, hungry, weary, and demoralized -- is one of the greatest moments in literary history. A story of love and pain, of loyalty and desertion, A Farewell to Arms, written when he was 30 years old, represents a new romanticism for Hemingway.
The foreshadowing by Marcus Sedgwick(2006)Having always been able to know when someone is going to die, Alexandra poses as a nurse to go to France during World War I to locate her brother and to try to save him from the fate she has foreseen for him.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo(2004)When Thomas Peaceful's older brother is forced to join the British Army, Thomas decides to sign up as well, although he is only fourteen years old, to prove himself to his country, his family, his childhood love, Molly, and himself.
Remembrance by Theresa Breslin(2002)The destinies of two Scottish families, one of shopkeepers and one of wealth and power, become entwined through their involvement in World War I, social causes, and love.
The trouble with Jeremy Chance by George Harrar(2003)In 1919, following a disagreement with his father and his first whipping by a belt, twelve-year-old Jeremy hops a train to Boston to meet his older brother, a soldier returning from World War I.
