From ancient times to the decade of grunge, take a trip to the past with this timeline of 140 YA historical fiction novels, curated by the Epic Reads community! Scroll down for the gorgeous graphic and then keep scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, for the list of titles featured!
General Observations:
• There are 140 young adult books on this list!
• The majority of these books were published after 2005.
• There are infinitely more historical YA books out there, this is just a small sample.
• The three most popular decades were 1890s, 1940s, 1980s.
• All of the books set in the 500s are centered around the legend of King Arthur.
• If you printed the full size, hi-res image (available here) the entire thing is 8 feet long.
Teachers / Booksellers / Librarians!
Click here to download this graphic as a PDF at 300dpi! The PDF also includes the logo by itself in case you want to make your own historical YA displays!
Click here or on the image to view this image at a larger size! (It’s much prettier that way, we promise.)
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BC
Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer
Cleopatra’s Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter
Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Sphinx’s Princess by Esther M. Friesner
0-100 AD
Curses and Smoke by Vicky Alvear Shecter
200s
Spirit’s Princess by Esther M. Friesner
400s
Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
500s
The Book of Mordred by Vivane Vande Velde
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve
The Legend of Lady Ilena by Patricia Malone
600s
Bloodline by Katy Moran
900s
Hush: An Irish Princess’ Tale by Donna Jo Napoli
The Queen’s Daughter by Susan Coventry
Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen
1200s
Crusade by Linda Press Wulf
Daughter of Xanadu by Dori Jones Yang
The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
The Wicked and the Just by J. Anderson Coats
Wildwing by Emily Whitman
1300s
A Golden Web by Barbara Quick
The Healer’s Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson
The Merchant’s Daughter by Melanie Dickerson
Waterfall by Lisa Tawn Bergren
1400s
His Fair Assassin trilogy (Grave Mercy, Dark Triumph, Mortal Heart) by Robin LaFevers
Changeling by Philippa Gregory
1500s
Brazen by Katherine Longshore
Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa M. Klein
Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould
Gilt by Katherine Longshore
The Other Countess by Eve Edwards
Venom by Fiona Paul
1600s
Father of Lies by Ann Turner
The Minister’s Daughter by Julie Hearn
Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper
The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose by Mary Hooper
Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill
Witch Child by Celia Rees
1700s
The Bad Queen by Carolyn Meyer
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
Copper Sun by Sharon Draper
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
1810s
A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey
Hideous Love by Stephanie Hemphill
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury
1830s
Always Emily by Michaela MacColl
Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle
1840s
The Falconer by Elizabeth May
A Voice of Her Own by Barbara Dana
Willow by Tonya Cherie Hegamin
1850s
Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger
In the Shadow of the Lamp by Susanne Dunlap
A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson
1860s
Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliott
The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni
Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper
The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson
Riot by Walter Dean Myers
1870s
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
The Shadows by Megan Chance
Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard
1880s
Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges
Three Rivers Rising by Jame Richards
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell
1890s
Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood
The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White
Jackaby by William Ritter
The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Shepherd
Ripper by Stefan Petrucha
Winterspell by Claire LeGrand
1900s
Audacity by Melanie Crowder
The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
1910s
Cinders and Sapphires by Leila Rasheed
A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller
Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
1920s
Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Heiresses by Allison Rushby
The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson
Vixen by Jillian Larkin
1930s
The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
Invisible Things by Jenny Davidson
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
Starstruck by Rachel Shukert
1940s
Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
So Close to You by Rachel Carter
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
1950s
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Strings Attached by Judy Blundell
1960s
Looking for Jack Kerouac by Barbara Shoup
Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Sources of Light by Margaret McMullan
1970s
Accidents of Nature by Harriet McBryde Johnson
Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Carcia
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick
Tales of the Madman Underground by John Barnes
What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn
1980s
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Going Over by Beth Kephart
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Paper Covers Rock by Jenny Hubbard
This Strange and Familiar Place by Rachel Carter
The Summer I Learned to Fly by Dana Reinhardt
White Lines by Jennifer Banash
1990s
Drain You by M. Beth Bloom
The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danfroth
Tape by Steven Camden
Which decade or time period is your favorite? How many books on this list have you read? What other books would you add? Tell us in the comments below!