BOOKLIST: Best Historical Fiction

One of the best things about reading is that we get the chance to travel to a distant time and place, a world we could never otherwise experience.  I love it when I can lose myself in a great story and learn something at the same time.  The books on this list cover a wide swatch of history—perhaps someday I’ll write a list specific to historical periods or geographical locations—but each book on this list has the power to transport the reader far outside of his or her own life.  Some, such as Year of Wonders, The Secret Life of Bees, and The Kite Runner, are “adult” books that have crossed over to younger audiences.  Some I read long ago—The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; some I read more recently.  Each told a captivating story and taught me something about the struggles and triumphs of people who lived in a very different time and place.  So here is the newest addition to the infinite booklist…

Best Historical Fiction

A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Nightjohn by Gary Paulsen

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (This is one of my favorite books of all time!)

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

To Kill a  Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Fallen Grace by Mary Hooper

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini