As a youth librarian, part of my job is to read as many books as possible to help with reader’s advisory—simply put, helping a child or teen find just the right book to read. While reading these books, I often come across titles that I believe adults would enjoy just as much as the intended audience. The following four books happen to be historical fiction, but there are more great books where these came from in other genres!
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
The yellow fever epidemic that swept through Philadelphia in 1793 was the stuff of nightmares. In three months, it killed ten percent of the city’s population, according to the appendix in the book. The main character of this fictional story, Matilda, spends her days helping her mother run a coffee shop until the disease begins to spread through the city and she is forced to leave town with her grandfather. For a wonderful teen nonfiction account of the yellow fever epidemic, you may want to check out An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy.
Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix
This book is based on a century-old, real life event: the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in New York City. In the story, two young women named Bella and Yetta are working class laborers in factory. As their supervisors continue to treat them unreasonably, the workers decide to strike, hoping to organize a union to fight for better workplace safety measures and fair pay. After a long, drawn-out battle, they don’t get anywhere and must go back to work because they need the money. But when the building catches on fire, some of the workers become trapped inside, exactly the kind of thing that could have been prevented if they’d been successful in their strike. The silver lining is that this fire changed history and helped to establish the standard rules we take for granted today.
The Wonder of Charlie Anne by Kimberly Newton Fusco
I couldn’t help but think that Charlie Anne has the same fun-loving, spunky attitude as Laura from the Little House on the Prairie books. However, her story takes place in 1930s Massachusetts during the Great Depression, which was a very different time and place. Charlie Anne’s mother recently passed away, leaving the family heartbroken and her strict cousin Mirabel in charge while her father goes away to find paying work. But when Charlie Anne’s neighbor Old Mr. Jolly brings home a new wife and a servant girl, Charlie Anne learns a lesson about first impressions and her world changes forever.
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
Around the time of the Great Depression, Chicago natives Joey and Mary Alice make reluctant annual summer trips to their grandmother’s farm in a rural Illinois town. Over the years, they learn to appreciate their grandmother’s eccentricities and good heart. Touching scenes and laugh out loud antics by their sassy grandmother really make the story come alive. When you’re finished, I’d be willing to bet you’ll also want to read the other books about Grandma Dowdel: A Year Down Yonder and A Season of Gifts.
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