Historical Fiction

Annexed
Sharon Dogar
Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex – but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her?In this powerful and gripping novel, Sharon Dogar explores what this might have been like from Peter’s point of view. What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her? Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together. To know you’re being written about in Anne’s diary, day after day? What’s it like to start questioning your religion, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution? Or to just sit and wait and watch while others die, and wish you were fighting.As Peter and Anne become closer and closer in their confined quarters, how can they make sense of what they see happening around them?Anne’s diary ends on August 4, 1944, but Peter’s story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps. He details with accuracy, clarity and compassion the reality of day to day survival in Auschwitz – and ultimately the horrific fates of the Annex’s occupants.
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The Twin's Daughter
Lauren Baratz-Logsted
Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day...a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?Filled with shocking twists and turns, THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end.
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Forge
Laurie Halse Anderson
In this compelling sequel to Chains, a National Book Award Finalist and winner of the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, acclaimed author Laurie Halse Anderson shifts perspective from Isabel to Curzon and brings to the page the tale of what it takes for runaway slaves to forge their own paths in a world of obstacles—and in the midst of the American Revolution. The Patriot Army was shaped and strengthened by the desperate circumstances of the Valley Forge winter. This is where Curzon the boy becomes Curzon the young man. In addition to the hardships of soldiering, he lives with the fear of discovery, for he is an escaped slave passing for free. And then there is Isabel, who is also at Valley Forge—against her will. She and Curzon have to sort out the tangled threads of their friendship while figuring out what stands between the two of them and true freedom.
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Noah's Castle
John Rowe Townsend
WHAT IS MONEY BECAME WORTHLESS? The classic novel about hyperinflation is back WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT NOAH'S CASTLE Brad Thor, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Foreign Influence The ultimate 'what if' for right now. Terrifyingly realistic and powerfully thought provoking. John Rowe Townsend's apocalyptic masterpiece is back and not a moment too soon. An absolute must read! Gregory Maguire, New York Times bestselling author of WICKED By turns gripping and ominous, the masterful Noah's Castle lures and locks the reader into a future world due to start any moment. I find it one of the most harrowing and humane tales of survival yet, stronger and more significant with each rereading. Pull up the gangplank and shutter the windows: in a time of want, you'll want Noah's Castle to steer you safe. BOOK DESCRIPTION Nobody foresaw our country's collapse except for one man. But why did that man have to be my father? Mobs are looting and rioting in the streets. My friends and neighbors are starving. The store shelves are empty. Money is worthless. There are no jobs. There is no food. There is no hope. And I'm tired of keeping secrets. FROM THE PUBLISHER TERRIFYING BECAUSE IT COULD HAPPEN TOMORROW... The coming winter was going to be a bad one and not because of the weather. Sixteen-year-old Barry Mortimer's life turns upside down when his father suddenly moves the family from their comfortable modern home in the city to a decaying mansion on the outskirts of town. Strange and mysterious events follow. Why isn't anyone allowed to visit their new home? What is Father doing in the basement and why is he keeping it a secret? As rumors of skyrocketing prices and food shortages become a hyperinflationary economic meltdown, Barry's world crumbles. Can his family hold together as a nation collapses around them? WHAT IF MONEY BECAME WORTHLESS? A STORY OF HYPERINFLATION. Based on the devastating hyperinflation in 1920s Germany, Noah's Castle depicts how a similar economic catastrophe might look in contemporary society. Written by award-winning author John Rowe Townsend, Noah's Castle tells the story of a family trying to survive the total collapse of the British economy. Money becomes worthless, unemployment skyrockets, and food and other goods become scarce. As conditions worsen and the population begins to starve, how do people react? When does law-and-order break down and civilized behavior end? Noah's Castle examines these questions but doesn't provide easy answers, resulting in a thrilling and thought-provoking story of survival.
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The Lodger
Marie Belloc-Lowndes
A first-class, highly acclaimed thriller that was first published in 1914. It is based on the grisly Jack the Ripper murders that occurred in Whitechapel, London twenty years before.
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The Education of Bet
Lauren Baratz-Logsted
When Will and Bet were four, tragic circumstances brought them to the same house, to be raised by a wealthy gentleman as brother and sister. Now sixteen, they’ve both enjoyed a privileged upbringing thus far. But not all is well in their household. Because she’s a girl, Bet’s world is contained within the walls of their grand home, her education limited to the rudiments of reading, writing, arithmetic, and sewing. Will’s world is much larger. He is allowed—forced, in his case—to go to school. Neither is happy. So Bet comes up with a plan and persuades Will to give it a try: They’ll switch places. She’ll go to school as Will. Will can live as he chooses. But once Bet gets to school, she soon realizes living as a boy is going to be much more difficult than she imagined.
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Orphan!
John Weber
Homer abruptly finds out at age 13 that he's adopted when his gruff father, an Iowa farmer, announces it after dinner one night. Homer is crushed and decides he must find his real family who he learns were in New York City. On his way, he stops to tell his best friend, Jamie, who feels compelled to go along and keep Homer out of trouble. They hop a train and head east, only to run into danger the very next day. Narrowly escaping a brutal demise, they're befriended by Smilin' Jack, a hobo who takes them under his wing. After a series of misadventures and serious scrapes, Jamie falls ill and Homer takes him to the house of their friend Sam, a wealthy girl who had lived in their town but then was sent back East. Sam helps Jamie get the best medical care possible and lends support as Homer traces his origins to a church-run orphanage. As he adjusts to what he learns, his family in Iowa helps raise money for Jamie's experimental care, helping Homer at last know the true meaning of family.
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My Life With The Lincolns
Gayle Brandeis
My dad used to be Abraham Lincoln. When I was six and learning to read, I saw his initials were A. B. E., Albert Baruch Edelman. ABE. That's when I knew. Mina Edelman believes that she and her family are the Lincolns reincarnated. Her main task for the next three months: to protect her father from assassination, her mother from insanity, and herself―Willie Lincoln incarnate―from death at age twelve.Apart from that, the summer of 1966 should be like any other. But Mina's dad begins taking Mina along to hear speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr in Chicago. And soon he brings the freedom movement to their own small town, with consequences for everyone, in Gayle Brandeis's My Life with the Lincolns.
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Montooth and the Canfield Witch
Lauren Ireland, Meghan S. Christian, Robert Jay
The first in the Carty Andersson series, Montooth and the Canfield Witch follows the spirited main character leading her three close male buddies in The Crew on heart thumping mayhem through the Florida swamps of 1950. Deep in Morose Swamp, on the outskirts of the Everglades, The Crew encounters the last descendant of a family chased from Salem, Mass. by 17th Century witch hunters. The hag is dogged by cutthroat treasure hunters led by The Cuban, an ex-Marine imbued with deadly focus and intelligence. The four teenaged members of The Crew are torn by parental warnings to avoid the Canfield Witch's house and the chivalrous impulses they feel despite their fears. Tucked inside the adventure is a fable about a unique alligator whose presence in real life plays a key role in the climax. Young adult readers will enjoy learning about the apparent hardships of students living in an era without television, cell phones and iPods. Older readers will recall with fondness many long gone or seldom seen products that appear throughout the book, like Bab-O, DeSoto and Moon Pies. Carty is a well-grounded and capable girl whom today's teens can admire. Her male friends, who comprise a trio of diverse backgrounds, share a bond of bravery, loyalty, and ability with her. Though good is generally rewarded in Montooth and the Canfield Witch, and evil is usually punished, getting there is an arduous and frightening trip. Though originally written for adults, Montooth has become a Crossover sensation as teens embraced it. Montooth has been garnering a number of awards including the number one position on the recommended reading list in the Anniversary Issue of My Magazine for Girls, Atlanta; Florida Writers Association's Royal Palm Award for Historical Fiction; and three awards from Young Voices Foundation, Virginia: Adult Fiction, Juvenile /Adult Fiction, and Mystery/Suspense Young Adult Fiction.
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Prisoners In The Palace
Michaela MacColl
London, 1838. Sixteen-year-old Liza's dreams of her society debut are dashed when her parents are killed in an accident. Penniless, she accepts the position of lady's maid to young Princess Victoria and steps unwittingly into the gossipy intrigue of the servant's world below-stairs as well as the trickery above. Is it possible that her changing circumstances may offer Liza the chance to determine her own fate, find true love, and secure the throne for her future queen? Meticulously based on newly discovered information, this riveting novel is as rich in historical detail as Catherine, Called Birdy, and as sizzling with intrigue as The Luxe.