Check out the selection of historical fiction books below, or visit your Learning Commons today to find more titles. If you are having trouble finding a book or logging into eBooks, we are here to help.
If Beale Street Could Talk by
Told through the eyes of Tish, a nineteen-year-old girl, in love with Fonny, a young sculptor who is the father of her child, Baldwin’s story mixes the sweet and the sad. Tish and Fonny have pledged to get married, but Fonny is falsely accused of a terrible crime and imprisoned. Their families set out to clear his name, and as they face an uncertain future, the young lovers experience a kaleidoscope of emotions–affection, despair, and hope. In a love story that evokes the blues, where passion and sadness are inevitably intertwined, Baldwin has created two characters so alive and profoundly realized that they are unforgettably ingrained in the American psyche.
The Invincible Summer of Juniper Jones by
In 1955, biracial Ethan, who was raised in Washington state, is sent to live with his grandparents in Alabama for the summer. Ethan's eyes are opened to blatant racism for the first time, but also to kindness, when a young red-head named Juniper Jones befriends him and they spend the summer exploring the town and having adventures. Their friendship becomes a lifeline for Ethan when the town's ugliness turns deadly.
The Underground Railroad by
Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted. Their first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels.
Harlem Shuffle by
In 1959 Harlem, Ray Carney runs a furniture store and is expecting his second child with his wife, Elizabeth. But Ray lives a double life fencing small stolen goods from his cousin Freddie through the store. But then Freddie and his crew decide to rob the Hotel Theresa and use Ray as the fence. The heist goes awry and now Ray is involved with a host of corrupt cops and gangsters in Harlem's underworld. While Ray tries to keep his cousin, his family, and himself alive, he must decide which life he wants to live.
The Water Dancer by
A young African American slave named Hiram Walker is separated from his mother when she is sold away from the Virginia plantation where he has lived all his life. In the ensuing years, Hiram is saved from drowning by the same mysterious power his mother gifted him with at her departure. This sparks in urgency in Hiram to escape his plantation and search for her for answers and freedom.
