Collection: Historical Fiction

Gene Luen Yang writes, and sometimes draws, comic books and graphic novels. As the Library of Congress's fifth National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, he advocates for the importance of reading, especially reading diversely. His graphic novel American Born Chinese, a National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner, has been adapted into a streaming series on Disney+. His two-volume graphic novel Boxers & Saints won the LA Times Book Prize and was a National Book Award finalist. His nonfiction graphic novel Dragon Hoops received an Eisner Award and a Printz honor. His other comics works include Secret Coders (with Mike Holmes), The Shadow Hero (with Sonny Liew), as well as Superman Smashes the Klan and the Avatar: The Last Airbender series (both with Gurihiru). In 2016, he was named a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

A New York Times bestseller

China,1898. Bands of foreign missionaries and soldiers roam the countryside, bullying and robbing Chinese peasants.

Little Bao has had enough. Harnessing the powers of ancient Chinese gods, he recruits an army of Boxers - commoners trained in kung fu who fight to free China from "foreign devils."

Against all odds, this grass-roots rebellion is violently successful. But nothing is simple. Little Bao is fighting for the glory of China, but at what cost? So many are dying, including thousands of "secondary devils" - Chinese citizens who have converted to Christianity.

Boxers & Saints is an innovative new graphic novel in two volumes - the parallel stories of two young people caught up on opposite sides of a violent rift. American Born Chinese author Gene Luen Yang brings his clear-eyed storytelling and trademark magical realism to the complexities of the Boxer Rebellion and lays bare the foundations of extremism, rebellion, and faith.

Discover the other side of the Boxer Rebellion in Saints - the companion volume to Boxers.

STARRED REVIEW *"This powerful introduction to a great warrior and leader invites readers to ponder the meaning of 'hero.'" ―Kirkus Reviews
"Seamlessly integrates Lakota history and oral tradition. . . . A moving narrative that should be required reading for all students of American history." ―School Library Journal

Through stories of Lakota leader Crazy Horse, a boy learns about his heritage and himself in this American Indian Youth Literature Award-winning novel from acclaimed author Joseph Marshall III.

Jimmy McClean is a Lakota boy, though you wouldn't guess it by his name. His mother is Lakota, and his father is half white and half Lakota. Over summer break, Jimmy embarks on a journey with his grandfather Nyles High Eagle. While on the road, his grandfather tells him the story of Crazy Horse, one of the most important figures in Lakota, and American, history.

Expertly intertwining fiction and nonfiction, celebrated Brulé Lakota author Joseph Marshall III chronicles the many heroic deeds of Crazy Horse, especially his taking up arms against the US government. He fiercely fought against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people, including leading a war party to victory at the Battle of the Greasy Grass (the Battle of the Little Bighorn) and playing a major and dangerous role as decoy at the Battle of the Hundred-in-the-Hands (the Fetterman Fight).

With Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse was the last of the Lakota to surrender his people to the US Army. Through his grandfather's tales about the famous warrior, Jimmy learns about his Lakota heritage and, ultimately, himself.

Drawing references and inspiration from the oral stories of the Lakota tradition, Marshall gives readers an insider's perspective on the life of Tasunke Witko, better known as Crazy Horse.

A daring and timely feminist retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of the women of Troy who endured it--an extraordinary follow up to The Silence of the Girls from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Regeneration Trilogy and "one of contemporary literature's most thoughtful and compelling writers" (The Washington Post).

Troy has fallen and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war--including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean.

It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester.

Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles's slave, now belonging to his companion Alcimus, quietly takes in these developments. She forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife the defiant Hecuba and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.

Bestselling author and Coretta Scott King Award winner Andrea Davis Pinkney presents a moving fictional account of school desegregation in the Civil Rights Era.

Twelve-year-old Dawnie Rae Johnson's life turns upside down after the Supreme Court rules in favor of desegregation in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education. Her parents decide that Dawnie will attend Prettyman Coburn, a previously all-white school -- but she'll be the only one of her friends to enroll in this new school.Not everyone in Dawnie's town of Hadley, Virginia, supports integration, though, and much of the community is outraged by the decision. As she starts school, Dawnie encounters the harsh realities of racism. But the backlash against her arrival at Prettyman Coburn is more than she's prepared for, and she begins to wonder if the hardship is worth it. Will Dawnie be able to hold on to the true meaning of justice and remain faithful to her own sense of integrity?

In the bleak winter of 1940, Nazi troops parachuted into Peter Lundstrom's tiny Norwegian village and held it captive. Nobody thought the Nazis could be defeated--until Uncle Victor told Peter how the children could fool the enemy. It was a dangerous plan. They had to slip past Nazi guards with nine million dollars in gold hidden on their sleds. It meant risking their country's treasure--and their lives. This classic story of how a group of children outwitted the Nazis and sent the treasure to America has captivated generations of readers.

Two generations from one family face heartbreak and injustice in this poignant and emotional novel inspired by true events.

Married to her dream man, and with a baby on the way, Dr Mia Sato's life is in perfect order.

When her beloved grandmother has a fall, the photograph clutched in her hand prompts Mia to ask questions her grandmother isn't willing to answer. Then she cries out a confession that rocks Mia to her core and leads her to make a shocking discovery of a past filled with lies, broken families and forced child migration.

Mary Roberts is a poor gutter child living in a council house in 1950's London. When she and her sister are given away to an orphanage by their mother, they could hardly imagine the turn their lives were about to take.

Harry Evans is an orphan who finds himself with Mary and her sister on a ship bound for Australia. To a farm for children, where abuse and neglect are rife. A journey that will change their lives forever, and from which they'll never return.

Based on one of Britain most secret and shameful real-life scandals in which over 100,000 British children were forcibly deported to Canada, South Africa, and Australia over several decades. Lilly Mirren's heartbreaking, captivating and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us that no matter where the journey leads us, our heart will always find its way home to those we love.

For readers of Before We Were Yours and Where the Crawdad Sings.

From the USA Today Bestselling author of The Waratah Inn series.

"American Spy updates the espionage thriller with blazing originality."--Entertainment Weekly
"There has never been anything like it."--Marlon James, GQ
"So much fun . . . Like the best of John le Carré, it's extremely tough to put down."--NPR

NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY CHICAGO TRIBUNE AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review - Time - NPR - Entertainment Weekly - Esquire - BuzzFeed - Vulture - Real Simple - Good Housekeeping - The New York Public Library

What if your sense of duty required you to betray the man you love?

It's 1986, the heart of the Cold War, and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer with the FBI. She's brilliant, but she's also a young black woman working in an old boys' club. Her career has stalled out, she's overlooked for every high-profile squad, and her days are filled with monotonous paperwork. So when she's given the opportunity to join a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention, she says yes. Yes, even though she secretly admires the work Sankara is doing for his country. Yes, even though she is still grieving the mysterious death of her sister, whose example led Marie to this career path in the first place. Yes, even though a furious part of her suspects she's being offered the job because of her appearance and not her talent.

In the year that follows, Marie will observe Sankara, seduce him, and ultimately have a hand in the coup that will bring him down. But doing so will change everything she believes about what it means to be a spy, a lover, a sister, and a good American.

Inspired by true events--Thomas Sankara is known as "Africa's Che Guevara"--American Spy knits together a gripping spy thriller, a heartbreaking family drama, and a passionate romance. This is a face of the Cold War you've never seen before, and it introduces a powerful new literary voice.

NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD - Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

"Spy fiction plus allegory, and a splash of pan-Africanism. What could go wrong? As it happens, very little. Clever, bracing, darkly funny, and really, really good."--Ta-Nehisi Coates

"Inspired by real events, this espionage thriller ticks all the right boxes, delivering a sexually charged interrogation of both politics and race."--Esquire

"Echoing the stoic cynicism of Hurston and Ellison, and the verve of Conan Doyle, American Spy lays our complicities--political, racial, and sexual--bare. Packed with unforgettable characters, it's a stunning book, timely as it is timeless."--Paul Beatty, Man Booker Prizewinning author of The Sellout

A fictional portrayal of a real-life Revolutionary spy and her daring deeds, from the New York Times-bestselling author of The Only Woman in the Room.

Agent 355 is a result of author Marie Benedict's quest to bring history's most fascinating and courageous women to life for contemporary readers. Known to history only by her alias, this mysterious female spy, able to move freely and unobtrusively in loyalist circles, became a member of George Washington's New York-based Culper Ring. This thrilling novella depicts who Marie Benedict thinks Agent 355 could have been, though her true identity remains unknown.

During the sweltering summer of 1779, eighteen-year-old Elizabeth Morris attends the social events of the British-occupied city, but the forced merriment holds no charm for her. She finds herself in the company of enemy soldiers, who think nothing of discussing matters of government and war in front of mere women. This invisibility becomes Elizabeth's greatest asset as she offers her services to Robert Townsend, a Continental sympathizer. Her bravery will bring down one of the most notorious traitors in American history and ultimately seal her fate as a woman willing to sacrifice everything for love and country.

The basis for the new Amazon Prime Original Series!

From the author of the imaginative and "awe-inspiring" (New York Journal of Books) narrative art book The Electric State comes the haunting sequel to his remarkable Tales from the Loop.

Welcome back to the Loop.

In 1954, the Swedish government ordered the construction of the world's largest particle accelerator in the pastoral countryside of Mälaröarna. The local population called this marvel of technology The Loop and celebrated its completion. But Mälaröarna and the world would never be the same.

Infused with strange machines and unfathomable creatures, Things from the Flood is transcendent look at technology that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

In war-torn medieval Japan, a young samurai lord struggles to retake his throne, but not by fighting. Hojo Tokiyuki will reclaim his birthright by running away!

In medieval Japan, eight-year-old Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. But the Hojo clan is in decline, and Tokiyuki's peaceful days of playing hide-and-seek with his teachers come to an abrupt end when his clan is betrayed from within. The lone survivor of his family, Tokiyuki is the rightful heir to the throne, but to take it back, he'll have to do what he does best--run away!

The time has come for Tokiyuki and Yorishige's allies in Shinano to make their move against their enemies, the devious governor Ogasawara and the evil kokushi, Kiyohara. But in order to get the campaign going, Tokiyuki must earn the respect of Yorishige's warriors, and to do that, he'll need to engage his old nemesis, the wily Shokan. Shokan is no fool, however, and Tokiyuki will have to come up with an unexpected and dangerous tactic to achieve success.

Winner of the Man Booker Prize

"Nothing since Cormac McCarthy's The Road has shaken me like this." --The Washington Post

In The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan displays the gifts that have made him one of the most acclaimed writers of contemporary fiction. Moving deftly from a Japanese POW camp to present-day Australia, from the experiences of Dorrigo Evans and his fellow prisoners to that of the Japanese guards, this savagely beautiful novel tells a story of the many forms of love and death, of war and truth, as one man comes of age, prospers, only to discover all that he has lost.

A New York Times bestseller.

"Exquisite. A must-read." --Kristin Hannah

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth's mysterious and iconic painting Christina's World.

"Later he told me that he'd been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn't like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won't stay hidden."

To Christina Olson, the entire world is her family farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. The only daughter in a family of sons, Christina is tied to her home by health and circumstance, and seems destined for a small life. Instead, she becomes Andrew Wyeth's first great inspiration, and the subject of one of the best-known paintings of the twentieth century, Christina's World.

As she did in her beloved bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction to vividly reimagine a real moment in history. A Piece of the World is a powerful story of the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, her complicated relationship to her family and inheritance, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.

This paperback edition includes a color reproduction of Andrew Wyeth's painting Christina's World, along with a Q&A with the author, and a bonus short story, "Stranded in Ice."

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Deadly Education comes the fourth volume of the Temeraire series, as the Napoleonic Wars bring Will Laurence and Temeraire to Africa in search of aid.

"Temeraire is a dragon for the ages."--Terry Brooks

Tragedy has struck His Majesty's Aerial Corps, whose magnificent fleet of fighting dragons and their human captains valiantly defends England's shores against the encroaching armies of Napoleon Bonaparte. An epidemic of unknown origin and no known cure is decimating the noble dragons' ranks--forcing the hopelessly stricken into quarantine. Now only Temeraire and a pack of newly recruited dragons remain uninfected--and stand as the only means of an airborne defense against France's ever bolder sorties.

Bonaparte's dragons are already harrowing Britain's ships at sea. Only one recourse remains: Temeraire and his captain, Will Laurence, must take wing to Africa, whose shores may hold the cure for the mysterious and deadly contagion. On this mission there is no time to waste, and no telling what

Don't miss any of Naomi Novik's magical Temeraire series
HIS MAJESTY'S DRAGON - THRONE OF JADE - BLACK POWDER WAR - EMPIRE OF IVORY - VICTORY OF EAGLES - TONGUES OF SERPENTS - CRUCIBLE OF GOLD - BLOOD OF TYRANTS - LEAGUE OF DRAGONS

Based on the experience of real-life Auschwitz prisoner Dita Kraus, the award-winning The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe is the incredible story of a girl who risked her life to keep the magic of books alive during the Holocaust. This edition includes a Q&A with Dita Kraus and discussion questions.

As a young girl, Dita is imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz. Taken from her home in Prague in 1939, Dita does her best to adjust to the constant terror of her new reality. But even amidst horror, human strength and ingenuity persevere. When Jewish leader Fredy Hirsch entrusts Dita with eight precious volumes the prisoners have managed to sneak into the camp, She embraces the responsibility--and so becomes the librarian of Auschwitz.

From one of the darkest chapters in history comes this extraordinary story of courage and hope.

He was named "Sham" for the sun, this golden-red stallion born in the Sultan of Morocco's stone stables. Upon his heel was a small white spot, the symbol of speed. But on his chest was the symbol of misfortune. Although he was swift as the desert winds, Sham's pedigree would be scorned all his life by cruel masters and owners.

This is the classic story of Sham and his friend, the stable boy Agba. their adventures take them from the sands of the Sahara. to the royal courts of France, and finally to the green pastures and stately homes of England. For Sham was the renowned Godolphin Arabian, whose blood flows through the veins of almost very superior thoroughbred. Sham's speed -- like his story -- has become legendary.