Anderson, Laurie Halse. Chains.
After being sold to a cruel couple in New York City, a slave named Isabel spies
for the rebels during the Revolutionary War.
Curtis, Christopher Paul. Elijah of Buxton.
In 1859, eleven-year-old Elijah Freeman, the first free-born child in Buxton, Canada, which is a haven for slaves fleeing the American south, uses his wits and skills to try to bring to justice the lying preacher who has stolen money that was to be used to buy a family's freedom.
Cushman, Karen. Loud Silence of
Francine Green.
In 1949, thirteen-year-old Francine goes to Catholic school in Los Angeles
where she becomes best friends with a girl who questions authority and
is frequently punished, causing Francine to question her own values.
Ferris, Jean. Underground.
In 1839, Charlotte Brown is sold north to Kentucky, where she becomes a maid
at Mammoth Cave Hotel, falls in love with one of the tour guides there, and
gets involved in the Underground Railroad.
Haddix, Margaret Peterson. Uprising.
In 1927, at the urging of twenty-one-year-old Harriet, Mrs. Livingston reluctantly
recalls her experiences at the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, including miserable
working conditions that led to a strike, then the fire that took the lives
of her two best friends.
Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate.
In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate is instructed to be a lady by her mother, learns about love from the older three of her six brothers, and studies the natural world with her grandfather, the latter of which leads to an important discovery.
Kidd, Ronald. Monkey Town: Summer of the Scopes Trial.
When her father hatches a plan to bring publicity to their small Tennessee
town by arresting a local high school teacher for teaching about evolution,
the resulting 1925 Scopes trial prompts fifteen-year-old Frances to rethink
many of her beliefs about religion and truth.
Larson, Kirby. Hattie Big Sky.
After inheriting her uncle's homesteading claim in Montana, sixteen-year-old orphan Hattie Brooks travels from Iowa in 1917 to make a home for herself and encounters some unexpected problems related to the war being fought in Europe.
Miller, Sarah. Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller.
At age twenty-one, partially-blind, lonely but spirited Annie Sullivan travels
from Massachusetts to Alabama to try and teach six-year-old Helen Keller, deaf
and blind since age two, self-discipline and communication skills.
Myers, Anna. Assassin.
In alternating passages, a young White House seamstress named Bella and the actor
John Wilkes Booth describe the events that lead to the latter's assassination
of Abraham Lincoln.
Patterson, Katherine. Bread and Roses, Too.
Jake and Rosa, two children, form an unlikely friendship as they try to survive
and understand the 1912 Bread and Roses strike of mill workers in Lawrence,
Massachusetts.
Peck, Richard. On the Wings of Heroes.
A boy in Illinois remembers the homefront years of World War II, especially his
two heroes--his brother in the Air Force and his father, who fought in the
previous war.
Preus, Margi. Heart of a Samurai.
In 1841, rescued by an American whaler after a terrible shipwreck leaves him and his four companions castaways on a remote island, fourteen-year-old Manjiro, who dreams of becoming a samurai, learns new laws and customs as he becomes the first Japanese person to set foot in the United States.
Rees, Celia. Sovay.
In 1794 England, the rich and beautiful Sovay, disguised as a highwayman, acquires
papers that could lead to her father's arrest for treason, and soon her newly-awakened
political consciousness leads her and a compatriot to France during the Revolution.
Vanderpool, Clare. Moon Over Manifest.
Twelve-year-old Abilene Tucker is the daughter of a drifter who, in the summer of 1936, sends her to stay with an old friend in Manifest, Kansas, where he grew up, and where she hopes to find out some things about his past.
Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy Summer.
In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.
Wilson, Diane Lee. Black Storm Comin’.
Twelve-year-old Colton, son of a black mother and a white father, takes a job
with the Pony Express in 1860 after his father abandons the family on their
California-bound wagon train, and risks his life to deliver an important letter
that may affect the growing conflict between the North and South.
Woodson, Jacqueline. Feathers.
When a new, white student nicknamed "The Jesus Boy" joins her sixth grade class in the winter of 1971, Frannie's growing friendship with him makes her start to see some things in a new light.
Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief.
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story
of Liesel--a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents
help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their
neighbors.