The book thief, by Marcus Zusak

The narrator of this story is Death, and if it seems strange and awkward at the opening of the book, just try to stay with it for a while till it starts to work. It's a Holocaust story, and Death plays a large role and his perspective is interesting as well. This is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German girl trapped in the ever tightening noose of Nazi control. As her world becomes more dangerous she finds solace in books and the only way to get them is to steal them. Her books and her courage are haunting.

Water for elephants, by Sara Gruen

This won an Alex Award in 2006 as a book written for adults with special appeal to teens. I don't know that there needs to be to much of a line drawn between teen and adult books - every reader on either side of that line just needs to find their own loved books.

This tale set aboard a depression era circus train has lots going for it. It is first of all a romance, but the circus is full of memorable characters, not the least of which are Rosie the elephant, Bobo the chimp, horses, big cats. As the circus vet, Jacob Jankowski knows and loves them all. His love for Marlena, the beautiful (and married) equestrian star sets them all - humans and animals alike - on a dangerous path.

Newes from the dead, by Mary Hooper

Based on a true incident, this is the story of Anne Green, a servant in a wealthy household in 1650 England who was seduced by a young member of the family she served, miscarried his child, and when she threatened to name him and damage his reputation, was put on trial for the murder of her miscarried baby. She was found guilty and hanged, only to awaken on the disection table surrounded by medical men about to begin the disection.

The story is told in flashbacks as Anne lies on the table paralysed, and from the perspective of a young medical student present to observe his first disection. The rigid class system of 17th century England is so different from the world we live in today, and stories like this remind me how grateful we should be for not being born to that era.

Hood, by Stephen R. Lawhead

Stephen Lawhood has taken the Robin Hood legends and set them in medieval Wales, where Norman invaders are picking off tiny kingdoms one by one. Bran ap Brychan, heir to the throne of Elfael, has gone into hiding after the ambush and massacre of his father, the king, along with most of the able-bodied men of the kingdom. Pursued and hunted, Bran makes his way deep into the ancient forest where he finds others who have also found safety there. And from hiding he finds ways to secretly help the people of his kingdom who are suffering under the heavy yoke of the Norman invaders. This is a fresh re-telling of the old legends, and a compelling adventure story too.

The Heretic's daughter, by Kathleen Kent

Andover, Massachussets is a tiny village just a few miles from one who's name resonates down the years through American history - Salem. In The heretic's daughter, Kathleen Kent tells the story of her ancestors Thomas and Martha Carrier and how they were caught up in the witch-hunt hysteria of the 1690s, told through the eyes of their daughter Sarah. The depiction of life in early, plague swept New England is fascinating in itself. But the emotional drama builds slowly to it's inevitable hysterical storm and we see the Carriers trapped by family ties, by economic realities, and by the Puritan faith itself. This is a strong story well told. The author makes us care about these people and understand both their lives and the forces that eventually bring tragedy to them. One of the best historical fiction books I can remember reading.

City of thieves, by David Benioff

City of thieves is a World War II story that takes place in Russia during the Siege of Leningrad. The Germans have Leningrad cut off, and the people still surviving are starving and desperate. Two young men, one an army deserter and one arrested as a looter, are about to be executed when they are given a reprieve. Lev and Kolya can find a dozen eggs for an NKVD colonel to use for his daughter's wedding cake and live. Or fail, and die. So the two set off on an impossible 4 day quest that takes them through the frozen city, through the surrounding countryside, and eventually behind German lines in search of the eggs that will save their lives.
This is part war tale, part coming of age story, part adventure and love story. It is brutal and funny, touching and always entertaining.

A Northern light, by Jennifer Donnelly

This historical fiction story takes place in rural Maine at the turn of the last century. Life was slower, more agricultural, and a young woman had to make a choice between love or a career. Love in a time before birth control meant marriage, babies, and backbreaking labor to keep a house and farm going. So seventeen year old Mattie is resisting the growing pressure she feels to marry the young man who loves her. Her father needs her to help raise her younger brother and sisters and to stay at home. Her teacher at school is trying to show her the possibility of a college education in New York. Girls in 1906 decided their lives early, and Mattie has already stayed in school long past the time most girls quit school and married.

This is an introspective, quiet story. Well written, and one that will stay with me for a long time I think.

A great and terrible beauty, by Libba Bray

I recently re-read this book. It is a mysterious and compelling story that follows a Victorian girl who has been brought up in India until the murder of her mother on her 16th birthday forces her father to send her back to England. In England she is sent to a boarding school for upper class young women. Gemma soon discovers that a mysterious young man she saw in India has followed her, and he has explanations for the haunting visions that begin to plague her. But are his explanations truthful, or is there another, darker explanation? Gemma is thrown into a world where she doesn't know who to trust or who to turn to for help. The book is a combination of fantasy, horror, historical fiction, and a little romance.

Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith

I bought this book this summer to read myself, and have to add it to the high school library!

This is historical fiction set in Stalinist Russia in the 1950's. In Stalin's Russia there is no crime - crime is the product of Western capitalism. But children are disappearing, and Leo Demidov of the State Security Force secretly suspects a mass murderer is preying on innocent children. Leo risks his job, his family, and his life in his attempt to stop the murders.I couldn't put this down - it's interesting for the inside look at Stalinist Russia and the paranoid terror the state imposed on it's citizens. Leo's awakening conscience leads him to discover that the murderer isn't a stranger....