It's officially March, which means Women's History Month is here! Check out some teen titles highlighting women in historical fiction.
In The Davenports by Krystal Marquis, set in 1910 Chicago, the titular Davenports are one of a few wealthy Black families, and teen sisters Olivia and Helen want to chart their own paths. Olivia wants to marry for love and not family, and Helen wants to work as a mechanic, until she falls in love with her sister's suitor. Meanwhile, their maid, Amy-Rose, wants to marry John, Olivia and Helen's brother, but she must compete with Olivia's best friend, Ruby.
I'll Tell You No Lies by Amanda McCrina tells the story of Shelby, the daughter of an Air Force intelligence officer, who becomes entangled with an escaped Soviet pilot who claims to be a defector during the Cold War. After Maksym has been questioned about his loyalties, he disappears, only to show up at her house, begging her to hide him and insisting the FBI has made a mistake.
In Malinda Lo's Last Night at the Telegraph Club, America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love. Lily's Chinese American family is under enough pressure to avoid any scandal or association with Communism, but when she meets glamourous Kath, who introduces her to the local lesbian scene, she cannot stop her feelings from growing.
One for All by Lillie Lainoff goes farther back into history. Tania de Batz has always wanted to follow in her father's footsteps as a musketeer for the king of France, but when he is murdered, she is sent to an exclusive finishing school for young women who will marry into high society. Luckily for her, she receives secret training to become a new kind of musketeer and to avenge her father's death.
Justina Ireland is known for her inventive historical fiction for teens, and Ophie's Ghosts is no exception. When her father is killed by a white lynch mob and his ghost visits Ophie to warn her and her mother, Ophie realizes she can see ghosts all around her. As she and her mother settle into a new life serving a rich, elderly white woman, Ophie's ability to see ghosts allows her to communicate with the unsettled spirits haunting the house and the old woman.
Rima's Rebellion by Margarita Engle takes place in 1920s Cuba, where Rima is legally excluded from her father's family because she was born out of wedlock, while her sister enjoys a life of wealth and privilege. As dictatorships and natural disasters threaten her and her family's lives, she turns to las mambisas, women veterans who are fighting for women's suffrage.
In 1937 Europe, Elizabeth Wein's Stateless follows a group of young ace pilots who have gathered for friendly competitions in the air. But when Stella witnesses one of the planes force another to crash, she must find the murderer in their midst, all while hiding her own status as an undocumented refugee from Russia.
Melissa Grey's Valiant Ladies Kiki and Ana are wealthy young ladies by day, but vigilantes by night in their silver mining town in 17th century Peru. When Kiki's brother is found murdered, the two young women must solve a mystery more intense than their nightly fights.
~ posted by Wally B.
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