History

The history genre covers fiction and non-fiction books, chronicling the stories of characters living in past time periods.

Historical fiction can revolve around famous events that actually occurred, such as the Civil War, the French Revolution, and other famous events, while intertwining fictional characters into the mix. Or it can involve real people with fictitious events.

Here are some of the best historical books for teenagers to read.

“Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption”

“Unbroken,” by Laura Hillenbrand, is the true story of Louis Zamperini. The book chronicles his experiences during the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin and his story of survival during the Second World War.

Freshman Brooklynn Smith loves reading about the events depicted in the story.

“The author does a good job describing every event,” Smith said. “The book is both sad and full of action.  It’s easy to get attached to the characters.”

“Unbroken” was published in 2010 but has recently gained recognition with the release of the 2014 movie “Unbroken” based on the book.

Zamperini, born in 1917, began to run in high school track meets after being trained to run by his older brother Peter.

Despite being made fun of for his Italian ethnicity, Zamperini found his way to the 1936 Summer Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany, where he would take eighth place in the 5,000-meter distance event.

Zamperini enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps and flew bombers over the Pacific during World War II. After being shot down and surviving 47 days adrift at sea, Zamperini was captured and sent to a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

While a POW, Zamperini endured the torture of Mutsuhiro Watanabe, known to Zamperini and his fellow prisoners as “The Bird.” Watanabe tried endlessly to crush Zamperini’s will to live.

However, Watanabe failed, and Zamperini survived WWII, dying in 2014 at the age of 97.

“Unbroken” teaches readers that even in times of desperation, people find the will to survive and beat impossible odds.

“The Book Thief”

“The Book Thief” was published in 2005 by Markus Zusak.

Senior Claire Zuwala loves the way Zusak writes in “The Book Thief.”

“‘The Book Thief’ is told from the perspective of death and set in Germany during the time of Hitler’s reign,” Zuwala said. “It is intense, with beautiful phrasing and word choice.”

The story centers around Liesel Meminger, a girl who lives with her foster parents in Nazi Germany during World War II. Liesel bears witness to Nazi atrocities, while Nazi Germany collapses into political chaos.

During the war, Liesel’s foster family gives shelter to a Jewish man named Max, who teaches Liesel how to read, allowing her to dive into the world of literature. Liesel begins to steal books the Nazi Party plans on destroying in their infamous book burnings.

“The Book Thief” is full of themes and morals, but the most prominent is that of courage. Liesel slowly comes to realize that the Nazis must be stopped and undermines the Nazis through little acts of defiance.

Other historical books

• “The Last of the Doughboys” by Richard Rubin
• “Sniper on the Eastern Front” by Josef Allerberger
• “All Quiet on the Western Front” by Erich Maria Remarque
• “The Last Fighting Tommy” by Harry Patch and Richard van Emden
• “Wreck of the Carl D.” by Michael Schumacher
• “A Night to Remember” by Walter Lord
• “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell