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Ancient Historical YA

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After my Cybils reading ended, I figured I’d end up diving into a bunch of adult romances as a palate cleanser. I felt like I needed something different, and adult romances are pretty different from YA SFF. Instead, I found myself reaching for a bunch of YA historicals – books about girls trying to make lives for themselves when their choices were pretty limited.

I grabbed one in particular (Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little) because it’s about a time and place I haven’t read much of: ancient Mesopotamia. YA historicals set in BCE times tend to focus on Egypt, Rome, or Greece, and while I like those well enough, I’m always eager for books about places I know less about. Teens who love historical fiction are hungry for stories about new and faraway places. There are only so many books you can read about a certain place before it doesn’t seem all that interesting anymore.

For this post, I really wanted to create a nice, medium-sized booklist of recent ancient YA historicals set in places like the Middle East, Asia, and Africa (excluding Egypt). I thought it would be useful for our readers as well as for me, since I’m always seeking out new books like this to read. I quickly realized this was a more difficult task than I initially thought. There just aren’t that many.

For the purposes of the list, I defined ancient history as Wikipedia does: from the beginning of recorded history to the start of the Middle Ages. In years, this is roughly 3000 BCE to 500 CE. It’s a huge span of time and it’s such a disappointment that so much of what’s being published is focused so exclusively on three specific places. There’s more to be found once we enter the Middle Ages, from more parts of the world, but if you’re looking to branch out in true ancient history, you’re almost entirely out of luck. (Many of the stories set in the ancient Middle East are Biblical as well, and those are certainly valid stories, but they shouldn’t be the only ones.)

I listed the few I’ve found below. These are all published within the last decade, take place between the years mentioned above, and are set primarily in places other than Egypt, Greece, or Rome. If you know of any others, please let me know!

The Garden by Elsie V. Aidinoff
Retells the tale of the Garden of Eden from Eve’s point of view, as
Serpent teaches her everything from her own name to why she should eat
the forbidden fruit, and then leaves her with Adam and the knowledge
that her choice has made mankind free.

Temple Boys by Jamie Buxton
Jerusalem, year zero.
Flea belongs to a gang of teenage vagrants living in the shadow of the
Temple, living on their wits and what they can beg or steal. When a man
called the Magician arrives, bringing talk of miracles and revolution,
Flea and his comrades latch onto the newcomer in the hope that he’ll
offer them a secure home. As events accumulate and powerful forces
gather around the Magician, Flea notices rumblings of discontent among
his followers. Is the Magician the savior he claims to be, or a fraud? | Setting: Jerusalem, year zero

Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
Fourteen-year-old Mitra, of royal Persian lineage, and her five-year-old
brother Babak, whose dreams foretell the future, flee for their lives
in the company of the magus Melchoir and two other Zoroastrian priests,
traveling through Persia as they follow star signs leading to a
newly-born king in Bethlehem. | Setting: Persia, year zero

Spirit’s Princess by Esther M. Friesner 
In ancient Japan, Himiko, the privileged daughter of her clan’s leader,
fights the constraints and expectations imposed on young women and finds
her own path, which includes secret shaman lessons. | Setting: Japan, 3rd century CE

Dark Sons by Nikki Grimes
Alternating poems compare and contrast the conflicted feelings of
Ishmael, son of the Biblical patriarch Abraham, and Sam, a teenager in
New York City, as they try to come to terms with being abandoned by
their fathers and with the love they feel for their younger
stepbrothers. | Setting: Present day and Biblical era

The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman

Growing up the daughter of an Amazon queen who shuns her, Rain rebels
against the ways of her tribe through her sister-like relationship with
Io and her feelings for a boy from a tribe of wanderers. | Setting: It’s nebulous, but probably near the Black Sea

Forbidden by Kimberley Griffiths Little
Devastated by her betrothal to a violent boy she does not love, Jayden
is forced to accept her fate as her ancient Mesopotamian tribe moves to
the Summer Lands, where she falls for a mysterious youth from the
Southern Lands. | Setting: Mesopotamia, 1759 BCE

Cybils Wrap-Up: Stats and the Ones That Got Away

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I read 91 books this year as a panelist for Round 1 YA speculative fiction. Out of those 91, I finished 68 and left 23 unfinished. Of those 68 I finished, 21 were books I had read prior to the start of Cybils season. This means I read 47 books in their entirety (and about 25-50 pages of an additional 23 books) in about three months, which works out to a whole book every two days. That’s quite a lot of reading!

I love our shortlist for YA speculative fiction this year, and I think it’s nearly as perfect as it can get. That said, there were some great reads that I loved but didn’t make the cut. I wish we could have put 15 books on the shortlist! Alas, I will comfort myself by blogging about them and telling you why they are fantastic. I hope you’ll give them a shot and recommend them to the teens in your life.

The Islands at the End of the World by Austin Aslan
I loved this story of survival in a worldwide power blackout featuring a teenage girl with epilepsy set on the islands of Hawaii. Leilani is half Native Hawaiian, half white, about to begin a medical study for an epilepsy treatment when the blackout hits. She and her father must try to make it back to the Big Island from Oahu and reunite with the rest of their family amidst the chaos and danger. The first portion of the novel is pure survival, with a few hints at the source of the global catastrophe. Later on, it becomes clear what’s causing the blackout, and it’s completely unique and very much science fiction. The writing during this portion is particularly lovely and I read it several times over because I loved it so much. There’s also a great portrayal of a positive father/daughter relationship that I don’t see much of in YA fiction.

Not only is this a fast-paced survival story with a really fresh SF twist, it also features a protagonist of color with deep ties to the environment of Hawaii and her Native Hawaiian culture. Being half-white, half-Native, Leilani often feels caught between two worlds, never belonging completely in either. This crisis allows her to explore that tension and eventually determine that she does have a home and a purpose in Hawaii as she’s always wanted. It’s obvious Aslan has a great love for Hawaii as a place and for its people and their culture (he is not Native but lived there for some time). There’s a solid end to this with room for a sequel, which I very much look forward to reading.

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Intense romance, an often-cruel heroine, a unique re-telling of a beloved fairy tale, and lovely writing all combine to make this debut a complete winner. It’s lush and creative and I loved every minute of it. I wrote about it more in February of last year.

Dissonance by Erica O’Rourke
This is a world-building lover’s dream with lots of details about parallel/alternate worlds and how Walkers like protagonist Del travel between them. It’s also partly a thriller featuring a conspiracy and plenty of flawed characters with secret motivations. It’s not a particularly fast read, but it’s creative and deep. More here.

The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Well, you all know this is a book of my heart. It’s terrific high fantasy with a spirited heroine who is determined to claim a life of her own. You can read more about my love for it here.

Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy
This is not normally a book I’d pick up my own, but I’m glad I did for the Cybils. It tells of a near future that seems so plausible it’s scary (a showdown between the federal government and a state government over a federal ID law that blooms into full-scale civil war). National guardsman Travis is caught in the middle after his gun discharges at a protest. Travis has a great voice; I feel like he exists in so many of today’s small-town, semi-rural high schools, and voices like his aren’t heard enough in YA fiction. The audio production is one of the best I’ve ever listened to. More here.

On The Radar: 12 YA Books for January

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For the new year, I’m kicking off a new monthly feature at STACKED. One of the most popular posts I do over at Book Riot is the round-up of upcoming YA fiction titles, and one of the most popular questions I seem to get on Twitter and in my inboxes is “what should I be looking out for in YA?” For a lot of readers, especially those who work with teens either in classrooms or in libraries, knowing what’s coming out ahead of time is valuable to get those books into readers’ hands before they even ask.

Each month, I’ll call out between 8 and 12 books coming out that should be on your radar. These include books by high-demand, well-known authors, as well as some up-and-coming and debut authors. They’ll be across a variety of genres, including diverse titles and writers. Not all of the books will be ones that Kimberly or I have read, nor will all of them be titles that we’re going to read and review. Rather, these are books that readers will be looking for and that have popped up regularly on social media, in advertising, in book mail, and so forth. It’s part science and part arbitrary and a way to keep the answer to “what should I know about for this month?” quick, easy, and under $300 (doable for smaller library budgets especially).

Here are 12 titles to have on your January 2015 radar. All descriptions are from WorldCat, and I’ve included short notes as to why the title was included.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black: In the town of Fairfold, where humans and fae exist side by side, a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives awakes after generations of sleep in a glass coffin in the woods, causing Hazel to be swept up in new love, shift her loyalties, feel the fresh sting of betrayal, and to make a secret sacrifice to the faerie king.

Why: A new Holly Black book is always going to end up on a radar list.

Ignite by Sara B. Larson: King Damian and his trusted guard, Alexa, focus on rebuilding Antion after years of war and strife, but the citizens are reluctant to trust their new king, and when a new threat arises, including an assassination attempt, Alexa must protect the king she loves and uncover the enemy before it is too late.

Why: This is the sequel to Larson’s debut Defy, which won over many readers. 

Vivian Apple at the End of the World by Katie Coyle: Sixteen-year-old Vivian Apple returns home after the alleged ‘Rapture’ to find her devout parents gone and two mysterious holes in the roof. Vivian never believed in the Rapture, or the uber powerful Church of America. Now that she has been left behind, Vivan’s quest for the truth begins.

Why: The first of many rapture/cult books in 2015 (more to come on this trend soon), Coyle’s debut was an award-winner in the UK, with a ton of buzz about it happening on Tumblr. 

All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven: Told in alternating voices, when Theodore Finch and Violet Markey meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school–both teetering on the edge–it’s the beginning of an unlikely relationship, a journey to discover the “natural wonders” of the state of Indiana, and two teens’ desperate desire to heal and save one another

Why: One of the biggest buzz titles I’ve seen in a long time. It has been compared non-stop to The Fault in Our Stars and Eleanor and Park. 

The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds: Soon after his mother’s death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept her death and his responsibilities as a man.

Why: I’m going to review this one shortly, but it’s a realistic YA novel about a black boy dealing with grief, loss, and first love in Brooklyn. Reynolds’s debut, When I Was The Greatest, garnered a lot of well-earned praise last year, and his sophomore effort is even better.

X by Ilyasah Shabazz with Kekla Magoon: Co-written by Malcolm X’s daughter, this riveting and revealing novel follows the formative years of the man whose words and actions shook the world. Malcolm Little’s parents have always told him that he can achieve anything, but from what he can tell, that’s a pack of lies⁰́₄after all, his father’s been murdered, his mother’s been taken away, and his dreams of becoming a lawyer have gotten him laughed out of school. There’s no point in trying, he figures, and lured by the nightlife of Boston and New York, he escapes into a world of fancy suits, jazz, girls, and reefer. But Malcolm’s efforts to leave the past behind lead him into increasingly dangerous territory. Deep down, he knows that the freedom he’s found is only an illusion⁰́₄and that he can’t run forever. X follows Malcolm from his childhood to his imprisonment for theft at age twenty, when he found the faith that would lead him to forge a new path and command a voice that still resonates today.

Why: It’s timely and timeless. What do we know about Malcolm X’s adolescence? And more, from his daughter? This has been getting some good buzz. 

The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson: Convinced he should have died in the accident that killed his parents and sister, sixteen-year-old Drew lives in a hospital, hiding from employees and his past, until Rusty, set on fire for being gay, turns his life around. Includes excerpts from the superhero comic Drew creates.

Why: Aside from being a male-driven narration by Hutchinson — an up-and-coming author — it’s a graphic novel hybrid, which has loads of reader appeal. 

I Was Here by Gayle Forman: In an attempt to understand why her best friend committed suicide, eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds retraces her dead friend’s footsteps and makes some startling discoveries.

Why: It’s a new Gayle Forman book, and it’s her first standalone title. 

A Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall: When sixteen-year-old Avery West learns her family is part of a powerful and dangerous secret society, and that her own life is in danger, she must follow a trail of clues across Europe.

Why: This is a debut thriller, and it’s one I have received numerous review (and finished!) copies of recently. It looks like it has a real Ally Carter feel to it. 

All Fall Down by Ally Carter: There are many powerful people along Embassy Row who want Grace to block out all her unpretty thoughts. But Grace will not stop until she finds out who killed her mother and make the killer pay.

Why: Speaking of Ally Carter, this is the start of a brand new series from her. 

Audacity by Melanie Crowder: A historical fiction novel in verse detailing the life of Clara Lemlich and her struggle for women’s labor rights in the early 20th century in New York.

Why: This is another that I’ll be reviewing soon, but it’s included here because it’s a historical verse novel about women and the labor rights movements of the early 20th century. Though fictional, the story is based on a real Russian Jewish woman whose family was forced to immigrate to the US. 

Fairest by Marissa Meyer: Queen Levana is a ruler who uses her “glamour” to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story – a story that has never been told . . . until now

Why: It’s another addition to Meyer’s best-selling Lunar Chronicles series.

2014 Reading Stats and Data Sheets

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Every year, I like to take a look at my reading in terms of data. Who was I reading? What was I reading? Were there any trends? I’ve been doing a statistical breakdown of these for a few years now, and I’ve gotten it to a science where I don’t need to look at too much information to get a clear picture of where I am, what I want to do in the next year, and where I could improve.

I’d planned on posting this before the end of 2014, but I made some decisions in terms of stats keeping that I wanted to change. I wanted to look not just at the books I read, but also the books that I bought. Am I putting my money where my mouth is when it comes to things like diversity? What am I buying? 
Then I decided, too, that I wanted to set up a series of spreadsheets for 2015 that looked not just at my books read and books purchased data, but also the books I received from publishers. Am I getting diverse books if I don’t ask for them? What is being sent to me in multiples? I’m not sure this data will tell me a whole lot at the end of this year, but I know it’ll be interesting to look at. I’ve already found there are books I’m getting in multiple. 
Because it’s the start of a new year and I know other people are looking to be more mindful of their own reading and purchasing habits, I’m making my basic Google Doc available for anyone to use. There are three sheets here — one for reading, one for purchasing, and one for review copies received. Save a copy of this publicly-available doc on your own Google Drive or download it to your computer and feel free to adapt it to your own needs. All of the categories are pretty self-explanatory. 
If you want to push your reading and data collection even further, I can’t recommend the Ultimate Reading Spreadsheet from Book Riot highly enough. It looks at way more than I do, but I know how useful that can be. Sarah Enni also created a really robust reading data spreadsheet, especially good for tracking genre/audience of books read, if you’re looking for more options. 
Here’s a look at my last year in reading.
In 2014, I read a total of 113 books. There were a total of 119 authors represented, which included illustrators and collaborators on graphic novels and comics. I did not include the translators of the two books I read that were in translation in that count. 
By gender: 
I read a total of 24 books written or illustrated by men and a total of 95 written or illustrated by women. I’m okay with this break down. I might try to read more men — specifically men of color — in 2015. 
By audience/category:
Out of the 113 books I read in 2014, 82 were YA, 27 were adult, and 4 were middle grade. I was surprised to see that I read that many adult books. I’m hoping in 2014 to read more adult books — I’m especially hoping to read a good chunk of memoirs by women of color. 
Other data:
  • 21 of the books I read were written by authors who debuted in 2014. This is a stat I’m pleased with.
  • 8 of the books I read had LGBTQIA+ themes to them. This is a low number, especially considering I thought I was reading a good spread of these books. But it turns out I happened to read many in a row, and then I didn’t read many more after. I’m going to improve here in 2015.
  • 32, or 28%, of the books I read this year were written by people of color or featured main characters of color. I’ve included Native authors here, even though Deb Reese explains why Native authors aren’t “people of color,” for the sake of my own record keeping. 

Here’s a look at my 2014 in terms of books purchased.
Before I looked at the books I bought, I thought I didn’t buy many books. When I pulled them all out, I’d purchased a total of 46 books, which is more than 3 per month. That’s way more than I thought and far higher than the average person (which ranges somewhere between 6 and 11, depending on what sources you read). There were a total of 47 authors and for some reason, I didn’t include the illustrators in this round. 
Not included in this data are the books I bought for prizes for readers here at Stacked. These are only titles I added to my personal library. 
By gender:
36 of the books I bought in 2014 were written by women, while 11 were written by men. These percentages look pretty darn close to the ones for the genders of authors of books I read in 2014. 
By or about people of color:
Almost one-third of the books I bought were written by people of color or featured main characters of color. Again, I included Native authors and characters in this grouping. This number was solid; this is something I am conscious of when I buy books. One night I walked out of a bookstore this year — a chain — because I could not find one book in the YA section by a person of color that wasn’t on the New York Times list to buy. 
In 2015, I hope to up this percentage even more. 
By category/audience:
I bought slightly more adult, when non-fiction and fiction are combined, than I did YA. But not much. Since I tend to read more YA, I tend to borrow it much more frequently than I do buy it, because otherwise, I would never have any money. 
Keeping track of my reading means when the year winds down and I start thinking about the next year’s reading, I’m able to be more intentional in my choices. Intentionality is what guides my reading, not a set of goals or bench markers.

Stacked’s Top Ten Posts of 2014 & Our Vacation Announcement

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We are taking a break (though it won’t look like the picture above for either of us). 
We’ll be back in early January. 

See you then.

If you can’t stand the thought of no posts here for the next couple of weeks, then may we interest you in revisiting some of our most popular posts from 2014?