Introductions

[Robert]

Hello everyone. This is my second intro since I introduced myself on the book thread. My name is Robert Spiller and I live in Colorado Springs. Up until Thursday I considered myself an adult mystery writer. I have a a number of cozy mysteries published (but I won't talk about them here). Thursday I received a contract for the first in my YA historical mystery series and am pretty jazzed. I am a retired Middle School math teacher and have a number of friends who read and write YA. I would be very interested in suggestions of books you guys recommend and also what constitutes historical (how old must it be?) Thanks for welcoming me.

[Charmaine]

Robert wrote: "Hello everyone. This is my second intro since I introduced myself on the book thread. My name is Robert Spiller and I live in Colorado Springs. Up until Thursday I considered myself an adult myst..."

Nice to have you here, Robert :-) historical fiction can be from anytime period, from ancient to... hmmm, I don't know, perhaps the Vietnam war era? Just something not too modern :-) You can choose books from modern authors or older authors just as long as the setting of the book is historical.

[S.Q.]

Hi all,

I've recently finished a YA historical manuscript set in ancient Sparta. Meaning I've read a ridiculous amount of nonfiction on ancient Greece, ancient Sparta and the ancient Olympics.

For my own pleasure reading, my interests run just about everywhere EXCEPT pre-Civil War America. I also happen to be an anime/manga and K-drama fangirl, and will watch/read just about any historicals in the those formats. Anyone who loves Downton Abbey should definitely give Kaoru Mori's Emma, Vol. 01 a look, and I think the 3-minute Hetalia episodes are a super fun way to learn some really random stuff about world history.

S.Q. Eries

[Maryann]

Hello, I'm not quite sure whether I should be in this group, as my book, Odette's Secrets, is slated by Bloomsbury, the publisher, to be for 10-14 year-olds. But many adults and young adults have told me they enjoy reading it, too. It's about a Jewish child who survives WWII by hiding in plain sight, which was a common practice. In fact, 86% of Jewish children in France survived, the highest percentage in Europe. Most of them were in hiding. Anyway, I thought I'd reach out, just in case this is the right place to introduce myself. If someone is aware of a better group, please let me know. Thanks!

[Emma Louise]

Hi! I'm Emma Louise! I'm currently obsessed with historical fiction and I think the periods/points of views/characters I like are pretty diverse. I'd love to study english literature and someday become an editor or a writer.

[Charmaine]

S.Q. wrote: "Hi all,

I've recently finished a YA historical manuscript set in ancient Sparta. Meaning I've read a ridiculous amount of nonfiction on ancient Greece, ancient Sparta and the ancient Olympics.

F..."

Welcome, S.Q! Your manuscript sounds like it took a lot of research! :-) good luck with it!

I love anime/manga, too. I've read all the Emma series except the final volume. LOVE it <3

Maryann wrote: "Hello, I'm not quite sure whether I should be in this group, as my book, Odette's Secrets, is slated by Bloomsbury, the publisher, to be for 10-14 year-olds. But many adults and young adults have ..."

Welcome, Maryann! Your book sounds fine for this group. Sounds like an interesting story - I didn't know that some Jewish children were hiding in plain sight!

Emma Louise wrote: "Hi! I'm Emma Louise! I'm currently obsessed with historical fiction and I think the periods/points of views/characters I like are pretty diverse. I'd love to study english literature and someday be..."

Welcome, Emma Louise :-) what a pretty name! I'm very interested in English literature, too. I wish I could study it in college but I don't have time to do it before graduation!

[Maryann]

Thanks, Charmaine! I'll make myself at home here, then. Yes, thousands of Jewish children survived in this way, by hiding. There are some great books about it (besides "Odette's Secrets," of course!). My nonfiction favorite is by Deb de Saix and Karen Ruelle, "Hidden on the Mountain." Check it out...it's fascinating!

[Charmaine]

Thanks for the recommendations, Maryann :-) I should do some research into that topic!

[Christen]

Hello! Christen here and I love to read. I mostly read anything as long as it is good but I am leaning more on YA and romance. :)

[Charmaine]

Christen wrote: "Hello! Christen here and I love to read. I mostly read anything as long as it is good but I am leaning more on YA and romance. :)"

Welcome, Christen! I love YA :-) What are a few of your favorite books?

[Grace]

Hi all,

I am excited to have found this group, because you seem to have read many of my favorite books, among them Grave Mercy. I am a high school student and have always been a fan of historical fiction. I can't wait to find new books to read with this group.

[Sara]

Hello all! I'm still relatively new to Goodreads, but I'm trying to find my way around. Apparently, I added this group several months ago when I first signed up, but I never bothered to post to the Introductions thread...

And now I see that the last person who did post here did so way back in 2013! It looks like this is still an active group, though, so I'll post my introduction here.

I'm a huge history nerd and I'm a writer. In fact my first novel (YA historical fiction) was published just last month.

I'm looking forward to seeing what books you all are reading and joining in to conversations whenever I'm able to contribute. :)

[Greta]

Hi, everyone, I'm Greta. It seems I might be quite a bit older than everyone else in the group, but I still love young adult historical fiction and have since I was a teenager devouring The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Hannah Fowler, and Judith of France. Nowadays, I teach communication at a small college, I help my husband on our small blueberry farm, and I try not to give TOO much advice to my two young-adult children (a son who is 20 and a daughter who is 16).

My favorite stories are about pioneers, but I've also enjoyed stories from medieval times to WWII. I sometimes enjoy a little fantasy mixed into the story, but mainly I am a realistic fiction fan. Besides reading historical fiction, I also love to write historical fiction. The thrill of both, I guess, is to see that history was not just dull facts and dates; history was people living their lives and making choices. That, to me, makes it personal, and I love getting inside the life of someone from another time and place.

I'm looking forward to finding some new great reads through this group!

[Lee]

My name is Francesca Miller - I write historical YA and NA - I've written a historical YA manuscript set in New England in 1880. I'm posting a chapter a day on Wattpad. I don't know if the administrators will let me post a link, but it is Gothic with a female protagonist. Please let me know if you are interested.

[QNPoohBear]

Hi Greta and Lee, I'm a more mature YA reader myself. You're never to old to enjoy a book aimed at children.

[Greta]

QNPoohBear wrote: "You're never to old to enjoy a book aimed at children."

I agree. Some of the most thought-provoking, meaningful stories I've read have been YA historicals.

[Assaph]

Hi All,

I'm a reader (and now a writer) of historical fiction. I like all eras up to the 20th century. My favourite is still ancient Rome, but since my wife introduced me to Boris Akunin's Fandorin series, 19th century Russia is fast becoming an obsession :)

I love accurately researched historical novels (like Colleen McCollough's amazing Masters of Rome series), or mixed in with some fantasy (like Barry Hughart's Bridge of Birds: a novel of China that never was). What I don't like is just repetitive, poorly written and inaccurate material...

Anyway, the stuff I write is not usually for YA, however I am looking for some good HF books to get my girls hooked onto the genre :)

Nice to meet you all!

[Lee]

Nice to meet you, Assaph - I love ancient Rome too and love good fiction set in that period.

[Assaph]

Thanks Lee!

One thing I always wondered about is the difference between YA and children books. For example, would you classify The Thieves of Ostia as a children or YA?

I know my girls (11 & 10) keep bugging me to read my novel. There's nothing too harsh in there (all the curses are in Latin, and the sex mostly happens off-page) - but somehow I still feel it might be a bit too over their heads.

[Lee]

YA normally involves teen characters from 14 to 18. It involves a great deal of world building and can be as sophisticated as any book written for adults. Books for children are normally broken down by age, picture books for younger children, middle grade for older ones. The Thieves of Ostia is a children's book, perfect for your girls.

[Assaph]

Thanks! Confirms my suspicions :-)

I still remember reading the Headless Horseman on my sister's library card when I was their age.... And not sleeping for a week after ;-)

[QNPoohBear]

Middle Grades characters are usually around 11-12 and there might be a hint of romance or a romance involving am older secondary character like an older sister or neighbors. YA characters tend to be around 14-16 or even older and there's more obvious romance - kissing and sometimes more but not usually described in detail. The books deal with more mature themes and the vocabulary tends to be more adult. There's not a lot of difference between YA and adult these days.

I have a shelf of middle-grades historical fiction and another one for YA historical fiction. 10-11 is right on the cusp of YA. Light YA like Anne of Green Gables and stories like that are perfect for that age group.

[Assaph]

Thanks QNPoohBear.
I think they read Anne of Green Gables about 3 times each by now. Older one (11) is starting to venture into YA territory, younger one (10) likes fantasy and is into Guardians of teh Ga'Hoole.
To be fair, they both read all 7 Harry Potter books, and managed to deal with it quite well.

My stuff... well, there's a bit more than just kissing ;)
The themes and vocabulary would probably not be YA either - not that it will stop them sneaking in a copy of my books once I have them at home.

[QNPoohBear]

Next up after Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables: Little Women, Daddy Long Legs, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm for classics and Sorcery and Cecilia: Or the Enchanted Chocolate Pot which the bookstore staff described as "Jane Austen meets Harry Potter." The girls might also enjoy Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic quartet. The first 4 are younger YA and the later books the characters age and the readers should age with the characters. I really enjoyed The Squire's Tale series. My honorary nieces got into fantasy once they devoured the classics. I've tried to interest them in more historical fiction but no such luck so far. I'm still trying to teach my siblings' daughters that life without DVDs and iPads existed and people actually knew how to have fun.

[Assaph]

Thanks! Looks promising.

They have Little Women, but the rest will make it as NYE pressies :) I'm blessed with a couple of bookworms...

That "Jane Austen meets Harry Potter" sounds particularly promising!

[QNPoohBear]

My honorary niece, now 13, loved the Percy Jackson series which I gather is about the Greek gods and myths. The older girl, now 15, loved The Wizard of Oz best. When they were younger they loved Pollyanna and Little Women. I grew up devouring anything historical fiction I could get my hands on: Little House on the Prairie, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women and anything set in the 19th century. As a younger adult I discovered Harry Potter and now I just love Jane Austen era fantasy novels. They're so much fun. Bewitching Season and Courtship and Curses by Marissa Doyle are also really good if Sorcery and Cecilia is a hit.

[Assaph]

Thanks! I'll let you know how they like them :)
They're a bit too young for Jane Austen, but I have a feeling it's coming faster than I'd like to think.

[QNPoohBear]

Not historical fiction but possibly inspiring is Scones and Sensibility. The 12 year old heroine loves Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice but acts a lot like Jane Austen's Emma. I can't wait for my nieces to be old enough to read real books. The older one enjoyed The Secret Garden (abridged) as a bedtime story.