I think there is something quite magical about a novel sweeping me away to a story from the past. Well-written Historical Fiction novels have a way about them that wraps me up and plops me down sometime in history, and I am entranced. The best kind of historical fiction novels are those that help keep the past alive; those that probe us to imagine life years ago. There are some things in our past that should never be forgotten; some are quite grotesque and horrific while others are show-stopping beautiful and romantic. Both should be remembered.

Three of my favorites span across different periods of time. One comes from the days of the depression in the United States. One takes us to the petrifying life of those hiding from the Nazis. One takes us to the United States Mid-West on an Orphan Train.

“Sold on a Monday”, by Kristina McMorris, transports us to the 1930’s, in the depths and folds of the depression. A struggling farming family has to make a drastic decision to possibly find a better home for their children by selling them or keep them and risk them all starving to death. A news reporter captures this scene, and it pulls at his heart. Through a few unforeseen events, reporter Ellis Reed begins to dive deeper into the throws of the events and expose the true horrors and disparity deriving from the ages of the Great Depression. Ellis’s character development is one of the things that truly makes the novel a “can’t put it down”. If you are looking for a fairly quick read, but truly emotional and heart pulling story, check out “Sold on a Monday”.

The next book on my list of favorites has stuck with me for quite some time; I still think about it, even though I finished it years ago. “All the Light We Can Not See”, by Anthony Doerr, is one of my absolute favorite World War II depictions. There are two protagonists developed in the story – a young blind girl escaping the Nazis with her father and an Arian boy being trained to be the ideal Nazi soldier. The young blind girl, Marie, has a touching story arch that intertwines with her father’s efforts to help her develop her other senses after she loses her sight. They are hiding with her uncle in a small town after fleeing Paris. Eventually, her path crosses with Werner, the young Arian boy who we grow to love despite his joining the Nazi army. The development of the characters, the way their stories come together, and the depiction of atrocities faced by those living through the War are unlike any other World War II novel I have read. I highly recommend this one if you are a Historical Fiction World War II addict like I am!

“Orphan Train”, by Christina Baker Kline, is choice number 3 for me. This is a story of past and present. In today’s world, Molly is an 18 year old foster child, who has just earned herself some community service work. She is paired with an older, 91 year old woman, Vivian, to help clean out her attic. During her time spent with the woman, Molly soon starts to unravel a tremendous history. The novel brings you back to the days of Vivian’s childhood as an Irish Immigrant who finds herself on an orphan train out west. Vivian’s trials and tragedy experienced as she grows through the novel are heart wrenching. The novel introduces little bits of history not widely known, and certainly not widely talked about anymore. It shows us a side of America in its early stages that is not quite the “New World, New Possibilities, Where Dreams Come True” that so many believed. It’s a truly enveloping story that I gobbled down in less than 3 days. This is a jewel of a book!

Some of my other top reads for historical fiction:

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

The Edge of Lost by Kristina McMorris (also wrote “Sold on a Monday”)

The Circus Train by Amita Parikh

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak