The best historical fiction makes the events of the past feel intimate and personal. First-person accounts make the historical content more memorable and accessible and promote empathy with characters—all of which can translate into more compassionate behavior on the part of readers as well as more respect for the events of the past. Not only can the right book connect readers with the past on a personal and emotional level, but historical fiction specifically can be an essential tool in helping students grasp and retain historical events. Reading historical fiction is a great way to link subjects across the curriculum, complementing standards in both social studies and English. Recent educational research has shown that reading historical fiction increases student interest and academic performance. In a recent study published in Teaching and Learning ("Young Adult Historical Fiction in the Middle Grades Social Studies Classroom: Can Literature Increase Student Interest and Test Scores?"), middle school students who participated in a weekly historical fiction book club demonstrated marked improvement in test scores over classmates who did not participate. But it can be a struggle to get these titles into the hands of readers. While best sellers and appealing genre fiction that naturally market themselves to young readers definitely have an important place in collections, historical fiction often falls by the wayside when circulation statistics drive collection development. Booktalking these titles is one way to draw parallels between them and other popular genres, such as dystopian fiction, action/adventure, and YA romance. Connecting the elements of historical novels with the kinds of books tweens and teens already love may be the key to getting readers to branch out from familiar genres. There is no dearth of recent titles that fit the bill, and each one described below contains traits that can be emphasized to appeal even to reluctant readers. Fans of dystopian lit are often attracted to the ways in which protagonists overcome their bleak environment—often fighting against vast and oppressive regimes. History is filled with action, adventure, and suspense, and wartime society is essentially the ultimate real-world dystopia, with severe sanctions on liberty and brutal totalitarian overlords. Dedicated readers of futuristic dystopia may be surprised to discover so many similarities between the books they love and real history. The following three titles, all recently published and set during wartime, are ideal for middle graders reading above level and teen readers. In Monica Hesse’s Girl in the Blue Coat (Little, Brown 2016), Hanneke’s life is fraught with drama as she pursues a missing Jewish girl through the world of Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Selling points of this novel include the fast-paced plot, action, suspense, and romantic entanglements.  Hanneke struggles with her own instinct to survive in the face of the Nazi regime’s iron-clad control, and her human instinct to help innocent people. Her personal experience of loss and the death of those close to her colors her perception of the world around her, and she struggles to see passed her own pain to acknowledge the bigger picture of human suffering going on around her, a leap of faith that many young people struggle to acknowledge. Although the heroine and main characters are a little older than middle school age, the lack of explicit violence and sexual content make this a great choice for students reading above grade level. And older readers will be able to appreciate more of the nuance of Hanneke’s personality and journey. In John Boyne’s The Boy at the Top of the Mountain (Holt, 2016), readers see the transformation of Pierrot, the innocent child, to Pieter, the corrupt Nazi youth. The acclaimed author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas offers a personal dimension to a side of  World War II history that is rarely explored in books for teen readers. Pierrot’s humble beginnings make him naturally inclined to befriend the young Jewish boy who lives next door. But when Pierrot moves to Germany and ends up at the house of the Fuhrer himself, he just as easily falls into the value system of his new surroundings.  This is essentially a first-person look at the murky moral relativism of the Nazi regime, from the perspective of one of the oppressors, rather than the oppressed. This is a really interesting tactic, as readers naturally want to identify with the main character, but his increasingly horrible behaviors eventually make it impossible to see him as the hero of this story. This book will definitely appeal to readers who appreciate dark themes, and dystopian frameworks. But the historical element takes this beyond the general good vs. evil of imaginary realms and gives it an important context.  Readers will experience a new kind of empathy in this cautionary tale that resists the typical redemptive conclusion. Although the book contains disturbing elements, such as execution and assault, the young age of the protagonist and his coming-of-age allow this title to be suitable for upper–middle grade readers as well as high schoolers. J. Albert Mann’s Scar: A Revolutionary War Tale (Calkins Creek, 2016) melds the plight of the underdog protagonist and his self-centered worldview with the realizations he is forced to make when his life intersects with that of another marginalized youth. The teenage Noah feels inadequate because his disability impedes his path to glory on the battlefield of the Revolutionary War. But the events that transpire reveal layers to the conflict that lie outside the mainstream historical cannon.  The story, told by alternating characters, creates a dichotomy that complicates the typical American history narrative of this war while creating a deeply personal sense of the effects of war. The fast-paced battle scenes will appeal to fans of action and adventure, and the thoroughly researched historical content will nurture readers’ ability to see the many perspectives that make up the conflicts that history lessons often gloss over. Although the protagonist is well into his teens, the shorter length and rapidly unfolding plot recommend this title to older reluctant readers. These new, tween-friendly works are a source of potential enrichment and are compelling as extracurricular reads. The benefits of reading historical fiction make it worth the effort to market and booktalk these titles to middle grade and young adult readers.