89 books like Crossing Ebenezer Creek

This totally unique retelling blends Greek mythology with World War I and II history in a beautiful way that stuck with me long after I finished the last page.

There are tons of Greek retellings to choose from, but the added element of the World Wars storyline makes this one stick out from the crowd. Aphrodite strikes a deal on trial and must tell the story of two war-torn couples. The story has a big sweeping feel, full of tragedy and romance.

Lovely War brings to mind Greek epics in its scope and feeling, but the setting gives it a fresh feel. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

This novel doesn’t reinvent history, but it does something I found just as engaging. It gave me a deeply emotional experience of a historical event; as the story unfolds, you feel the personal impact of Nazi Germany and World War II on the life of an ordinary young girl.

You also get a 2nd perspective on this tragic time, just as emotional, through the story’s narrator, Death. This unconventional lens used to witness this dark time in history made every detail of this novel emotional and moving.

Ruta Sepetys writes historical fiction like no one else. All her books are wonderful, however, this one is my favorite. Not only does she write about a little-known event in history, she does it masterfully with short chapters told from four distinct points of view, doling out backstory as if it is a treat rather than something a reader must endure. Yes, the story is fascinating, but it is her craft that makes me reread it with a highlighter in hand. 

I was in high school when the Viêt Nam War ended. I grew up watching news reports and seeing photographs on the front page of The New York Times. I remember when Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers. I read David Halberstam’s The Best and the Brightest. I wish there had been books like this one for me to read. I am cheating a tiny bit with this choice as it does not take place during wartime. It is set six years after the Viêt Nam War in Texas, yet is about the ravages of war and how one goes on after unimaginable loss. I love this book because it is exquisitely written. It is equally painful and joyous. And I don’t think you can find a stronger character than Hằng.

Laia and Elias stole my heart, while the Commandant’s cruelty stole my breath. Sabaa Tahir’s ability to evoke such powerful emotion with this story set in reimagined Ancient Rome was nothing less than masterful.

The characters are faced with impossible choices, which kept me asking questions about what I would do in their situation. I thought the integration of elemental magic was woven in perfectly. I’m a sucker for it and could lose hours thinking about what abilities I’d wish for.

Laia is spying on the Martial Empire for the rebels in exchange for their help rescuing her brother when her path collides with Elias, an enforcer of the tyrannical regime. Both dream of freedom, and we root for them to find it together in this ruthless world.

One thing you’ll discover as you read YA tales about the fae is that bored faeries are always causing trouble. In Porter’s novel, they tempt Ksenia’s foster brother and best friend away from her and then put her through a progression of nightmares as she tries to wrest him out of their clutches. There’s so much darkness in this book but it never quite tips into horror. It’s more of that incessant creepiness of the Twilight Zone, with scenes that keep ratcheting up the tension and impossible situations. This isn’t your average faerie tale with romance and hijinks—not by a long shot. But because of all that, it’s an absolute delight to read.

Amari Peters is a Black girl from a low-income housing project with a lot of heart.

Yet when she’s sent to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and discovers the world of the supernatural, she must compete with other students who have enjoyed a lot of privilege. It isn’t just that the world around Amari is spectacular and well-built, but we’re getting a glimpse into her challenges both at home and at this new school.

I loved being in the perspective of someone who never thought they could be a hero before. Someone who looks at things from a different lens can help us build a whole lot of empathy.

This is one of the funniest, and saddest, books ever. When Kenny starts telling the story, it’s dead winter in Flint. Michigan. Cold enough to make your spit freeze. Momma, who grew up in Alabama, begins yearning for the South. By reputation, Momma’s momma is the strictest, meanest grandma ever. Kenny - who’s never met her - decides Grandma Sands must look like a troll. Dad and Momma decide that Grandma Sands is the perfect person to straighten out big brother Byron, who shows signs of turning into a juvenile delinquent. So... Join the Watsons. Get in their car (also known as the Brown Bomber), listen to the tires roll onto I-75, and imagine what’s going to happen when Byron meets his doom.

A brilliant follow-up to Amari and the Night Brothers, Amari and the Great Game is a mystical story of bravery, friendship, and perseverance wrapped up in magic. If you loved the first book in the series, this sequel does not disappoint its readers. B.B. Alston lights up the imagination and attention of readers with a tale of adventure while covering important themes of discrimination. I enjoyed how the young character, Amari, showed maturity, compassion, and humility. A clever and enchanting must-read for any young reader or adult who loves magic!

This middle-grade novel introduces us to a real place—the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York City—and invites us to imagine the historical children who lived there as freedom fighters. Those fights for freedom, it turns out, take place on the back of dinosaurs! While the surprising addition of dinosaur battles might seem like a diversion from the hard work of learning about slavery’s painful history, in Older’s hands, the dinos offer young readers a way to meditate on power and its abuses. Viewed in the context of a Black radical tradition that insists on alternate timescapes, Freedom Fire’s dinosaurs do not function as a bit of whimsical unreality that overwrites difficult historical truths. Instead, their discordant presence actually offers a space for readers—children and educators both—to better inhabit the surreal, disorienting history of enslavement and freedom in the United States.