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Historical Fiction
Auschwitz Violin by Maria Angels Anglada
In the winter of 1991, at a concert in Krakow, an older woman with a marvelously pitched violin meets a fellow musician who is instantly captivated by her instrument. When he asks how she obtained it, she reveals the remarkable story behind its origin.Imprisoned at Auschwitz, Daniel feels his humanity slipping away. Treasured memories of the young woman he loved become hazier with each passing day. When Daniel's former occupation as a crafter of fine violins is revealed to those running the concentration camp his very existence moves from being merely precarious to under immediate threat. The camp's two most dangerous men make a cruel wager: if Daniel can build a beautiful violin within a certain number of days, the Kommandant wins a case of the finest burgundy. If not, the camp doctor gets hold of Daniel for use in his 'experiments'. And so, battling malnutrition and exhaustion, Daniel tries to capture his lost art, knowing all too well the cost of failure.Written with lyrical symplicity and haunting beauty, and chillingly interspersed with actual Nazi documentation, The Auschwitz Violin is more than just a novel: it is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of beauty, art, and hope to triumph over the darkest adversity.
Call Number: F ANG
ISBN: 9781921758874
Publication Date: 2010
The Astrolabe : adventure on the Southern Seas by Susan Arnott
In 1826, the Astrolabe sets sail from France in search of two French ships which disappeared on their vaoyage to the Pacific in 1788....
After months of deprivation, they finally find the answers they have been searching for...on a sinister tropical island.
Based on the ship's journal of the explorer Captain Jules Dumont d'Urville of the historic Astrolabe, this is the story of Lucien, the ten-year-old cabin boy and their three year adventure, which takes them from France all the way to Australia and back again.
Call Number: STF F ARN
ISBN: 9780734408181
Publication Date: 2005
The river and the book by Alison Croggon
From the internationally bestselling author of The Books of Pellinor comes a powerful story about the exploitation of indigenous people by the First World. In Simbala's village they have two treasures: the River, which is their road and their god; and the Book, which is their history, their oracle and their soul. Simbala is a Keeper of the Book, the latest in a long line of women who can use it to find answers to the villagers' questions. As developers begin to poison the River on which the villagers rely, the Book predicts change. But this does not come in the form that they expect; it is the sympathetic Westerner that comes to the village who inflicts the greatest damage of all.
Call Number: F CRO
ISBN: 9781925081725
Publication Date: 2015
The Court of Miracles by Kester GrantCall Number: F GRA
ISBN: 9780008254803
Publication Date: 2021
Historical Fiction
Silver people by Margarita Engle
As the Panama Canal turns 100, Newbery Honor-winner Margarita Engle tells the story of its creation in this powerful new YA historical novel in verse.How can such a narrow bridge of land be so important?One hundred years ago, the world celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal. It was a miracle. Where a mountain once stood was now a path of water connecting the world's two largest oceans. But creating a miracle is no easy task.For only a few coins a day, teenagers Mateo and Henry endure homesickness, backbreaking labour, ferocious heat, landslides, and disease as they dig through the mountain with little more than a shovel. Thousands around them lose their lives, while displaced souls like local herb girl Anita, and the endangered rainforest itself, do what they can to survive.This verse novel tells the story of one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, as only Newbery Honour-winning author Margarita Engle could tell it.
Call Number: F ENG
ISBN: 9781925081725
Publication Date: 2014
Ratcatcher's daughter by Pamela Rushby
It's 1900. Thirteen-year-old Issy McKelvie leaves school and starts her first job - very reluctantly - as a maid in an undertaking establishment. She thinks this is about as low as you can go. But there's worse to come. Issy becomes an unwilling rat-catcher when the plague - the Black Death - arrives in Australia. Issy loathes both rats and her father's four yappy, snappy, hyperactive rat-killing terriers. But when her father becomes ill it's up to Issy to join the battle to rid the city of the plague-carrying rats.
Call Number: F RUS
ISBN: 9780732297138
Publication Date: 2014
Ruby in the smoke by Phillip Pullman
Set in 1872, Sally Lockhart is sixteen and determined to discover the secrets behind her father's sudden death, even if it means putting her own life in danger as others try to stop her. As Sally searches for the answers she needs, her quest takes her from the grimy streets of London to a maharajah's Indian palace, to the opium dens of China and into a deep mystery whose heart is a priceless jewel soaked in blood.
Call Number: F PUL
ISBN: 9780439943666
Publication Date: 1999
Do not say we have nothing by Madeleine Thien
In Canada in 1990, ten-year-old Marie and her mother invite a guest into their home: a young woman who has fled China in the aftermath of the Tiananmen Square protests. Her name is Ai-Ming. As her relationship with Marie deepens, Ai-Ming tells the story of her family in revolutionary China, from the crowded teahouses in the first days of Chairman Mao's ascent, to the Shanghai Conservatory in the 1960s and the events leading to the Beijing demonstrations of 1989. It is a history of revolutionary idealism, music, and silence, in which three musicians, the shy and brilliant composer Sparrow, the violin prodigy Zhuli, and the enigmatic pianist Kai struggle during China's relentless Cultural Revolution to remain loyal to one another and to the music they have devoted their lives to. Forced to re-imagine their artistic and private selves, their fates reverberate through the years, with deep and lasting consequences for Ai-Ming - and for Marie.
Call Number: F THI
ISBN: 9781783782666
Publication Date: 2016
Historical Fiction
Witch Born by Nicholas Bowling
It's 1577. When her mother is burned at the stake for witchcraft, Alyce flees to London. But it isn't just witchfinders she has to worry about. Powerful political forces are also on her trail, dragging her into the feud between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. As Alyce struggles to understand her own powers, she is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and dark magic that will change the fate of England.
Call Number: F BOW
ISBN: 9781911077251
Publication Date: 2017
The Executioner's daughter by Jane Hardstaff
Thrilling adventure set in the underbelly of the Tower of London and on the Thames in Tudor times Moss hates her life. As the daughter of the Executioner in the Tower of London, it's her job to catch the heads in her basket after her father has chopped them off. She dreams of leaving, but they are prisoners with no way out. Then Moss discovers a hidden tunnel that takes her to freedom, where she learns that her life isn't what she believes it to be and she doesn't know who to trust. Her search for the truth takes her on a journey along the great River Thames. Could the answers lie deep in its murky depths? 'a strong, new voice in children's fiction - draws a wonderfully authentic portrait of a wilful tween desperate to find out more about her origins and flee the house of death' - The Times 'This notable debut mixes vivid history with supernatural adventure, and from its dark depths friendship, forgiveness and parental love rise to the surface.' - The Sunday Times
Call Number: F HAR
ISBN: 9781405268288
Publication Date: 2014
Displaced by Cristina Sanders
Eloise and her family must leave Cornwall on a treacherous sea journey to start a new life in 1870s colonial New Zealand. On the ship across, Eloise meets Lars, a Norwegian labourer travelling below decks, and their lives begin to intertwine. When her brother disappears, her father leaves and the family are left to fend for themselves in their new home, Eloise must find the strength to stand up for what she believes in and the people she loves.
Call Number: F SAN
ISBN: 9781760653347
Publication Date: 2021
The Court of Miracles by 
Witch Born by
It's 1577. When her mother is burned at the stake for witchcraft, Alyce flees to London. But it isn't just witchfinders she has to worry about. Powerful political forces are also on her trail, dragging her into the feud between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. As Alyce struggles to understand her own powers, she is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and dark magic that will change the fate of England.
Displaced by
Eloise and her family must leave Cornwall on a treacherous sea journey to start a new life in 1870s colonial New Zealand. On the ship across, Eloise meets Lars, a Norwegian labourer travelling below decks, and their lives begin to intertwine. When her brother disappears, her father leaves and the family are left to fend for themselves in their new home, Eloise must find the strength to stand up for what she believes in and the people she loves.