The 1900s were a wild time. From WWI and the fall of empires to the creation of the computer and the first trips to space, humans experienced so much. Because of the wider amount of technology and because people are living longer, the 20th century is one of the easiest to study and write about because there’s so much firsthand information that’s available. Add to that some of the biggest moments in human history and there’s a huge wealth of inspiration to pull from. As a result, there are not only hundreds of movies and TV shows set in the 1900s, but there’s also a lot of YA books.
20th Century
X by Ilyasah Shabazz and Kekla Magoon
1900s
Deadly by Julie Chibbaro
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
Faithful by Janet Fox
Outrun the Moon by Stacey Lee
A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller
The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters
Odd & True by Cat Winters
1910s
Velvet Undercover by Teri Brown
Anastasia’s Secret by Susanne Dunlap
Threads and Flames by Esther M. Friesner
Wentworth Hall by Abby Grahame
Fateful by Claudia Gray
Poppy by Mary Hooper
A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore
A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier
Fear the Drowning Deep by Sarah Glenn Marsh
The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller
Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls
Cinders & Sapphires by Leila Rasheed
Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick
Iron Cast by Destiny Soria
Like Water on Stone by Dana Walraith
In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters
1920s
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Born of Illusion by Teri Brown
Speak Easy, Speak Love by McKelle George
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
The Fire Horse Girl by Kay Honeyman
The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson
Vixen by Jillian Larkin
The Steep & Thorny Way by Cat Winters
1930s
Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper
Anya’s War by Andrea Alban Gosline
The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
Promise the Night by Michaela MacColl
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
Starstruck by Rachel Shukert
Black Dove, White Raven by Elizabeth Wein
The Pearl Thief by Elizabeth Wein
Dust Girl by Sarah Zettel
1940s
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis
Ten Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
The Girl is Murder by Kathryn Miller Haines
Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
Among the Red Stars by Gwen Katz
The Extra by Kathryn Lasky
Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley
Invasion by Walter Dean Myers
The Darkest Hour by Caroline Tung Richmond
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Flygirl by Sherri Smith
Love by the Morning Star by Laura Sullivan
Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
1950s
Strings Attached by Judy Blundell
Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley
1960s
The Notorious Pagan Jones by Nina Berry
The Rock and the River by Kekla Magoon
Sekret by Lindsay Smith
Three Day Summer by Sarvenaz Tash
I’m Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil
1970s
Honey Girl by Lisa Freeman
Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie Sue Hitchcock
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King
Burn Baby Burn by Megan Medina
1980s
Going Over by Beth Kephart
Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy by Elizabeth Kiem
The Girl with the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke
Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes
Other Words for Love by Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benhamin Alire Saenz
The Boy on the Bridge by Natalie Standiford
1990s
The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
The Miseducation of Camerine Post by Emily M. Danforth
Wing Jones by Katherine Webber