Historical Fiction

Honestly, historical fiction is not my favorite genre. I have a hard time getting myself excited to read it because I'm not a history buff or even someone who strives to learn a little bit more about history than what I've already learned in school. However, there are some time periods that are the exception to this such as the 500s, or middle ages, because I love the Arthurian legends. But most of my disinterest comes from the overused time period of the 1940s when WWII took place for historical fiction novels. Yes, there are some gems in this time period section of historical fiction that even make me want to read vigorously - I will not dismiss those - like one of the books I read this week: Front Lines by Michael Grant. However, I think that overwriting about a time period just in different variations has the same effect on people like when radios overplay a song or two with the same premise. 

When reading Epic Read's timeline of YA Historical Literature (https://www.epicreads.com/blog/the-age-of-ya-a-timeline-of-historical-fiction/) I noticed how the time periods of the 1890s, 1940s, and 1980s were the densest sections of the list. When going into reading the list I expected that the 1940s section would be popular and dense, and after looking over the 1890s and 1980s sections I also see why those were popular too - they are popular time periods that everyone knows of and wish to read more about. I cannot deny the allure of the 1980s with all of the glitz and glam that I have heard about from that era. So, of course, it'll be a popular decade to read about. 

I think the role of historical fiction is important both inside and outside the classroom. Although the books deviate from the real story (obviously because it's fiction) they are rooted in facts of that time period, which I think are important to know. Historical fiction is a good genre for readers who love fiction but also want to learn about something when reading. The genre still caters to the reader's imagination but also informs them of past important matters of the world. To me as a teacher, this is important because, while I do love reading fiction and fantasy and will always encourage my students to read those genres as well, it'll expand my students' horizons and knowledge. The genre itself does a lot of work and can assist teachers if they use it correctly. Although historical fiction isn't as enticing as other genres (to most of the readers that I know) we, as teachers, can help make the genre become more attractive to the young reader. To do so, we can have the students create fun projects based on the novels or debrief them on the most interesting parts of that time period before they read the novel.