YA Historical Novels with Clever Female Leads

Try these books if you’re looking for:
• YA Reads
• Female, teenage protagonists
• Stories set in the past
• Adventure

What I Saw and How I Lied
Judy Blundell
YA F BLUNDELL
In 1947, with her jovial stepfather Joe back from the war and family life returning to normal, teenage Evie, smitten by the handsome young ex-GI who seems to have a secret hold on Joe, finds herself caught in a complicated web of lies whose devastating outcome change her life and that of her family forever. 

Sophia’s War
Avi
JF AVI
In 1776, after witnessing the execution of Nathan Hale in New York City, newly occupied by the British army, young Sophia Calderwood resolves to do all she can to help the American cause, including becoming a spy.

Scarlet 
A.C. Gaughen
YA F GAUGHEN Scarlet #1
Will Scarlet shadows Robin Hood, with an unerring eye for finding treasures to steal and throwing daggers with deadly accuracy, but when Gisbourne, a ruthless bounty hunter, is hired by the sheriff to capture Robin and his band of thieves, Robin must become Will's protector risking his own life in the process.

The Midwife’s Apprentice 
Karen Cushman
YA F CUSHMAN
In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife, and in spite of obstacles and hardship, eventually gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world. 

Ruby in the Smoke 
Philip Pullman
YAF PULLMAN Sally Lo #1
In nineteenth-century London, sixteen-year-old Sally Lockhart, a recent orphan, becomes involved in a deadly search for a mysterious ruby.