Here are two historical novels on little known events to peruse on your own time.

The Light of Luna Park by Addison Armstrong is a dual narrative between a nurse, Althea Anderson in 1926 and schoolteacher, Stella Wright in 1959. Of course, they’re related to each other but I won’t spoil how.

Basically Althea risks her job to help save a premature baby by bringing it to Coney Island. Little known historical fact, Luna Park had a sideshow of premature babies in incubators brought by Dr. Couney. Now that may sound weird but it was actually life saving as he was one of the few who believed in incubators at the time, saving countless children who otherwise would have been left to “God’s plan” as they used to say because they viewed premies as “weaklings.”

Meanwhile, Stella is fighting her school’s system against her mentally/physically disabled students because again, 1950 was not an enlightened time. She’s also researching into her past after her mom’s death and soon realizes she may also have been an Coney Island incubator baby. 

Overall, a really fascinating story of a little known part of history weaving the themes of motherly love, and resilience. Really her style reminded me of Ruta Sepetys’ books since they both focus on little known parts of history with emphasis on female characters connecting the past with today. I look forward to what she comes up with next.

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham is also about a little known historical event, the Tulsa Massacre in 1921. In fact this was where I first heard of it before all those CNN docs came out.

Another dual narrative between a sheltered modern day black girl, Rowen Chase and a 1922 racist white boy, Will Tillman (he gets better). The former is reconciling with the fact that racism today is still as dangerous as the past’s. She also investigates the skeleton in the shed of her new house.

The latter ties into the past following Will being asked to join the KKK to befriending a black boy his age to trying to save him during the race riots. Just as compelling, it’s atmospheric in its past events giving the small town a clustraphobic fear as you know the KKK and the riots come closer and the tension mounts. And the mystery of who the skeleton is stays till the end.