First and foremost, it is important to emphasize that this class is inclusive and open to all students, regardless of gender. This class offers a unique opportunity for students who share a passion for reading, engaging in thoughtful discussions about books, and exploring the realms of history. Everyone, irrespective of their gender, is warmly invited to participate and contribute.

Welcome to an extraordinary adventure! In this captivating ongoing class, we will embark on a thrilling journey through history's most fascinating and terrifying events. But wait, there's a twist! We'll experience these remarkable moments through the eyes of brave young heroines who overcome unimaginable challenges.

Get ready for an enthralling blend of adventure and historical fiction as we dive into the captivating world of the Girls Survive series. With 30 compelling titles to explore, we'll transport ourselves to a different era, starting with the Black Death and moving forward in history. Don't worry if you join us mid-way through—every book is an independent adventure that will captivate your imagination!

But this class isn't just about reading books—it's about actively participating and sharing your thoughts. Your voice matters! I want to hear your insights, ideas, and questions as we explore the stories and the historical backdrop together.

Historical fiction is a remarkable tool that allows us to understand and appreciate significant moments from the past in a fun and exciting way. It's a journey that will ignite your curiosity, expand your knowledge, and transport you to worlds you've only read about in history books. Whether you're a devoted history lover or passionate about reading, the Girls Survive books are perfect for you. 

Remember, history awaits discovery, and your journey starts here!

Week of September 2: Maria and the Plague (1347) - The Black Death rapidly spread through Italy, killing everyone in its path. Can Maria survive the many unseen challenges ahead of her?

Week of September 9: Constance and the Dangerous Crossing (1620) - Constance decides to set sail on the Mayflower - looking for a new life in the New World. Can she survive the ocean crossing and the dangers no one had anticipated?

Week of September 16: Rebecca Rides for Freedom (1777) - Rebecca must survive the dangers of getting an important message to the patriot army with the American Revolution raging. Will she survive to complete her mission?

Week of September 23: Mary and the Trail of Tears (1838) - Mary and her family are forced to leave the only home they have ever known and face unspeakable horrors as they travel to the new Cherokee Nation. Can Mary survive the trip with her family?
 
Week of September 30: Sarah Journeys West (1851) - Sarah and her family decide to head west during the California Gold Rush. Will Sarah survive the racism, difficult terrain, and disease that come with a new life out west?

Week of October 7: Ann Fights for Freedom (1854) - Although Ann, a young enslaved person, has her family, things may change when her master goes into debt. Can Ann and her family survive escaping North on the Underground Railroad?
  
Week of October 14: Charlotte Spies for Justice (1864) - As the Civil War rages around Charlotte, she hears something that, although dangerous, could help. Can Charlotte, an enslaved person, survive becoming a spy and help the Union win the war?

Week of October 21: Emmi in the City (1871) - Emmi is a German immigrant living in Chicago. Her peers often tease her, but can Emmi and the others survive the burning city when Chicago catches fire?

Week of October 28: Maddy and the Monstrous Storm (1888) - A blizzard traps Maddy and her classmates inside their schoolhouse. If they stay in the schoolhouse, they'll freeze, but the risk of trying to escape and getting lost in the blizzard is equally dangerous. Will Maddy and her schoolmates survive?

Week of November 4: Carrie and the Great Storm (1900) - Carrie is babysitting her younger brother when the Great Galveston hurricane hits Galveston, Texas. Can Carrie and her brother survive the hurricane as the storm gets more dangerous?

Week of November 11: Lily and the Great Quake (1906) - Lily just turned twelve when the earth started to rattle. Separated from her parents, can Lily survive the San Francisco earthquake and return to her parents?

Week of November 18: Lucy Fights the Flames (1911) - Fourteen-year-old Lucy and her friend work at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Although Lucy wants to go to college, her family needs money. Can Lucy and her friend survive when the factory catches fire?

No Class Week of November 25.

Week of December 2: Noelle at Sea (1912) - The Titanic was said to be unsinkable, so when Noelle and her family were able to take a cruise on it, what could go wrong? Can Noelle survive the sinking of the Titanic when she decides to help save her friend? 
 
Week of December 9: Daisy and the Deadly Flu (1918) - Fourteen-year-old Daisy and her family have fallen on hard times. Suddenly, a disease known as the Spanish Flu shows up in her town. Can Daisy survive this deadly disease and save her family from a deadly pandemic?
 
Week of December 16: Leah Braves the Flood (1919) - Leah dreams of leaving Boston and the busy streets, but things change when a molasses tank at a local plant explodes. Can Leah survive the molasses flood and live to see a new life out west?

No Class Week of December 23 and December 30.

Week of January 6: Lena and the Burning of Greenwood (1921) - It's the 1920s, and Lena lives in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Greenwood is the wealthiest black community in the United States. The problem is that Tulsa is still a segregated city. When a young black man gets accused of assaulting a white woman, tension rises, and mobs of white citizens attack Greenwood, terrorizing black residents and businesses. Can Lena survive the hatred that is targeting this once-peaceful city?

Week of January 13: Fumiko and a Tokyo Tragedy (1923) - When the Great Kanto Earthquake strikes Tokyo on September 1, 1923, twelve-year-old Fumiko must navigate the ensuing chaos and confusion in her fight for survival. Will Fumiko survive the destruction and fires that fill the city?

Week of January 20: Cora and the Terrible Twister (1925) - Cora Moffat struggles to concentrate in her English class when her teacher's gaze shifts to the classroom window. When the students turn, they see a massive, menacing black cloud looming outside, rapidly approaching. As the tornado hits the school, will Cora survive as she does all she can to help herself and others endure the destruction and make it out of the building alive?

Week of January 27: Millie and the Great Drought (1935) - Twelve-year-old Millie Horn worries about her family's survival. The Dust Bowl is worsening, and her family is running out of food and money. Despite the hardships, Pa doesn't want to abandon the farm, which has been in the family for generations. But when the worst black blizzard yet hits, they have no choice. Can Millie and her family survive the Dust Bowl and the hardships of the Great Depression? 

Week of February 3: Ruth and the Night of Broken Glass (1938) - The Germans did not like the Jews in 1938. In November, many Jewish men were dragged into the streets and arrested. People broke Jewish shop owners' windows and much more. Can Ruth and her family survive the terrible night ahead? 
   
Week of February 10: Hettie and the London Blitz (1939) - Hettie hears the whispers and sees the worry creeping across her parents' faces. She watches as the windows in her home are blacked out. Hettie helps her dad build a bomb shelter and learns to wear a gas mask. The war, led by Adolf Hitler, is stomping its feet at Great Britain's doorstep. Can Hettie survive when the bombs start to drop on London as the war takes over?

No Class Week of February 17 - Winter Break

Week of February 24: Alice on the Island (1941) - When the Empire of Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, it becomes a day that will live in infamy! Alice loves living in Hawaii, but things change when Pearl Harbor is bombed. Alice's father is a Japanese immigrant. Can Alice and her family survive what lies ahead as the American government sees them as the enemy?

Week of March 3: Audrey Under the Big Top (1944) - Twelve-year-old Audrey wants to be a dance performer and aerialist. When the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus come to town, she is determined to be there, under the big top. But will Audrey survive the night after a fire breaks out and puts her life and her sibling's lives at risk?

Week of March 10: Nina Under Arrest (1963) - Twelve-year-old Nina Norris joins civil rights protests in Birmingham, Alabama, responding to a call from leaders demanding voting rights for Black Americans. With adults facing job loss for protesting, children like Nina step in. Although Nina thinks she is prepared to pay the price for the right of all people to have a voice in their government, can she survive after she is arrested and jailed?

Week of March 17: Essie and the March on Selma (1965) - Twelve-year-old Essie believes that Black people should be allowed to vote and is willing to march for that right. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, she puts on her best dress to join protesters as they plan to visit the governor in Montgomery, Alabama. But as the 600 marchers approach the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, they are stopped by state troopers. Can Essie survive blows, tear gas, and being sprayed with a water hose to continue her fight for voting rights?

Week of March 24: Flor Fights Back (1969) - In 1969, when thirteen-year-old transgender runaway Flor and her new trans friend Tami try to make their way into the queer and trans community of New York City, they find themselves at the Stonewall Inn on a night that leads to a police raid and violence. Can Flor and her friends survive the police's abusive harassment during the raid? 
 
Week of March 31: Maribel Versus the Volcano (1980) - Mount St. Helens is a volcano that seems to be rumbling. Officials are evacuating the neighborhood, but is it just a precaution? Maribel decides to go back home to get things she and her sister forgot, but that's when the volcano erupts. Can Maribel survive the eruption and return to her family?

Week of April 7: Molly and the Twin Towers (2001) - Molly lives with her dads and her younger sister in Manhattan. Everything is going well until the morning of September 11, 2001, when Molly and her sister are at school, and a plane hits one of the Twin Towers. Can Molly survive a city she has known her whole life but is now unrecognizable to return to her family?

Week of April 14: Tara and the Towering Wave (2004) - A holiday vacation to Thailand! Who wouldn't be thrilled? Tara isn't. The day after Christmas, disaster strikes when a tsunami slams into the coast of Thailand. Can Tara survive the wave and find her way back to her mother?

Week of April 21: Claudia in the Storm (2005) - With Hurricane Katrina on track to hit New Orleans, twelve-year-old Claudia and her family are preparing to weather the storm. But nothing can prepare them for the awful flooding when the levees surrounding the city fail. Even worse, after a chaotic helicopter evacuation, Claudia and her younger sister become separated from the rest of their family. Can Claudia survive while trying to save her sister, navigate the destruction and flooding, and find her way back to her family? 

Over the next four weeks, we will read some (fictional) heroine's diaries to close out this year,

Week of April 28: Paloma's Song for Puerto Rico: A Diary from 1898 - It is 1898, and twelve-year-old Paloma lives in Puerto Rico with her Papi, Mami, and little brother, Jorge. They are coffee farmers, and Paloma loves the chickens and fruit trees she helps care for. She also loves music―the song of the coquí frogs who sing her to sleep and the melodies from Papi's tiple guitar. But Paloma's world changes when war arrives on Puerto Rico's shores. What will happen to their culture, the island? 

Week of May 5: On the Home Front with Valentina: A Diary from 1940 to 1943 - In 1940, eleven-year-old Valentina lives in El Paso, Texas, with her Mami, Papi, and two older brothers, Hugo and Kiki. Valentina loves reading and learning and hopes to attend college and become a teacher and writer someday. Her brother Hugo was in college, but with World War II looming--and Kiki eager to join the military--Hugo decides to join the National Guard with Kiki. Trying to help her family navigate wartime changes, Valentina takes on a lot more at home.

Week of May 12: Cocuyo Lights the Way: A Diary from 1493 to 1496 - In the summer of 1493, eleven-year-old Cocuyo is eager to find her place within her Taíno community on the island of Quisqueya. But in less than a year, her home, her family and friends, and her daily life will be forever changed by the arrival of Europeans. As Cocuyo learns more about the strangers who arrive by sea—and what they want from Quisqueya and its people—she looks for ways to help her community.

Week of May 19: Wishing on a Star With Estrella: A Diary from 2022 to 2023 - Sixth grade is tough for Mexican American Selena Estrella Herrera, who now has to navigate it in a new town, El Paso, where her family has moved to care for her unwelcoming, Spanish-speaking grandfather. Selena, eager to shed her embarrassing obsession with the musical star she was named after, renames herself *Strella and tries to move on. However, her National History Day project takes an unexpected turn when her team chooses Selena as their topic. This forces *Strella to confront her Tejano heritage and her past love for the singer while trying to discover her own identity and unique talents.

The schedule is subject to change when new books come out but will be updated in the classroom.