recommendations for very modern historical fiction

[mooooom]

We're finishing up 8th grade and our history ran out early. I'm looking for late modern historical fiction to add - anything past the 1960s, I guess. Nobody feels like starting something heavy at this time of year. Is there anything about the Berlin Wall?

Thanks for any suggestions - it would be for readaloud - so I'd be slightly concerned about content (but I can edit out a bit here and there).

Thanks!

[Kareni]

It's a little earlier than 1960, but my teen read and enjoyed The Mouse that Roared (written in 1955 by Irish writer Leonard Wibberley and made into a movie in 1959).

More modern still is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. (It should be previewed to see if you are comfortable with it.)

Some videos to consider:

Atomic Cafe
Ed Sullivan
Evita
All the President's Men
Forrest Gump
Hair
Good Morning, Vietnam
The Mouse that Roared
Wit

Regards,
Kareni

[Anne/Ankara]

That's a hard one! We might read "Fallen Angels" about Vietnam War, but I have to preview it first (anyone recommend this one?). Also I was thinking of using Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" since I enjoy his style, might be a possibility.

Another possibility is simply some fun literature of our time, not necessarily "historical," like No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, or Under the Tuscan Sun, or something equally light and funny... seems like so much modern literature might be not quite family-friendly as a read aloud...

[readwithem]

"Song for a Tattered Flag" by Geoffrey Trease is about the revolution in Romania in 1989. Excellent.

[Cinder]

Some of Tom Clancy's novels might fit in here. I've only read his earlier stuff--Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Red Storm Rising. I'm not familiar with any of his more recent works.

Cinder

[Jenny in Atl]

Here's a few. I could not find much YA Fiction for post WWII Europe.

hth's

Summer’s End written by Audrey Couloumbis (Putnam)
In 1970, a thirteen-year-old struggles with the rift between her older brother, an opponent of the Vietnam War who has burned his draft card, and her father, a proud veteran.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (Clarion)
Seventh-grader Holling receives unexpected guidance and companionship from his teacher against the threatening backdrop of the Vietnam War

Edenville Owls by Robert B. Parker (Sleuth/Philomel)
In post-WWII Massachusetts, eighth-grader Bobby uncovers a secret about his teacher, which reveals a hidden world of violence and prejudice.

Here Today by Ann M. Martin (Scholastic)
After JFK’s assassination, small-town eccentric “Doris Day” Dingman pursues a new life in New York, dragging her daughter along.

Gemini Summer by Iain Lawrence (Delacorte)
In 1965, nine-year-old Danny, traumatized by the death of his older brother Beau, runs away to Cape Canaveral and meets Beau’s hero, astronaut Gus Grisson

Tillage, Leon. Leon's Story.
The son of a North Carolina sharecropper recalls the hard times faced by his family and other African Americans in the first half of the twentieth century and the changes that the civil rights movement helped bring about.

Cracker: The Best Dog in Vietnam by Cynthia Kadohata (She also did Kira Kira (great bk)

A Corner Of The Universe by Ann Martin