The Fifth of March - Ann Rinaldi

So-so historical fiction mixed with romance.

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Common Sense rates it
3
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Book details
  • Author:Ann Rinaldi
  • # of pages: 333
  • Publisher:Harcourt Brace and Co.
  • Original Publication Date: 11/30/1993
  • Genre: Fiction - Historical Fiction
  • Paperback: $6.99
  • Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: Young Adult
  • Read Alone: 13+

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a romance with the Boston Massacre as a backdrop.

Families can talk about the heroine's conflicted loyalties. What does independence mean for Rachel?

Message

Social Behavior:

Some minor characters speak disrespectfully of Crispus Attucks, the black man killed in the Boston Massacre. The main character defies authority to sneak out at night and visit a prisoner.

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Mildly describes the Boston Massacre.

Sex

A few references to women being "in circumstances," meaning "pregnant." Matthew's sexual frustration is hinted at.

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Amy Brotman

Rachel works as an indentured servant to John and Abigail Adams in Boston during the early 1770s. She admires them greatly, but falls in love with Matthew, a British soldier who kills an American in the Boston Massacre. Rachel can't decide where her loyalties lie. Many kids will enjoy reading this, and they'll learn some history along the way.



Is it any good?

3

Ann Rinaldi has been tempting teenagers to read romances and learn some real history for over a decade. THE FIFTH OF MARCH doesn't stand out as her best effort, but it's a useful book. It catches the interest of many young readers, although some find it too slowly paced.

Rinaldi devotes most of the book to Rachel's evolving thinking. Except for a few riots, the incidents culminating in the Boston Massacre don't occur until more than halfway into the story. Rinaldi gets the history right, putting Rachel on the scene, although her view of John Adams neglects his famously volcanic emotions. However, the Adamses are just minor characters in this book.

Rachel, Boston, the Revolution, romance, and the concept of independence dominate the story. Rachel's movement toward her own liberty mirrors the evolution of the "plain Americans."

Rinaldi often writes in sentence fragments. The deliberately choppy writing style slows the pace of the book, but Rachel's inner struggle for independence still holds many readers' attention.

Rinaldi has done better with Time Enough for Drums and Finishing Becca. Scott O'Dell's Sarah Bishop and James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier's My Brother Sam Is Dead offer alternatives with more action.

Parents and kids say

All Reviews

There are 1 reviews.

5


Posted on 02/25/07 by amazing grace Kid contributor, age 16

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Kids Reviews

There are 1 reviews.

5


Posted on 02/25/07 by amazing grace Kid contributor, age 16
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