| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this is a romance with the Boston Massacre as a backdrop.
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.
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. 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 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. 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."
Families can talk about the heroine's conflicted loyalties. What does independence mean for Rachel?
| Author: | Ann Rinaldi |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Historical Fiction |
| Publisher: | Harcourt Brace |
| Publication date: | November 30, 1993 |
| Number of pages: | 333 |
| Paperback price: | $6.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 12 - 14 |
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