Common Sense Media Review
So-so historical fiction mixed with romance.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
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?
Ann Rinaldi has been tempting teenagers to read romances and learn some real history for over a decade; this 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."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the heroine's conflicted loyalties. What does independence mean for Rachel?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Historical Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Harcourt Brace
- Publication date : November 30, 1993
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 12 - 14
- Number of pages : 333
- Last updated : July 12, 2017
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