June 2010 historical fiction feature - the American Revolution

Since I love historical fiction so much, a couple of months ago I decided to start a monthly feature on my blog where I would post about books covering a certain time period or topic in the middle grade & young adult historical fiction genres. In March I posted about Tudor England historical fiction, and in April I blogged about historical fiction about people of color, along with a guest post from Ari of Reading in Color, and just last month, I posted about books set in the Colonial America era. Now, for June, I am following up with a post about books set during the American Revolution, which was an exciting time in history when the United States became an independent country.

Middle grade books:

Daniel at the Siege of Boston by Laurie Calkhoven: In 1776 Boston, twelve-year-old Daniel Prescott enjoys assuming his father’s role in taking care of his mother and sister, as well as his work as a spy and messenger for the American revolutionaries, but the pleasure ends when he witnesses the horrors of war firsthand, and learns that a trusted patriot is actually a British spy.

Betsy Zane: The Rose of Fort Henry by Lynda Durrant: In 1781 twelve-year-old Elizabeth Zane, great-great-aunt of novelist Zane Grey, leaves Philadelphia to return to her brothers’ homestead near Fort Henry in what is now West Virginia, where she plays an important role in the final battle of the American Revolution.

Give Me Liberty by L.M. Elliott: Follows the life of thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Dunn, from May 1774 to December 1775, as he serves his indentureship with a music teacher in Williamsburg, Virginia, and witnesses the growing rift between patriots and loyalists, culminating in the American Revolution.

Betrayal at Cross Creek by Kathleen Ernst: Twelve-year-old Elspeth Monro, a Scottish settler and weaver’s apprentice on the North Carolina frontier in 1775, must find out who is betraying her Loyalist family during the months before the start of the Revolutionary War.

Ride of Courage by Deborah Felder: In 1781, twelve-year-old Molly Randall, living with her family in Yorktown, Virginia, finds her courage tested when she must ride a powerful Arabian horse to get help for a neighbor about to be executed for treason by the British.

Hope's Crossing by Joan Elizabeth Goodman: During the Revolutionary War, thirteen-year-old Hope, seized by the band of Tories who attack her Connecticut home, finds herself enslaved in a Tory household on Long Island and uses all her resources to escape and make her way home.

Midnight Rider by Joan Hiatt Harlow: In Boston in 1775, orphaned fourteen-year-old Hannah is indentured to the family of a British general and begins attending secret meetings disguised as a boy, then passing messages and warnings to the revolutionaries using her beloved horse Promise.

My America: Hope's Revolutionary War Diaries by Kristiana Gregory: The diaries of a young girl living in Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, the three books are Five Smooth Stones, We Are Patriots, and When Freedom Comes.

Dear America: The Winter of Red Snow by Kristiana Gregory: Eleven-year-old Abigail presents a diary account of life in Valley Forge from December 1777 to July 1778 as General Washington prepares his troops to fight the British. (Sequel: Cannons at Dawn)

Dear America: Love Thy Neighbor by Ann Turner: In Greenmarsh, Massachusetts, in 1774, thirteen-year-old Prudence keeps a diary of the troubles she and her family face as Tories surrounded by American patriots at the start of the American Revolution.

My Name is America: The Journal of William Thomas Emerson by Barry Denenberg: William, a twelve-year-old orphan, writes of his experiences in pre-Revolutionary War Boston where he joins the cause of the patriots who are opposed to the British rule.

Dear Canada: With Nothing But Our Courage by Karleen Bradford: When Mary's family sides with the British against the American rebels, they are branded traitors and forced to flee their home. All they have is what they can carry with them — and their determination and courage — when they head north toward Canada.

American Diaries: Mary Alice Peale by Kathleen Duey: When her wounded brother returns from battle, twelve-year-old Mary must get help for him without telling her father, a wealthy Tory, who has disowned his son for joining General Washington’s Continental Army.

The Daughters of Liberty series by Elizabeth Massie: The adventures of two friends who live in Philadelphia at the start of the American Revolution. Books are Patsy's Discovery, Patsy and the Declaration, and Barbara's Escape.

Spy by Anna Myers: In 1774, twelve-year-old Jonah becomes a pupil of Nathan Hale, who inspires him to question his beliefs about the impending revolution, and two years later, Jonah makes a decision that leads to Nathan’s execution.

The Keeping Room by Anna Myers: Left in charge of the family when his father leaves their South Carolina home to fight in the Revolutionary War, thirteen-year-old Joey Kershaw finds all his resources tested when General Cornwallis comes to town and chooses the Kershaw house as his headquarters.

Annie Henry: Adventures in the American Revolution by Susan Olasky: Follows the adventures of Annie Henry, daughter of patriot Patrick Henry, as she grows up during the American Revolution.

Thomas: Patriots on the Run by Bonnie Pryor: Thomas believes the Revolutionary War will never come to his peaceful Pennsylvania valley. But all too soon, he and his family are running for their lives

Thomas in Danger by Bonnie Pryor: Having lost their home when the Revolutionary War reached their part of rural Pennsylvania, Thomas and his family start a new life running an inn in Philadelphia, where Thomas finds new danger that takes him into captivity among the Iroquois.

The Hannah books by Jean Van Leeuwen: The adventures of a young girl growing up in Fairfield, Connecticut during the American Revolution. The books are Hannah of Fairfield, Hannah's Helping Hands, and Hannah's Winter of Hope.

The Sarah's Journey series by Wanda Luttrell: The story of a young girl named Sarah growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia and on the Kentucky frontier during the American Revolution.

American Girl Felicity Mysteries: Lady Margaret's Ghost, Peril at King's Creek, and Traitor in Williamsburg.

Hannah Pritchard: Pirate of the Revolution by Bonnie Pryor: After her parents and brother are killed by Loyalists, fourteen-year-old Hannah leaves their farm and eventually, disguised as a boy, joins a pirate ship that preys on other ships to get supplies for the American Revolution.

An Eye for an Eye by Peter and Connie Roop: In 1775 fourteen-year-old Samantha, who should be wearing dresses, knows that in britches she can out-hunt her twin and out-sail her older brother near their James River home, but can she use those skills against the British when the American Revolution begins?

Young adult books:

Catherine and the Pirate by Karen Hawkins: Catherine Markham falls in love with the pirate who escorts her on a dangerous voyage from Boston to Savannah during the American Revolution.

Ann of the Wild Rose Inn by Jennifer Armstrong: Sixteen-year-old Ann and her twin brother, John, are dedicated to the cause of American independence, but when Ann falls in love with a British soldier, her resolve is tested.

Cast Two Shadows by Ann Rinaldi: In South Carolina in 1780, fourteen-year-old Caroline sees the Revolutionary War take a terrible toll among her family and friends and, along with a startling revelation about her own background, comes to understand the true nature of war.

The Family Greene by Ann Rinaldi: Follows Caty and her daughter Cornelia through the latter half of the eighteenth century as they mingle with the heroes of the Revolutionary War, discovering that a woman’s only means of power, flirting, can cause trouble and confusion.

Time Enough for Drums by Ann Rinaldi: Sixteen-year-old Jem and her servant struggle to keep things going at home in Trenton, New Jersey, when the family men join the war for independence from the British king.

Finishing Becca by Ann Rinaldi: In 1778 fourteen-year-old Becca takes a position as personal maid to Peggy Shippen, the daughter of wealthy Philadelphia Quakers, and witnesses the events that lead to General Benedict Arnold’s betrayal of the revolutionary American forces.

A Ride into Morning by Ann Rinaldi: When unrest spreads at the Revolutionary War camp in Morristown, New Jersey, under the command of General Anthony Wayne, a young woman cleverly hides her horse from the mutinous soldiers who have need of it.

Or Give Me Death by Ann Rinaldi: With their father away most of the time advocating independence for the American colonies, the children of Patrick Henry try to raise themselves, manage the family plantation, and care for their mentally ill mother.

Just Jane by William Lavender: Fourteen-year-old Jane Prentice, orphaned daughter of an English earl, arrives in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1776 to find her family and her loyalties divided over the question of American independence.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: The story of Isabel, a slave girl living in New York at the beginning of the American Revolution.

The Innkeeper's Daughter by Lou Kassem: Wishing she could join the fight for independence rather than submit to the duties of a frontier wife, fiery young Byroney Rose Frazer overhears enemy plans and begins a desperate journey to save the family and the man she loves.

The Way Lies North by Jean Rae Baxter: After her three brothers are killed and her sweetheart joins the Rebels in the Revolutionary War, Charlotte and her loyalist family are forced to flee their home for the safety of Canada and are aided along their arduous journey by members of the Mohawk nation.

Saratoga Secret by Betsy Sterman: In 1777, as General Burgoyne and his British troops invade the Upper Hudson River Valley, sixteen-year-old Amity must carry a secret message to the Continental army to give warning of an impending attack.

The Hollow Tree by Janet Lunn: It is 1777 and Phoebe Olcott is thrown headlong into the horrors of war when her beloved cousin Gideon is hanged for being a British spy. When she finds a message left by Gideon containing the names of Loyalist families to be protected by the King's army, Phoebe knows she must deliver the message to the general at Fort Ticonderoga. She sets out into the wilderness and soon meets up with Jem, a young Loyalist travelling to the safety of British Canada. As they travel across the country facing rebel guns, wild animals and worse, Phoebe and Jem discover they have a growing attraction for each other. But her own mission cannot be ignored and Phoebe once again finds herself alone, freezing and near death before she is reunited with Jem on the shores of Lake Ontario.

An Enemy Among Them by Deborah H. DeFord: A young Hessian soldier questions his loyalty to his king after fighting with the British in America during the Revolutionary War and spending time as a prisoner in the home of a German American family from Pennsylvania.

Soldier's Secret by Sheila Solomon Klass: During the Revolutionary War, a young woman named Deborah Sampson disguises herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army.

Woods Runner by Gary Paulsen: From his 1776 Pennsylvania homestead, thirteen-year-old Samuel, who is a highly-skilled woodsman, sets out toward New York City to rescue his parents from the band of British soldiers and Indians who kidnapped them after slaughtering most of their community.

Sunfire: Sabrina by Candice F. Ransom: A historical romance about a teenage girl living during the American Revolution who spies for the patriots and must choose between the two young men who love her, one a Tory and the other a patriot.

1776: Son of Liberty by Elizabeth Massie: On his farm in Maryland, sixteen-year-old Caleb Jacobson hears rumors of an armed rebellion of the Massachusetts colonists against the oppressive tyranny of King George III and his soliders. Educated in a small Quaker school, Caleb has been taught that it is wrong to raise one's hand against another. Yet Caleb is a free black living in a slave colony. He knows firsthand the horrors and hardships of slavery and wonders what good an American victory will do if his fellow blacks--including his best friend Gaddi--remain shackled in bondage. Then comes news that the British Governor Lord Dunmore promises freedom to any slave who joins his army against the Americans. Can he be trusted to keep his work? Or should Caleb support the colonists' fight in hope of a better future for his people? Caleb will have to choose.