REBELLION 1776, by Laurie Halse Anderson, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, April 1, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 10 and up)
A girl struggles to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation and the Revolutionary War in Rebellion 1776, by Laurie Halse Anderson.
In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father—her only living relative—has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage.
Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation. At the same time, others refuse protection, for the treatment is crude at best and at times more dangerous than the disease itself.
Elsbeth, who had smallpox as a small child and is now immune, finds work taking care of a large, wealthy family with discord of their own as they await a turn at inoculation, but as the epidemic and the revolution rage on, will she find her father? —Synopsis provided by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Rebellion 1776 is a colonial story unlike any other I’ve read.
Told from Elsbeth’s point of view, readers get a glimpse at societal roles — both class and women, early American politics, an epidemic and the ensuing mass vaccination.
Elsbeth is a force to be reckoned with. She’s got street smarts and she’s bold. She is the kind of character that readers will want to see succeed. Elsbeth is surrounded by strong supporting characters who help buoy the story and provide some of the strongest moments of emotional impact.
Author Laurie Halse Anderson truly brings 1776 Boston to life. She has a knack for setting a scene and really draws you in with her assured and accessible writing.
Rebellion 1776 is historical fiction at its best. This book belongs in classroom and home libraries alike.
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