Rebellion 1776Review posted July 2, 2025.
Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2025. 416 pages.
Review written June 18, 2025, from an Advance Reader Copy sent by the publisher.
Starred Review
Here's a side of the American Revolution I had never heard. We've got Elspeth, an ordinary girl living in Boston in 1776 and working as a maid. Her mother and brothers had died of smallpox in Philadelphia, so her father took the two of them to Boston, and he found her a position as a maid. The book opens as cannons are firing from both the British, under siege in Boston, and from the Patriots, trying to dislodge them.
The British and Loyalists are driven out, and Pappa plans to evacuate at the same time. Elspeth doesn't want to go, so she hides overnight - but Pappa never shows up! Did he leave without her? Did something happen to him? While she's trying to find him, to get in touch with him, Elspeth works for the family that replaced the loyalist judge she'd been serving. But her position is precarious as a girl without her father there to vouch for her.
And then smallpox comes to Boston. Elspeth has had it, but now folks are being inoculated - given a light dose of the disease - which is still a dose of the disease. And still takes months to run its course! (And I thought being sick for a day after a vaccination was bad.) And her good friend wants to enlist as a soldier. And the 16-year-old ward of the family she serves has independent ideas. And there are nefarious characters making use of wartime to enrich themselves.
The whole tale pulled me in and made me think about ordinary people during wartime - and how most folks simply want to live their lives. But world events can make that difficult.
It was a delight to read about Elspeth's resourcefulness and courage as she holds on when it seems like she's alone in the world.