Publisher’s description
From New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson comes an “thoroughly researched, emotionally resonant” (Booklist, starred review) historical fiction middle grade adventure about a girl struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War.
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.
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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?
Amanda’s thoughts
I read this at the tail end of my spring break, when I’d accomplish every possible task on my to-do list and allowed myself to just sit down with my dogs and read. I’m so glad I had an afternoon of nothing planned, because once I got started on this book, I couldn’t put it down.
As a little aside: There have always been kids who have loved historical fiction, but I don’t think we can underestimate the impact the I Survived series has had on readers. The books are short, action-packed, and, especially now that they are also in graphic novel format, accessible to a wide range of readers. Readers seem to love their idea of regular kids living in extraordinary times. This is to say that while there may have been a time a reader would think of history as “boring” (which, of course, it’s not), more kids than ever are reading historical fiction and open to all the other books that are waiting for them after they burn through the entire I Survived series.
13-year-old Elsbeth is living in Boston during the historic year of 1776. Her job as a maid is no longer a sure thing when the house changes hands. After Evacuation Day, her father, her only relative, is nowhere to be found. Elsbeth figures her best choice is to stay put so her father will know where to find her when he hopefully returns. But keeping her job isn’t easy, especially when another employee of the home is out to get her. Her one true friend, an orphan named Shube, is also trying to figure out how to survive in this new reality, and Elsbeth is desperately worried he will join up with the military. And then there’s the increasingly worrying issue of smallpox, which is rampantly spreading and which killed Elsbeth’s mother and siblings. Set against the backdrop of a nation full of fear, uncertainty, rebellion, injustices, and illness, this history may particularly resonate with readers today. Elsbeth, at just 13, has to survive essentially on her own, telling lies and striking deals to keep her place and stay safe and employed. She meets nefarious, corrupt people over the course of the story, but also makes unexpected connections, such as the well-to-do Hannah. This look at the American Revolution puts young readers right in the heart of the action. As much about smallpox and day-to-day survival as it is about the war, this is a great look at what life was like for a young girl trying to make her way mostly alone in a tumultuous time. Hand this book to readers who have learned a little bit already about this war and who can push through the somewhat slow start of the story. As educational as it is engaging.
Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher
ISBN-13: 9781416968269
Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books
Publication date: 04/01/2025
Age Range: 10 – 14 Years
Filed under: Book Reviews
