If this was how we learned history when I was in school, I would have LOVED history. You can’t help but get wrapped up into Elsbeth’s life, sharing her joys and sorrows. She lost her mom and siblings to Smallpox and has to work hard so that she has a place to live when her father disappears. I cannot imagine being 13 and on your own during a time when Smallpox outbreaks and war are occurring all around you. I really enjoyed reading this book. I enjoyed the characters and the story being told from Elsbeth’s perspective.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing for the opportunity to read this book prior to publication.

Rebellion 1776 follows Elsbeth Culpepper during the siege of Boston, the expulsion of the British, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the smallpox outbreak. Anderson covers several heavy items without losing the humanity of the main character and her own struggles. Elsbeth is a maid, first for a loyalist judge, then a recently released spy and his large family. She must deal with both the grand historical changes going on around her and the challenges of being a single girl of the lower class.

This story was impeccable. I was intrigued by this young lady and her strength and fortitude. I was invested in the characters, their lives, their pains, their worries. I loved that it wasn’t an overwhelming amount of material and it was really informative.

I learned, it sparked interest in me enough to do my own research, and I loved seeing the revolution from this perspective. I’ll definitely be recommending this to my students, and I look forward to possibly adding it to my own curriculum.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to review "Rebel l ion 1776" by Laurie Halse Anderson. I found this story did not flow as well as some of Anderson's other works. The plot overall fell a bit flat for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's for the advance electronic copy of this title.

I believe this was the second or third of Anderson's books featuring early American history that I have read. I think I even noticed a passing reference to a character from a previous book. It was wonderful to read a middle grade level book with such a strong young female main character. Set in revolutionary times, it shows what life was like for women of different stations (and some men) as well as addressing important topics of the day, such as the early smallpox inoculations, the Declaration of Independence, and the war. Each chapter began with a quote from correspondence from individuals of the era, many from Abigail Adams, as well as from publications. Characters were believable, and Elsbeth, the main character, was a reliable narrator.

This would be an excellent book for a reader of the American Girl books to grow into!

Set during through most of the year of 1776 in Boston and seen through the eyes of Elsbeth Culpepper a maid for a British Loyalist judge who ends of vacating the city with other loyalist after the siege of Boston is finished. With no job and place to stay she tries to find her father, a sailmaker, who supposedly might have left with the British. She ends up with the Pike family, Mr. Pike a patriot spy, and must look after a brood of six children and she ultimately becomes the lady maid to Hannah Sparhawk, who is under temporary supervision of Pikes while her underhanded caretaker is asea. The primary crisis is that Boston is under a smallpox epidemic during the summer and the family must go under innoculations, which Mrs. Pike is against initially, and Hannah must deal with their sickness while being accussed of being a possible traitor. Anderson portrays the day to day living in one of the major focal points during the Revolutionary War, but still makes the story relatable to a 21st century readers with a strong female protagonist, who understands her place in society but fights for what she believes in. Recommended for readers 10-14 years of age who like historical fiction, especially American historical fiction.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved Laurie Halse Anderson since I read Speak when I was a teenager. This was a great MG novel about the American Revolution. While slow in parts, I really liked the characters and Elsbeth was a wonderful narrator.

Elsbeth Culpepper is a thirteen-year-old patriot living in Boston during the siege of 1776. She’s a funny, relatable heroine, and her story makes history come alive. All is not romantic as Anderson vividly describes the challenges of life in these times; not all residents were patriots, and the British retreat left real repercussions for the remaining citizens. As one of the working class, when Elsbeth’s father goes missing and her royalist employer leaves the city, Elsbeth faces the possibility of homelessness and starvation. While she is able to find employment, the amount of work expected and accepted is grueling. Additional realities of life in this time period are addressed, primarily the fragility of life as smallpox is ravaging the city, a new vaccine is available but it too carries risks, and the war itself. However, there is still enjoyment and friendship to be had as our resourceful heroine frequently sees the humor in situations. I will happily be recommending this book to middle school readers looking for an historical fiction novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this!

I’m planning for American history in our homeschool, so I was very excited to see this one coming out! I could see it being interesting and helping to empathize with the people who lived in that time period, but I wasn’t particularly excited by the narrative. I especially wasn’t a fan of the romance, it didn’t feel particularly fleshed out (which was maybe just a nod to the time period) but I would’ve rather had it not feel rushed into the end. I enjoyed the author’s Fever 1793 more, so I think we will likely skip this one for school.

I received an eARC from NetGalley and all opinions are my own.
Absolutely AMAZING! 5/5 stars
Why learn about history (and science!) from a boring dry textbook when you can instead read this historical fiction novel and learn about things that way? This is the most immersive and amazing historical fiction book I've read regarding the American Revolution and the smallpox epidemic. Although I've studied this time period in history many times before, never before has history truly come alive to me like in this book. You can tell that the author put a lot of research into this. This would be a great read aloud for a classroom or homeschool. I cannot sing enough praises for this book.

What a fantastic MG novel! It expertly educates without sacrificing exciting plot and interesting characters. It handles weighty topics like sexism, classism, and the ethics of inoculation in a way that’s appropriate and approachable for young readers and still nuanced and thought provoking. Really, really excellent! And the theme of independence reaches beyond the revolution into the characters’ lives in a way that’s really compelling. It’s so hard to strike this balance with YAL. This one nails it!

Thanks to NetGalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a brilliant book! Anderson has done it again. She's weaved a masterful story within American History and made it oh so relevant for today!

Elsbeth was a really great protagonist with lots of layers to her--the rest of the kids were kind of forgettable except for Hannah, at least, but they did all serve a purpose in the story. I liked how vindictive Widow Nash was, ha. Anderson did a great job in building the world and making Boston come alive. Definitely recommend this book for fans of her previous work "Fever".

I loved Laurie Halse Anderson's previous historical fiction books, and I was anxious to read this one. While short, it took me a few weeks to finish. The characters are interesting, but the story went in too many directions and wasn't coherent.
I'm not sure who I'd recommend it to.

I can tell you that my middle school kiddos will absolutely love this book! My fans of historical fiction and American Revolution stories will be thrilled to read it! Elsbeth is a proper heroine in every way...dealing with the war, the smallpox epidemic, and finding her missing father. She was also thrust upon a family of strangers for which she had to work to secure her survival. I found myself rooting for Elsbeth on every page! Laurie Halse Anderson does not disappoint with this book which is soon to be a hit with middle-grade readers! I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC and I will be recommending this book to my students and book club participants!!!

This was such an immersive, engrossing historical fiction novel that I devoured in a single sitting because I could not put it down. Thirteen-year-old Elsbeth is struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War. As the canons fire, we learn about Elsbeth's past and the loss of her mother and siblings, her uncertain present with her father missing and her own employment up in the air and her hopes for the future. We also learn about her caring and tenacious personality, the difference a friend can make and the risks she'll take to protect those she loves. This book is full of action and emotion and fills the reader with a sense of involvement on every page.

This is an interesting book since it is set right in the middle of the revolutionary war and tells the story about a young house servant, turned lady’s maid, Elsbeth. Her journey starts at the beginning of the war serving a master loyal to England who must escape before they are arrested. Her father, who also lives in the same town, tells Elsbeth to stay behind and he will come for her soon, but he never shows up. Elsbeth is alone and abandoned, luckily for her the next family who comes to the house allows her to stay on and she fosters a relationship with the wealthy ward Hannah Sparhawk. Hannah is an interesting young lady, because she doesn’t really want to be with her host family, she just wants to go home to her grandmother. Both Hannah and Elsbeth are stuck in Boston surrounded by war and at the same time are fighting to survive during the smallpox epidemic. Elsbeth is safe because she had them as a child and lost most of her family to the horrible diseases. The family she works for though must be inoculated and then must remain in Boston till their symptoms subside.
This is an interesting book, because while you think that war would be more prominent in this story, it is secondary to the main battle Bostonians were handling at the time which was fighting against smallpox. I think that the way they portrayed how the epidemic was handled is well done. The quotes from historical figures also helped set the setting and portrayed what people were thinking and dealing with along side such a horrendous disease. I think this book is tastefully written and a great way to introduce middle readers to something they may the second half has a much faster pace.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children’s not have read about previously. The book is a bit slow paced at the beginning, but
and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

I appreciated a new-to-me look at the intervention of the Revolutionary War and small pox. It was fascinating to learn about how inoculations were done at the time! I did struggle to get into the book a little, but the second half was very intriguing and worth the read!

This is another excellent middle grade historical fiction read by this author. It’s obviously highly researched and packed with factual information delivered with emotion and thoughtfulness while being realistic and age appropriate. Definitely recommend for the middle grade reader in your life.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Would be wonderful to use in the classroom or library. Great pacing and great storytelling. Extremely informative and obviously well researched. I love this author.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rebellion 1776 is a middle grade historical fiction book set at the end of the US war for independence. It's a timely novel, touching on pandemics, inoculations, and revolution for the sake of a government that serves its people.

The young protagonist is an example of perseverance and ingenuity in the face of adversity. I particularly liked how the novel was interspersed with the dates of real events in history. The chapter headings with quotes from real historical figures and documents grounds the story in the fabric of history.

The characters surrounding the protagonist are interesting and varied and add a great deal of color to the novel.

Overall, the novel is an engaging read, both for young readers and for those who enjoy reading historical books focused on young adults. I recommend this novel to those who like to read about historical events and the day to day lives of people in history.