Amazon US $8.34 $16.95
Amazon CA $15.47
Chelsea Creek to Bunker Hill
Chelsea Creek to Bunker Hill
Amazon UK £3.32 £9.00
Amazon US $4.30 $12.95
Amazon CA $15.28
Young Adult
(10-16)
1774-5
American War of
Independence
Being a Brit, I
admit to never really having been interested in this period of history. I have
heard of the Boston Tea Party and a guy called Paul Revere. And that's about
it. So when the first two books of a series arrived on my doorstep, I wasn't
too enthusiastic. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find myself
enjoying the adventures of Andrew Beckett, Jack Cochran and Joseph Reed in
these two stories, both of which can be read as stand alone, but obviously
better read in order of sequence.
All three are
boys of around fifteen or sixteen, all students at a Latin School in
Portsmouth, New Hampshire. All three have different perspectives: Jack is the
son of the commander of the British fort, Joseph is a passionate supporter of
the 'rebels' and Andrew – well poor Andrew doesn't know where he stands. Thus
it is Andrew who is the main character here and all he really wants is to pass
his entrant's exam to Harvard University.
The events
portrayed actually happened – with the usual disclaimer that some events may
have been manipulated slightly to fit in with the story – and are told in a
style which is eminently suitable for the age group that it is aimed at.
There were one
or two examples of repetition which might grate on the older reader, and I
would have liked to have seen a map in the first book – fortunately one does
appear in the second. Because of the subject matter, I don't think it will
appeal to many here in the UK, but for youngsters starting to learn about the
period in the US (or anywhere else) I can thoroughly recommend the easy style,
likeable characters and the human dilemmas that face Andrew.
© Richard Tearle
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