Historical Fiction

Historical Fiction:

Title: Road to Revolution

Authors: Stan Mack and Susan Champlin

Publication Date: 2009

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 1-59990-9-013-0







This book is written as a graphic novel or cartoon.  It is set during the Revolutionary War, and the prologue gives us some background as to the events that happened before the story.  There is a summary of the history beginning in 1764, when the  British parliament enforced taxes on the colonists.  It mentions some of the historical figures of the day such as Samuel Adams and John Hancock, and gives a summary of 1774 and the events of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.  This is all background information to the story, which  is set in Boston in 1775. The book begins with a description of the main characters, some real - like Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, and Dr. Joseph Warren; as well as British military officers, average Bostonians, and the minutemen militia soldiers.  There are also fictional characters -  Nick “an orphan who lives on his wits in Boston” , and Penny the daughter of a local tavern owner. 

The book is the  story of Nick and Penny, and how they get caught up in all the action in the start fo the American Revolution.  The book is basically a cartoon graphic novel.  Nick and Penny help the rebels.

The authors do a good job in an epilogue of the book of explaining what was fact in the book and what was fiction.  This is helpful for students and makes it clear what actually happened and what is made up.  Penny and Nick are fictional, butt there were children who  acted as spies during this time.  Penny is friends with Sarah Revere, who was the actual daughter of Paul Revere.  In the story, Penny yells “fire”, which causes a stampede out of Old South Meeting House.  The authors explains that what actually happened was that  the British officers yelled “fie”, and someone in the crowd thought it was fire, and started a panic which led to everyone believing an actual fire was occurring and there was a stampede.  In the story Nick does some historically significant things, like lightening the lanterns in Old North Church, and rowing Paul Revere across the river.  The author in the epilogue made it clear someone did do those things,  but not a boy named Nick.

The author took these facts about the historical events, and placed two teenagers in the midst of it.  It makes for a fun read, and a way to make history more interesting and less dry.  At the end of the book, the authors wrote “If you mention fictional  characters in historical settings, then you better know your history.”  This is why the book works, the authors did know their history and used that as their base.

This book is funny,  action packed,  and reads like a comic book.  I think most children will understand that Penny and Nick were  not real.  I think this comic book style will be engaging to students who might not be drawn to historical fiction.  It is a fun story.  I would recommend this for a middle school classroom.  It would definitely enhance a unit on the American Revolution.

I give it a five out of five stars.