Reviews

It was a good book, but kind of boring until you get closer to the end. Sometimes in Dear America Books you know what's going to happen so plot points aren't as exciting as a normal book.

peytonktracy's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

This was a bizarre sequel to what was already kind of a lackluster book. We find the Stewart family joining the Continental army and following them around as the Revolutionary War unfolds, experiencing the war and camp life. Now I recognize that camp life was pretty monotonous and pretty dire and difficult, and there's only so much to say. But without action from the historical events, it fell to the characters, who were already pretty flat and uninteresting, and meant this book just became as much of a muddy slog as the treks they undertook to follow the army around. I didn't really see any reason to stretch the book from 1779 to 1781 either, other than just for the sake of witnessing the Battle of Yorktown. The two stars comes from an accurate and interesting portrayal of the figures in the book the author continued to name drop endlessly, and the interesting contrast from the first book to this book of being affected by the army's thefts and desperation to being desperate in the army, particularly in the winter. However, that's as much praise as I can give it. Also I found the romance trite and forced and uncomfortable in the age difference. Just because it's historically accurate doesn't mean it needs written... Ready to move on.

Content Warnings

prairiedances's review against another edition

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5.0

While the first book in this series isn't bad, I loved its sequel so much more.Abby and her family are forced to follow the Continental Army after their home burns down in Valley Forge. It the mist of the chaos and confusion of the Revolutionary War Abby matures from a twelve year old girl to a married woman of 15. I loved that the story took place during all the major points of the war. We get to see Mary Washington, Benedict Arnold, the Wick farm, Williamsburg, Newburgh, and finally the end of the war at Yorktown. People from all walks of life including freed slaves are included here and it was interesting to see the battlefield from a woman's point of view. This book is a great read for anyone (old and young alike) who are interested in the Colonial period.

soulwinds's review

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adventurous informative

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

elllie's review against another edition

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3.0

I LOVED Winter of the Red Snow (this book's prequel) but I didn't feel like this one really carried on that book's greatness. The story was really disjointed and the author had Abigail take several long breaks from writing in her journal because she didn't have any ink. I mean, I get it, it was the Revolutionary War and supplies were low and that includes ink, but I also kind of feel like it was a little bit of a cop out. Also, this book covers like, three years instead of just one year, so while it needed to so something to break all of that stuff up, I didn't like the way it was done. Another thing I didn't love was the way they handled Abigail's whole getting married and pregnant storyline. Yes, it was super common for 15-year-olds to be married and pregnant during this time period, but I felt like Abigail was like, "Oh boy, I'm getting married!" and then jumped straight to "Oh boy, I'm pregnant!" without any kind of slight mention of what's going on. Granted, this is a J book so any mention of something like that would have jumped this book straight up to teen, which I'm sure Scholastic didn't want (and we probably wouldn't want - it just makes things complicated :P)

evamadera1's review against another edition

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3.0

I found this book to be an average read on all fronts. I suppose that I might have engaged more in the book had it been less than six or seven years since I last read the first book. I have no memories of that first book so the events of this book formed a completely separate narrative with frequent references to the events of the previous book.
Although many of the "Dear America" series engage readers using the diary format, this book felt flat, its protagonist rote and uninteresting. The relative good health and fortune of all the primary characters, most of whom faced battle and death from the many dangers of revolutionary life.

Although not a terrible book, I cannot recommend it.

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