WE ARE PATRIOTS

With war an ever-present possibility and uncertain of their future, Hope and her family struggle to survive in Philadelphia in 1776. Part of the My America series and a sequel to Five Smooth Stones: Hope’s Diary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1776 (not reviewed), Hope’s latest journal entries find her family in the country having fled from the turmoil of the city. Hope’s brother has run off to fight with the Red Coats and was thrown into prison as a spy. Her father is fighting as a patriot, but he has not been home in more than a year. With a new baby to care for and worries about the state of their home, Hope’s mother returns all of them to the city where they must survive persecution from the invading British troops and the continuing threat of war. Desperate to have some normalcy in their lives, they reopen their bakery, and Hope returns to school. Soon, British soldiers overrun their home and Hope’s father returns from the front with stories and scars from the battles he has seen. Hope learns that her father has joined the Sons of Liberty, and she fears that they may not survive the coming months. Strong imagery and well-researched details make this an engrossing as well as educational selection. Readers will eagerly await the next installment. (Fiction. 7-9)