Rebellion 1776 — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceSupporting
- Scary contentSupporting
- Race & cultureBrief
- Gender rolesSupportingTraditional roles
Not found
- Religion
- Profanity
- Climate
- Sexual content
- Gender & orientation
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
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Summaries and source quotes for every theme.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
From New York Times bestselling author Laurie Halse Anderson comes an “thoroughly researched, emotionally resonant” (Booklist, starred review) historical fiction middle grade adventure about a girl struggling to survive amid a smallpox epidemic, the public’s fear of inoculation, and the seething Revolutionary War.
In the spring of 1776, thirteen-year-old Elsbeth Culpepper wakes to the sound of cannons. It’s the Siege of Boston, the Patriots’ massive drive to push the Loyalists out that turns the city into a chaotic war zone. Elsbeth’s father—her only living relative—has gone missing, leaving her alone and adrift in a broken town while desperately seeking employment to avoid the orphanage.
Just when things couldn’t feel worse, the smallpox epidemic sweeps across Boston. Now, Bostonians must fight for their lives against an invisible enemy in addition to the visible one. While a treatment is being frantically fine-tuned, thousands of people rush in from the countryside begging for inoculation. At the same time, others refuse protection, for the treatment is crude at best and at times more dangerous than the disease itself.
Elsbeth, who had smallpox as a small child and is now immune, finds work taking care of a large, wealthy family with discord of their own as they await a turn at inoculation, but as the epidemic and the revolution rage on, will she find her father?
Frequently asked questions
Is Rebellion 1776 appropriate for a 7-year-old?
A man threatens Elsbeth with a knife and cuts her throat slightly, and cannons and shells are fired during the Siege of Boston. The story includes a deadly smallpox epidemic, a knife threat, shells landing in the city and a hospital of sick and injured soldiers.
Does Rebellion 1776 have violence?
Found (Supporting): A man threatens Elsbeth with a knife and cuts her throat slightly, and cannons and shells are fired during the Siege of Boston.
Does Rebellion 1776 have scary content?
Found (Supporting): The story includes a deadly smallpox epidemic, a knife threat, shells landing in the city and a hospital of sick and injured soldiers.
Does Rebellion 1776 have religion?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Rebellion 1776 have race & culture?
Found (Brief): Black characters appear briefly, including formerly enslaved people and a character whose employer profited from slave ships, and slavery is referred to.
Does Rebellion 1776 have profanity?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Rebellion 1776 have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Rebellion 1776 have sexual content?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Rebellion 1776 have gender roles?
Found (Supporting, Traditional roles): The story shows the limited roles and freedom of women in 1776, such as maid work, expectations to marry, and rules about being seen with men.
Does Rebellion 1776 have gender & orientation?
Not found in the sources we checked.
