Will's Story: 1771 (Colonial Williamsburg(R)) - Hardcover

Joan Lowery Nixon is the award-winning and beloved author of more than 100 books for young readers, including the Orphan Train Adventures, the Orphan Train Children, and the Ellis Island series.

Gr 4-6-Will Pelham, a real person in history, lives with his family in housing attached to the public gaol, where his father is the gaoler. The 12-year-old helps out by feeding the prisoners. He finds the family's circumstances unsettling, especially his nightly walk down a dark passageway past the prisoners' cells to his own room. Will's sense of fear is heightened when one prisoner rambles about the ghost of Blackbeard. Later, he becomes suspicious that the family's slave, Toby, may be plotting to help a runaway slave held in the gaol escape to freedom. Will is an especially well-drawn character, with his fears, thoughts, and doubts portrayed convincingly. Nixon also does a nice job of depicting a boy caught in that confusing time of life between wanting to be a grown-up and clinging to comfortable childhood roles. The period details are smoothly intertwined into the plot, with the protagonist even encountering George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Thirty pages of concluding notes and black-and-white photos include information about Williamsburg then and now and childhood and crime and punishment in 18th-century America. The only flaw may be that the plot is a little too slow in moving toward the action, with most of the prisoners' cases concluding in an epilogue and author's note at the end of the story. However, historical fiction fans will be intrigued by Will's unique experiences.

Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH

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