Customer Reviews

American Adventures: Thomas

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
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This book was the first in a new series by Bonnie Pryor called American Adventures, and it was very good. Thomas is a ten year old boy who lives with his nine year old sister, Emma, baby brother, Ben, and mother in a log cabin on the Pennsylvania frontier in 1778. Thomas's mother has worried for the family's safety since his father left to fight the British in the American Revolution. When their home is burned by the Tory army, they flee to a nearby fort, but when the British attack, they flee, barely escaping a bloody massacre. Now, the family must make their harrowing way across the mountains to Philadelphia, facing many obstacles along the way. This was an exciting page-turner that I highly reccomend. Kids who enjoyed the My Name is America series will especially enjoy this new series.

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In this book Thomas thought the war was far away from his peaceful homestead. It was peaceful until on day some tory soldiers come and burn his home. Thomas; his mother; sister, Emma;and his dog escape to forty fort, where he mets Eben. Together they plot a daring and dangerous plan that may cost them their lives. You have to read the book to find out what happens next.
I liked this book because it taught me that there are good and bad people on both side of every war. I also liked this book because the characters Thomas and Emma remind me of me and my little sister, Margaret

I am a fifth grade boy: This book is about a family that lives in a peaceful Pennsylvania valley. The peace and quiet was disrupted by Tories Soliders that burnt down their home. The family then attempts to escape to a fort called "The forty fort."

I liked the characters in it. My favorite character was Thomas. He was very adventerous and got in trouble often. If you like history you will like this book. This book kept my attention and was very exciting!

I accidentally read this book thinking it was part of "The American Adventure" series published by Barbour. So, keeping that in mind, I was waiting for the author to start in with the talk about God's will and the Christian Empire, etc. Instead, this book self-consciously tells a story from the American Revolution not from the point of view of "patriots," per se, but a specific point of view of refugee families. My daughter sat rivetted to her seat while I read aloud from this book. From the standpoint of a literary critic, yes, it is silly how the characters face catastrophe after catastrophe, but considering the book's audience, I do not think it was ridiculous for the book's author to show some of the many real catastrophes that did befall these refugees in Pennsylvania who were driven into the swamp and the mountains without adequate food or supplies by invading armies.

This book is great for trying to put yourself in the shoes of the people who are displaced by war. Bonnie Pryor did a good job, I think, of evoking the terror of the people in the fort whose fate seemed to be entirely in the hands of the invading army, who might kill them or not. This is a great story for discussing contemporary white perceptions of Native Americans, who are portrayed as "savages" in keeping with the telling of the story from a 18th century white perspective. Thomas and his family are terrorized by thoughts of their murder at the hands of the Indians, understandably so. Pryor does not fall back on telling us this was a necessary war, as in, "but in the end, it was all worth it." Halfway through the story, the character of the mother is shown having abandoned her attachment to any political ideology in her attempts to create a plan to saves the lives of her children. When she tells Thomas that they will seek refuge with her sister in Philadelphia, Thomas declares, "I won't live with Tories." His mother replies, "We have noplace else to go."

I was looking for good historical fiction to appeal to boys, and this sounded like a possibility. Unfortunately, compared to books like Night Journies, The Bell Keeper, and Jericho's Journey, this was pretty weak. The story line basics are okay, but the author throws in so many unrealistic dilemmas that I was laughing by the end to see what disaster would happen next. Also, the children are modern rather than typical of the 18th century.